As the demand for disposable wipes continues to be driven by infection control measures, consumer demand for convenience and the general proliferation of new products in this category, spunlaced nonwovens manufacturers have made stable production line investments in both developed and developing markets. These new production lines not only increase the overall global capacity of the technology, but also broaden the raw material selection of manufacturers seeking more sustainable solutions for customers.
According to a report recently released by the 2019 coronavirus Disease Institute, 2021 spunlaced nonwovens worldwide are expected to reach US 7.8 billion, as new wet towel production lines are added to cope with the surge in demand caused by covid-19.
The technology is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1 percent from 2021 to 2026, as increased concerns about infection control will help Spunlace production resist any declining decline. This will result in a total market value of more than 12 billion in 2026, as manufacturers will also benefit from the widespread use of this material in coating substrates and sanitary applications.
Smithers' data set shows that during the same period, the total tonnage of spunlaced nonwovens will increase from 1.65 million tons (2021) to 2.38 million tons (2026). The production of spunlaced nonwovens will rise from 39.57 billion square meters (2021) to 62.49 billion square meters (2026) - equivalent to a compound annual growth rate of 9.6 percent - as manufacturers introduce lighter base weight nonwovens.
Marco Fano, chief marketing officer of Autefa solutions, an equipment supplier, said the demand for sustainable nonwovens was clear and was a major topic when discussing various areas of spunlaced nonwovens (from wet wipes to geotextiles and clothing) with customers.
He added: "the fact that the energy consumption of spunlaced products can be reduced by 30 percent compared with the existing traditional Spunlaced technology is opening up new markets, even for high-end products such as artificial leather and other sustainable products based on natural leather waste.".
The Autefa solution helps to increase the importance of resource conservation. V-jet fuel injectors enable customers to modernize existing production lines using the latest Autefa technology. Topliner series cross lapping machines are combined with webmax and closed-loop system to prevent the increase of fabric weight in the edge area, which is called smile effect. This makes the fabric have excellent uniformity, and reduces the material cost due to saving a lot of materials.
As a global market leader in spunlaced nonwovens and other wiping substrates, sominin is a leader in sustainability. "Sustainability is increasingly important to our customers and other stakeholders," said Lynda Kelly, senior vice president. "We help our customers achieve their environmental goals by providing them with products made from renewable, recycled, compostable and plastic free raw materials."
These new products include biolace pure, a 100 percent plant-based product with excellent cleaning ability, biolace bamboo, a bamboo based substrate. Both products have obvious advantages in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and reducing environmental impact.
As part of the business strategy focusing on sustainable development launched last year, sominin aims to increase the sales of sustainable development products by 50 percent by 2025 and launch more than 10 sustainable development products every year.