The UK technical textile industry: part 1-five larger producers and UK operations of foreign companies
A significant technical textile industry has emerged in the UK in recent decades, consisting of: a number of major publicly listed companies with headquarters in the UK; operations belonging to companies whose headquarters are overseas; and a substantial tier of privately owned small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) which have proved particularly resilient in the face of overseas competition and are adept at finding profitable niche markets and applications for their products. This report is the first in a series and examines the activities in technical textiles of five larger UK-based publicly listed companies -- Coats, Essentra, Fiberweb, Low & Bonar and James Cropper -- as well as the UK operations of nine major companies whose headquarters are not in the UK, namely Ahlstrom, Autoneum, Freudenberg, Glatfelter, Hollingsworth & Vose, IAC (International Automotive Components), Kimberly-Clark, Nice-Pak Products and Owens Corning.
SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
COATS
Ownership
Internationalisation
Size and structure
Industrial Division
Crafts Division
Sales by geographical region
ESSENTRA
Company structure
Component and Protection Solutions
Packaging and Securing Solutions
Filter Products
Porous Technologies
FIBERWEB
Ownership
Markets
Investments
Acquisitions, consolidations, demergers and divestments
Acquisition of Reemay
Demerger of BBA Nonwovens to form Fiberweb
Sale of wipes business
Formation of FitesaFiberweb and divestment of the Hygiene business
Acquisition of Boddingtons
Acquisition of Tubex
Consolidation of Boddingtons, Terram and Tubex
Acquisition of Companhia Provid?ncia
LOW & BONAR
Company development
JAMES CROPPER: TECHNICAL FIBRE PRODUCTS
Products and markets
Optiveil and Optimat
Tecnofire
Power generation and storage
Supacool cryogenic tissues
Recycled carbon fibre
MAJOR NON-UK TECHNICAL TEXTILES AND NONWOVENS
COMPANIES WITH UK MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS
Ahlstrom
Autoneum
Freudenberg
Glatfelter
Hollingsworth & Vose
IAC (International Automotive Components)
Kimberly-Clark
Nice-Pak Products
Owens Corning
INTRODUCTION
COATS
Ownership
Internationalisation
Size and structure
Industrial Division
Crafts Division
Sales by geographical region
ESSENTRA
Company structure
Component and Protection Solutions
Packaging and Securing Solutions
Filter Products
Porous Technologies
FIBERWEB
Ownership
Markets
Investments
Acquisitions, consolidations, demergers and divestments
Acquisition of Reemay
Demerger of BBA Nonwovens to form Fiberweb
Sale of wipes business
Formation of FitesaFiberweb and divestment of the Hygiene business
Acquisition of Boddingtons
Acquisition of Tubex
Consolidation of Boddingtons, Terram and Tubex
Acquisition of Companhia Provid?ncia
LOW & BONAR
Company development
JAMES CROPPER: TECHNICAL FIBRE PRODUCTS
Products and markets
Optiveil and Optimat
Tecnofire
Power generation and storage
Supacool cryogenic tissues
Recycled carbon fibre
MAJOR NON-UK TECHNICAL TEXTILES AND NONWOVENS
COMPANIES WITH UK MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS
Ahlstrom
Autoneum
Freudenberg
Glatfelter
Hollingsworth & Vose
IAC (International Automotive Components)
Kimberly-Clark
Nice-Pak Products
Owens Corning
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Coats: financial performance, 2009-13
Table 2: Essentra: financial performance 2009-13
Table 3: Essentra: breakdown of Porous Technologies revenue by end use market, 2013
Table 4: BBA Nonwovens and Fiberweb: acquisitions, 1989-2010
Table 5: Low & Bonar: financial performance, 2009-13
Table 6: Low & Bonar: key acquisitions and formations of joint ventures, 2003-13
Table 7: Low & Bonar: revenue by division, 2013
Table 8: Low & Bonar: companies, operations, markets served and products by division, 2013
Table 9: Technical Fibre Products: financial performance. 2009/10-2013/14
Table 1: Coats: financial performance, 2009-13
Table 2: Essentra: financial performance 2009-13
Table 3: Essentra: breakdown of Porous Technologies revenue by end use market, 2013
Table 4: BBA Nonwovens and Fiberweb: acquisitions, 1989-2010
Table 5: Low & Bonar: financial performance, 2009-13
Table 6: Low & Bonar: key acquisitions and formations of joint ventures, 2003-13
Table 7: Low & Bonar: revenue by division, 2013
Table 8: Low & Bonar: companies, operations, markets served and products by division, 2013
Table 9: Technical Fibre Products: financial performance. 2009/10-2013/14
