European nonwoven production growth

EDANA, the international association of nonwoven industries, delivered its European annual statistics on nonwoven production and deliveries for 2012, and the news was better than predicted. Overall growth of 2.2 percent occurred, despite friction and crises within the European Union. Total deliveries reached 1.9 million tons, with spunmelt processes accounting for 45 percent and fiber-based materials 55 percent. Within the drylaid category, the leading bonding technologies remain spunlace and needlepunch. Hygiene wipes and automotive applications showed growth rates higher than five percent, while growth declined by three percent in the construction products category. Members of EDANA receive a complimentary copy of the full report, “2012 European Nonwovens Production and Deliveries.”