EDANA, the leading global association
serving the nonwovens and related industries, disclosed its preliminary 2016
annual statistics. Per the figures collected and compiled by EDANA, the overall
production of nonwovens in Europe grew by 2.5% in volume in 2016 to reach
2,378,700 tonnes despite an uncertain economic climate.
While growth in output in the European
Union outperformed Greater Europe overall, some countries demonstrated
impressive development.
Jacques Prigneaux, EDANA’s Market Analysis
and Economic Affairs Director said: “Germany, Italy and Spain all witnessed
growth, with Spain’s particularly impressive at 5%, while recent star performer
Turkey remained stable, more than compensating for the minor decline recorded
in some other European markets.”
Divergent trends were also observed between
the various production processes of nonwovens. The production of fibre-based
materials Drylaid and Short-Fibre Airlaid technologies for example recorded an
increase of 2.2% and 2.9% respectively, while Wetlaid remained relatively
stable.
Spunmelt nonwovens recorded a growth rate
of 3.3%, reaching a production total of 1 million tonnes for the very first
time. The highest growth rate was observed in material produced via the
air-through bonding process, with a 13.1% increase.
Although the primary main end-use for
nonwovens continues to be the hygiene market, with a 30.7% share of deliveries
(by weight), significant growth areas for nonwovens were recorded in other
sectors; agriculture and garments (both recording double digit growth), air
filtration (+3.2%), construction (+4.5%) and food and beverage (+4.2%).
Countering this, a minor decline of -1% was
recorded in the automotive industry. Medical and personal care wipes sectors
both remained stable with a very slight fall of 0.4%.
Pierre Wiertz, General Manager of EDANA
said “For over 40 years, the annual EDANA statistics – the most comprehensive
report of its kind – have proved an invaluable source of business intelligence
for our member companies, offering unparalleled insight into the industry
thanks to exhaustive research and direct input from producers.”