With the spread of Covid-19 worldwide, the demand for wipes is still high, especially the demand for disinfection wipes and disinfection wipes, which has also stimulated the demand for spunlace nonwovens and other materials .
According to Smithers' research report "The Future of Global Nonwoven Wipes to 2025" (The Future of Global Nonwoven Wipes to 2025), data shows that in 2020 the world's spunlace nonwovens for the production of wipes are expected to consume 877,700 Tons of materials, an increase from 777,700 tons in 2019.
The total value (calculated at constant prices) has increased from 11.71 billion U.S. dollars in 2019 to 13.08 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. According to Smithers, due to the impact of Covid-19, non-woven wipes, which were originally dispensable in the family budget, have become an indispensable item. Therefore, Smithers predicts that the annual growth rate (in terms of sales volume) will be 8.8%. By 2025, global consumption will reach 1.28 billion tons, with a total value of 18.1 billion US dollars.
David Price, a partner of Price Hanna Consultants, said: "Like other non-woven technologies, Covid-19 has reduced competition among spunlace manufacturers. Since the mid-first quarter of 2020, all wipes markets have been exposed to spunlace Demand for nonwoven substrates is high. This is especially true for disinfectant wipes, as are baby and personal care wipes."
Price said that since the second quarter of 2020, the global spunlace nonwoven production line has been operating at full capacity. "Due to the impact of Covid-19, we expect that by 2021 and the first half of 2022, we will make full efforts to produce spunlace nonwovens."
Serkan Gogus, CEO of Turkish nonwoven fabric manufacturer Mogul, said that Covid-19 has led to a significant increase in the demand for spunlace, especially in the use of disinfectant wipes. He believes that the pandemic has formed some habit of using disinfectant wipes, even after Covid-19 is over, the demand will still exist.
He said: "For a certain period of time, the supply cannot meet the demand." He added that the company will soon have a large amount of production capacity into production. "In the next few years, we will face fierce competition."
Paul Harmon, product vice president of Berry International's HHS Division, said that the global spunlace nonwovens market is still tight, and the demand for cleaning and medical substrates continues to be strong. He added: "In the past few months, spunlace nonwovens manufacturers have announced several investment plans, showing confidence in the market. We have also seen all major players extend the delivery time of the equipment. There is no doubt that , Covid-19 has changed the market in the short to medium term. We have seen strong evidence of changes in consumer behavior, increasing the use of disposable cleaning wipes."
Sandler, a German nonwovens manufacturer, said that the demand for materials used to make wet wipes is also increasing. "After the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for wipes production materials has grown exponentially and may still remain high," said Carolin Weber, Sandler's Director of Hygienic Products Sales. "Especially disinfectant wipes. Many people are used to it. Take disinfectant wipes with you, because they are always available under any circumstances."
Sandler's headquarters in Schwarzenbach/Salle, Germany, and its plant in Perry, Georgia, USA, are producing non-woven fabrics for the weaving of sanitary products and disinfectant wipes. She added: "Working with customers around the world, Sandler has contributed to ensuring the continued availability of these products."
Weber said that in recent years, the spunlace market has been growing steadily and continues to grow in Europe and globally. "Spunlace nonwovens are used in a variety of applications, and the competition in this market is very fierce." In addition, new areas of use are constantly emerging, providing further opportunities for growth. New players enter the market regularly, constantly changing the competitive landscape. Therefore, innovation and long-term relationships with customers and suppliers are essential for growth.
Fibertex said its spunlace nonwovens in North America, South America and Europe have grown healthily in recent years, and the supply and demand dynamics of spunlaced nonwovens have undergone major changes. Jonathan Layer, Business Development Manager of Fibertex Americas, said: "As the brand hopes to capture and protect market share in the evolving landscape, the demand for domestic supply is particularly strong, with the focus on supply chain assurance, quality and innovation."
In Asia, Taiwan's non-woven fabric manufacturer KNH said that the demand for anti-virus products such as wet wipes, surgical gowns and protective clothing has greatly increased, resulting in a shortage of spunlace non-woven fabrics in the market. In response to strong demand, especially from Asia, KNH is developing new production lines to supply more spunlace non-woven fabrics. Allen Huang, Executive Vice President of KNH Global ODEM Sales, said: "Demand will be met in 2021, but we expect that after the epidemic, the supply of spunlace nonwovens may exceed demand." Allen added, in addition to meeting general wiping materials To meet the demand, KNH will target new areas of spunlace nonwovens, including medical and technical applications. Therefore, the company plans to invest more in the development of advanced spunlace equipment and materials in 2021. "These products will target cosmetics, medical and electronic wipe materials, advanced protective work clothes and other products." He said.
Although wipes consume most of the spunlace nonwovens, in recent years, manufacturers have been exploring and expanding to other markets, such as hygiene, medical, filtration and other fields.
Robust Medical has seen many spunlace non-woven fabrics used in surgical gowns, protective clothing and masks. "Compared with spunbond and SMS materials, cotton spunlace non-woven fabrics are softer and more breathable," said Mandy Gu, PurCotton Division Manager of Robust Medical.
Asad Ali, marketing manager of Pakistani cotton supplier Ihsan Sons, said that although the company's local products in Pakistan are mainly Sateen Soft wipes, its export sales are concentrated in the field of feminine hygiene. He said: "With the increasing awareness of women on the health and ecological footprint of products in the traditional period, the female health care market is increasingly adapting to 100% cotton spunlace non-woven fabrics." "Comfortable, soft and hypoallergenic. It is the main driving force for women in feminine hygiene products, which makes 100% cotton spunlace nonwovens the right choice."
Recently, Ihsan Sons started a research and development project with a customer for diaper manufacturing. In addition, the use of 100% cotton spunlace nonwovens in beauty care products such as cosmetic ammunition and face masks is becoming more and more important.
In addition to wet wipes, Sandler's spunlace nonwovens have been used in sanitary and technical applications. Weber said: "We can use different technologies, which also allows us to combine material properties to further enhance functionality."
In the technical field, spunlace nonwovens are used as processing aids or covering nonwovens, and these nonwovens are used in the automotive industry and the like.
At the same time, Bondex Inc., a nonwoven fabric manufacturer based in South Carolina, produces spunlace nonwovens for filtration and other special applications. The company is part of Andrew Industries, an industrial filtration specialist, and invested US$20 million in 2016 to expand into hydroentanglement spunlace products. The company's product range also includes flat and point-bonded nonwovens, as well as a variety of laminated and coated products.
Bondex's spunlace technology is designed to produce filter media for industrial applications. Bondex President Brian Little said: “The hydraulic entanglement that occurs during this process produces a strong material with a smaller pore size than the needle-punched equivalent.” “Compared with existing materials, due to the smaller pore size, the hydro-entanglement medium Demonstrates excellent filtration efficiency performance. When industrial applications require high-efficiency filtration media, spunlace non-woven fabrics should be considered."
