Editorial: Small-Scale and Niche Applications for Nonwoven Specialities Can Reach Huge Markets

Technical textile and nonwovens manufacturers are gaining repeat orders and profiting from a steady flow of income by making materials that are precisely engineered for niche markets. Furthermore, as long as such markets remain niche, suppliers can operate more or less free of competition. Suppliers of nonwoven materials have benefited from a surge in demand for face masks incorporating specialist meltblown filters as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also, they are witnessing a rise in demand for cores for the rapid lateral flow antigen test (LFT) kits which are being used to test for COVID-19. Each LFT kit incorporates only a small amount of nonwoven material but the total amount required for millions of kits is huge. The UK government alone secured an order for more than 400 mn LFT kits in January 2021 and other countries are adopting the technology for their own mass testing programmes. Moreover, with no signs of an early end to the pandemic, global demand for such kits will continue to grow.

In this report, Robin Anson analyses the activities of a number of technical textile and nonwovens manufacturers who are leading the way in niche markets, including 3M, BWF Protec, ELG Carbon Fibre, and Porex Corporation.