Nonwovens leader Ahlstrom is investing €2 million in a new laminator to support filtration customers at its Louveira plant in Brazil.

With a planned installation in 2023, the equipment is expected to be fully operational by the first quarter of 2024 and will enable customers to be offered shorter lead-times and improved local technical support.

“Along with optimising the logistics workflow, the new unit will enable us to be closer to our customers and provide them with the flexibility needed to deliver best in class filtration solutions in South America,” said Andre Pereira, head of sales for Latin America. “This investment is an additional step in our ambition to strengthen our global leadership in filtration. It completes a series of investments in the past few years to strengthen the company’s global footprint and widen our high-performance offering in filtration segments.”

These investments have included a new saturator and glass fibre tissue line in Madisonville, Kentucky, a machine rebuild in Binzhou, capacity expansions in Fabriano, Italy, and Malmedy, Belgium, and a new production line in Turin, Italy.

“This investment addresses some of the current and future challenges of our customers in South America which include manufacturing flexibility and robust supply chain at regional level,” said Willy Bordignon, VP of Filtration Americas. “It also demonstrates our commitment to expanding product portfolio and to address the demands for lower emission engines in the region for EURO 5 and EURO 6 standards.”

Louveira is located in São Paulo state about 70km away from the state capital. It manufactures filter media for the transportation and industrial segments and is certified with IATF, ISO9001-2015, ISO45001 and ISO14001, employing 120 people.

www.ahlstrom.com