Following the investment announcement made in May, Fitesa has released further information about new equipment and debottlenecking/upgrade projects that will increase the company’s capacity by 55,000 MT/year.

Latin America will lead the capacity expansion with a new multibeam Reicofil 5 line to be installed at Cosmópolis (Brazil). Construction is in an advanced stage and the line will arrive in July 2021. Once this new line is installed the site will become the most advanced spunmelt nonwovens production location in the region, Fitesa says.

In Gravataí (Brazil), an upgraded and redesigned meltblown line started 3 months ago to produce N95 meltblown grades and help the fight against COVID19. In addition to the above-mentioned line, an additional state of the art Reicofil meltblown equipment is being assembled to start before the end of 2020.

The total investment in the region will increase Fitesa’s production capacity by 30,000 MT/year and triple the company’s pure meltblown supply availability, fulfilling the rising demand from the healthcare and hygiene markets.

Stand-alone meltblown capacity is also being added in other regions, with new machine start-ups coming on stream in November 2020 at the plant in Trezzano Rosa (Italy), before Christmas 2020 in Peine (Germany) and in January 2021 in Simpsonville (USA). These lines will complement Fitesa’s product portfolio in Europe and North America with high quality filters for surgical face masks and respirators.

In addition to the above-mentioned investments Fitesa is adding projects to increase production volumes, modernize the assets, and enhance the flexibility of the current asset base. As a result, in Q2 and Q3 2021 another 20,000 MT/year of spunmelt capacity (evenly split between the USA and Europe) will become commercial to continue serving the healthcare and hygiene markets with nonwovens for medical gowns, drapes, diapers and sanitary products.

“2020 has been a challenging year for all of us. I am pleased with our ability to respond fast in approving new investments that continue to expand our presence in the hygiene and healthcare markets, while also moving forward with important existing projects”, says Silverio Baranzano, Fitesa’s CEO.

The aforementioned existing projects include the acquisition of Freudenberg Hygiene Brazil, Fiber Dynamics and Tredegar Personal Care, as well as the start-up of a new Reicofil 5 in November of 2020 in Thailand, which all together adds an additional 130,000 MT/year to the company’s portfolio.

Fitesa will also by the end of 2020 have significantly increased its participation in the films and elastics market, while consolidating its position as one of the largest spunmelt manufacturers worldwide.

Fitesa is one of the world’s largest nonwovens manufacturers specialising in the development of innovative solutions for the hygiene and healthcare markets by utilizing a broad range of technologies, including spunbond, spunmelt, meltblown, carded, airlaid, films and elastics. Headquartered in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Fitesa employs over 2500 people in 22 manufacturing locations across 13 countries: Brazil, China, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Sweden, Thailand, UAE and USA.

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