According to figures released by European Disposales and Nonwovens Association (EDANA), the international association serving the nonwovens and related products industries, production of nonwovens in Europe grew by around 6.5% in 2006 to reach 1,494,000 tonnes. This compares with 1,403,000 tonnes in 2005 when the annual growth was 5%.
According to an estimate, based on the same sample of companies in 2005 and 2006, the average price of nonwovens appears to have increased by almost 3% from €3.33 to €3.43 per kg. As a result the total turnover of the European nonwovens industry is estimated at around €5,124 million.
Diverging trends are affecting the various bonding processes of drylaid nonwovens. Pierre Wiertz, General Manager of Edana revealed: “Growth in the hydroentanglement process has still been substantial this year at more than 6% but it is actually the needling process that has recorded the highest apparent growth at 13.8 %.”
Polymer-based (spunmelt) nonwovens, on the other hand, witnessed an impressive growth with over 10% increase in 2006.
Airlaid production, compared to figures of 2005, has recorded a slight growth, mostly due to increase in deliveries to the hygiene sector.
The main end-use for nonwovens remains the hygiene market with a 33% share of deliveries, amounting to 497,900 tonnes. This has grown by 5.4% in 2006.
The most significant growth areas for nonwovens in 2006 were garments (14.4 %) – mostly protective clothing – and wipes for personal care (13.8 %), followed by liquid filtration (12.2%) and geotextiles (11.4%), a diversity which perfectly illustrates the on-going growth and innovative uses – both industrial and daily-life – of nonwovens even in a maturing market like Europe.
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