Oerlikon has signed an agreement to acquire the entire staple fibres technology portfolio of Trützschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibers, Egelsbach, Germany.

The company is part of the German Truetzschler Group, which is a specialist in fibre preparation for the yarn spinning and nonwovens industries. The acquisition expands the Manmade Fibers Segment’s technology portfolio and opens up access to new customers in the market for synthetic staple fibres.

“The former Fleissner staple fibres technology portfolio of Trützschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibers GmbH is an ideal fit for our business. It enhances our existing technology offering and broadens our service business,” commented Georg Stausberg, CEO of Oerlikon’s Manmade Fibers Segment.

Consolidation

Oerlikon is strengthening its technology and market position in its core business areas by taking advantage of the ongoing consolidation in the chemical fibres market, which was triggered by the market downturn in China.

With the acquisition of the former Fleissner staple fibres technology portfolio and the intellectual property (IP) of Trützschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibers, the Segment aims to become the leading technology and equipment provider in the staple fibres market. The acquisition expands the Manmade Fibers Segment’s staple fibres technology expertise and broadens the Segment’s customer base and service business in the respective areas.

New opportunities

“The acquisition of the staple fibres technology portfolio of Truetzschler is another important step in line with our strategy to strengthen our position outside the filament business, where we occupy a leading technology and market position,” said Dr Roland Fischer, CEO of the Oerlikon Group.

“The ongoing consolidation in the chemical fibres market presents interesting opportunities and we are taking this step to ensure that the Manmade Fibers Segment will merge stronger from the current market weakness and profit from the positive long-term market perspectives.”

Staple fibres technology

Staple fibres technology is one of the core technologies within the manmade fibres industry. In 2015, the produced staple fibres amounted to 18.5 million tons, or some 33% of the total synthetic fibres capacity.

Synthetic staple fibres are produced by the main conversion steps: polymer production, spinning further down to baling. The liquid polymer is either produced in a polycondensation plant or polymer chips are melted in an extrusion line. Staple fibres are made from different polymers, including: polyester, polypropylene, polyamide, recycled materials (rPET) or renewable polymers (such as polylactic acid, PLA).

Those fibres are used in various applications such as apparels, nonwoven fabric production, reinforcement, filling, insulation and further special applications.

www.oerlikon.com/manmade-fibers