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| Issue date:01/06/2007 |
| ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel - Jun 2007 Issue |
| Source:Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel |
| by Han Tao |
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The nonwoven industry in the US, West Europe and Japan represents the mainstay of the development trend for the world's nonwoven industry. These three countries alone account for 85% of the total global nonwoven output. Japan ranks second in the world, next only to the US, which is the leader in terms of both output quantity and technology.
Medical fabrics are often made from nonwoven materials
Currently, six out of the top 40 nonwoven roll goods manufacturers in the world are based in Japan. Japan has 13 spunbonded nonwoven roll manufacturers with annual production capacity hitting 139,800 tons in 2005. The market is mainly dominated by four key manufacturers: Asahi Kasei, Mitsui Chemicals, Unitika and Toyobo, who collectively produce around 78% of Japan's total production capacity of nonwovens.
In recent years, Japan's nonwoven industry has not seen any major new comer, and its production capacities in terms of quantity remain stable. However, new products have been developed to suit the changing global market.
Asahi Kasei adjusts product portfolio to gain edge
Asahi Kasei is the biggest spunbonded nonwoven roll goods producer in Japan. It produces with spunbonded and meltblown processes for the sectors of medical fabrics, wipes, packing, leukocyte removing filters and baby diapers.
In the SMMS segment, the company is equipped with a production line with an annual capacity of over 13,000 tons. The company annually produces 22,000 tons of polypropylene, polyester and polyamide (PA) spunbonded nonwovens; 4,500 tons of cupra spunbonded nonwovens; and 200 tons of meltblown nonwovens. In late 2005, Asahi Kasei exited from the spunlaced nonwoven segment, due to unsuccessful market development of such materials.
Asahi Kasei names its cupra spunbonded nonwovens as Bemliese, mainly used as wipes for industrial and cleanroom applications. By June 2005, their annual production capacity of cupra spunbonded nonwovens reached 4,500 tons. As the demand for wiping cloth is increasing and the southeastern Asian market expanding, Asahi Kasei has planned to increase the output of Bemliese cupra spunbonded nonwoven fabrics by 1,000 tons per year.
In face of the rapid growth of the baby diaper segment, Asahi Kasei's SMMS production line is constantly running in full capacity. The company expects to improve the production efficiency and boost the PP spunbonded nonwoven capacity by 1,000-2,000 tons per year. In addition, Asahi Kasei continues to develop new polyester spunbonded nonwoven products, and the sales of nylon spunbonded fabrics witnessed a slight rise in 2005 compared with the previous year. So far, the company has no plan to build up production facility overseas.
Asahi Kasei started in mid-2005 its “Nonwovens New Business (called FNB in Japan)” project to develop new polymer and nonwoven technology. Asahi Kasei initiated the project in order to intensify its global competitive power and play a significant role in the global nonwoven industry in the next decade.
Mitsui Chemicals taps breathable diaper market in Asia
Mitsui Chemicals is the largest polypropylene (PP) spunbonded nonwoven manufacturer in Japan. It annually produces 9,000 tons of SMS; 25,000 tons of polypropylene-based spunbonded materials; and 14,000 tons of polypropylene SMMS through the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Mitsui Hygienic Material (MHM) in Thailand which started operating in March 2003.
In addition, Mitsui Chemicals possesses technologies for spunlaced, melt-blown and thermo-bonded nonwoven production. The key market segments include medical fabrics, geo-textiles, oil absorptive materials, air filters, wipes, and fabrics for agricultural and home uses. Mitsui Chemicals also has a facility in Japan with an annual capacity of 7,500 tons of breathable films, which form the lining layer of diapers after being laminated with spunbonded fabrics.
To meet the increasing demand for diaper materials, it announced in March 2006 its plan to invest JPY5 billion (or US$41 million) in establishing a spunlaced nonwoven production line at MHM to boost the capacity by 16,000 tons/year. This project was started in April 2006 and put into operation late in the year. The expansion has brought Mitsui Chemicals' total annual production capacity of PP spunbonded nonwoven fabrics to 30,000 tons while the capacity in Japan reached 64,000 tons. Meanwhile, half of MHM products are expected to sell to Japan, 30% of them to Southeast Asia and 20% to China.
Mitsui Chemicals estimated that China and Southeast Asia would increase its market share in the global breathable diaper market from 20% up to 50% by 2007. For this reason, MHM would primarily focus on the market of disposable sanitary products.
Unitika explores new overseas market
Unitika is the third largest spunbonded nonwoven fabric manufacturer in Japan. It has an annual production capacity of 22,000 tons of PET/PE bi-component, PET and PA spunbond nonwovens in Japan. The company also manufactures additionally 4,000 tons of polyester-based spunbonded nonwovens through its Tusco, a joint venture with Teijin Films in Thailand. About 85% of them are exported, mainly to the US.
The company also produces spunlaced nonwoven fabrics to cover such sectors as carpet backings, geo-textiles, cable wraps, wipes, storage bags and roofing materials.
Recently, Unitika is planning to adjust their spunlaced fabric production using fibers other than cotton as raw materials. It is also working to raise the exporting rate from currently 15% to 20% through opening up new markets abroad.
Toyobo develops new materials and products
Toyobo is the fourth biggest spunbonded nonwoven roll goods producer in Japan. It has a total annual production capacity of 14,000 tons of polyester spunbonded fabrics and sells its products to air purifier manufacturers in Japan, the US and Thailand.
Four main applications for Toyobo's nonwoven products are geo-textiles, roofing sheets, carpet backings and automotive materials including interior trims and upholstery.
Spunbonded nonwovens are being developed based on such new polymers as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polyester elastomers. The new PBT fabrics are being used for new application in automotive headliners due to their high degree of flexibility and softness, while the elastomer-based nonwovens have been used in diapers.
Toray boosts production outside Japan
Toray produces 4,000 tons/year of polyester spunbonded nonwoven roll goods, but its joint venture, Toray Saehan Inc (TSI), which it established with South Korea-based Saehan in 1999, has an annual production capacity of 52,000 tons of spunbonded nonwovens.
Spunbonded nonwoven production in Japan in 2005 |
Toray is the major shareholder of TSI with a 73.2% stake, while the remaining 26.8% is controlled by Saehan Industries. At present, in the TSI facility in South Korea, there are six production lines, namely five PP spunbonded and one PET spunbonded, to produce spunbonded nonwoven roll goods with SMS, SSMMS and PP/PE bi-component technologies.
TSI registered a sales revenue of US$80 million in 2004, at a growth rate of 30%. The products find applications in the areas of sanitary and medical uses, protective textiles, agriculture, indoor decoration, filtering and geo-textiles. Regionally, half of the products were sold in South Korea, 27% to Japan and 23% to other areas.
In view of the fast-growing sanitary and medical sector in China, TSI built a new facility in Nantong, Jiangsu to meet the rising demand for nonwoven materials used in the production of diapers for babies and adults, as well as female sanitary napkins in China.
Han Tao is Project Manager of Guangzhou Fangrong Nonwovens Technical Consultant Co Ltd.
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Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Credit goes to Adsale Industry Portal when used.
We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprint any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiries, please contact the Editorial Department. |
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