American Truetzschler Considers North Carolina Expansion as Nonwovens Industry Grows

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Textile machinery manufacturer, American Truetzschler, Incorporated (Charlotte, North Carolina), a subsidiary of Truetzschler GmbH & Company KG (Moenchengladbach, Germany), is presently considering an expansion at its Charlotte, North Carolina plant in order to keep up with an increasing demand for synthetic nonwoven fabrics.

Plans to expand the existing 125,000-square-foot plant by 40,000 square feet are under discussion at this time and are expected to play out over the next two years. The expansion will require a $35 million investment and should ensure that Truetzschler’s will keep pace with the growth of the industry as a whole.

Truetzschler makes the machinery used in the manufacturing of nonwoven fabrics. In 2004, Truetzschler added new production lines so that it could assume responsibility for the manufacturing and global supply of the parent company's nonwovens machinery line, including bale openers, weighing bale openers, mixers, and cleaners. Its scanfeed for roller card is a double trunk tuft feeder with pneumatic compression available in widths of up to five meters.

North Carolina has become somewhat of a center for the manufacturing of nonwoven fabrics and products made from them, which includes everything from hospital gowns, sheets, and pillowcases to floor-mopping products to diapers and wet-wipes to adult incontinence products. Truetzschler is in good company in North Carolina, surrounded as it is by many nonwovens-related industries.

PGI Nonwovens, a subsidiary of Polymer Group, Incorporated (North Charleston, South Carolina), is investing $40 million to install a new production line at its Mooresville nonwovens fabric plant. PGI also has a plant in Benson, North Carolina, that makes medical gowns for patients.

Jacob Holm Industries, a U.S. subsidiary of Jacob Holm & Sons (Allschwil, Switzerland), has recently constructed a plant in Enka, North Carolina, a $40 million investment, which is due to open this month.

N.R. Spuntech Industries, Limited (Tel Aviv, Israel) is moving into a new facility in Roxboro and expects to be operational by November. Spuntech bought the former Wolverine plant and is spending $27.5 million to renovate it. Once the plant becomes operational, all production and headquarter offices will move to Roxboro from Spuntech’s present offices in Connecticut.

LiveDo Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) has an operational plant near Greensboro, in the town of Wilson, where production began in December of 2004. The company bought an existing 132,000 square-foot building in Wilson Corporate Park and is investing $35 million to renovate the building and plans to eventually hire 75 workers.

Avgol Nonwovens, another Tel Aviv, Israel-based company, opened a plant in Mocksville in 2001, investing $24 million in a building that had formerly been intended as a Unifi facility, but which Unifi never completed and sold to Avgol. In 2004, Avgol decided to invest another $27 million for a second nonwovens line addition, a project that began in January 2005 and was completed in August.

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