The filtration market is one of the fastest growing segments in the nonwoven industry. Increasing consumer demand for clean air and drinking water, as well as increasingly stringent regulations worldwide, are the main growth drivers for the filtration market. Filtration media manufacturers are focusing on new product development, investment and growth in new markets to maintain a leading edge in this important field of nonwovens.
product innovation
Bondex is a member of Andrew Industries, a UK-based multinational company. Brian Little, the company's senior vice president of sales and marketing, said that Bondex's parent company has always regarded the filtration industry as a strategic market because the technical and commercial requirements in this field are in line with Andrew Industries's core competencies in quality, service and innovation, "Achieving this balance in terms of filtration efficiency and plant output is driving the growth of pleatable filter media and new materials."
A recent innovation of Bondex is the Hydrolox and Hydrolox HCE products produced using unique process technology. The Hydrolox adopts ultra-high pressure hydroentanglement. It is a new type of high-strength filter felt. Its pore size is finer than that of needle felt. Compared with the existing filter felt, it has higher filtration efficiency. At the same time, Bondex combined its process technology with ultra-fine fibers and split fibers to develop the Hydrolox HCE, which represents "high collection efficiency" and can obtain the same filtration efficiency as the coated needle felt. Bondex launched Hydrolox in 2017 and expanded its Hydrolox portfolio beyond aramid, polyester and PPS, and now includes PTFE blends (which will be commercialized this fall). "We expect that the Hydrolox HCE product of aramid/PTFE will provide filtration efficiency comparable to that of the coating, which makes it possible to use it in various applications where the filtration efficiency of the coated needle felt will be affected." Little said.
Bondex has also developed a pleatable polyester Hydrolox product to meet the growing market demand for pleatable filter media. "We understand the growing demand for higher filtration performance in the market, so we designed our Hydrolox to meet these needs without sacrificing breathability," explains Little. "As industry needs continue to change, the filtration market needs companies that can develop innovative solutions to achieve growth. Our Hydrolox range of products can provide high-value solutions to these challenging customers."
Focus on indoor air quality
Increasing awareness that dust, mold, pollution, bacteria and allergens in indoor air pose a range of associated health risks is driving the continued growth of the filtration market. "Globally, we continue to see a growing interest in improving health and productivity, and there is a growing awareness that time spent in workplaces, schools and public indoor spaces affects people's health and productivity," said Juliana Khouri, Kimberly-Clark (Kimberley) Professional marketing manager, it is essential to achieve good indoor air quality (IAQ) and help building occupants avoid related health risks." Kimberly-Clark offers a range of non-woven air filtration media. Among them, Intrepid high-loft bicomponent spunbond media are commonly used in filter cartridges, bag filters, and separator-free filters (MERV 7 to MERV 15) for commercial and institutional HVAC systems; low-loft media is commonly used in rigid pleated applications, including automotive filters and air purifiers.
"Kimberly-Clark's professional air filter media meets the requirements for improved indoor air quality and reduced energy consumption/cost," Khouri said. "The key to meeting these requirements is the electret charge of the nonwoven filter media, which provides high initial and Continuous particle capture efficiency and low airflow resistance."
New acquisitions
Lydall recently acquired the Precision Custom Coatings(PCC) precision filtration business. The PCC Precision Filtration business is a premium supplier of high quality air filtration media, primarily for the commercial and residential HVAC markets, from MERV 7 to MERV 11. With this acquisition, Lydall can provide customers with a full range of air filtration media from low-efficiency MERV 7 to high-performance ULPA.
In addition, the acquisition further enhances Lydall's flexibility in production, planning and logistics, thereby providing better service to new and existing customers.
"We are very excited about the acquisition of PCC's filtration business because it fits perfectly with our strategy to continue to strengthen the high-quality products that our customers value in the filtration space," said Paul Marold, president of Lydall Performance Materials. "PCC has developed a series of excellent products and has also established a strong relationship with our customer base, which makes it a perfect transition into Lydall's Performance Materials business."
Lydall has focused on investing in recent years. The company recently acquired Interface Performance Materials, a provider of sealing solutions. In 2016, Lydall acquired MGF Gutsche, a German needle manufacturer, and Texel, a Canadian needle manufacturer, before acquiring Andrew Industries's bag filter business in 2015.
Expansion to new markets
Since its establishment in 1941, auto parts supplier Mann Hummel has made a significant contribution to the development of filtration technology. The company now offers a wide range of filtration systems, including automotive OEM systems and components, automotive aftermarket products, industrial filters, and water filtration products.
Miriam Teige, the company's corporate communications manager, said that their goal is to seek new markets independent of the automotive industry-about 90% of the company's business is currently connected to internal combustion engines and related fields. Mann Hummel is pursuing this goal through acquisitions outside the automotive industry, including the recent acquisition of Tri-Dim Filter's building filtration business.
Mann Hummel completed the acquisition of Tri-Dim, an air filtration company, at the end of August. The latter focuses on air filtration for a variety of commercial and industrial applications, including hospitals, schools, automotive plants and paint booths, data centers, food and beverage equipment, and many more commercial environments. "Mann Hummel is committed to expanding the air and water filtration business, so we are very excited about the addition of Tri-Dim team." Håkan Ekberg, vice president of Mann Hummel's life sciences and environmental business unit.
"This initiative reflects our continued commitment to product innovation, customer service and growth," said Teige. "We also want to leverage Mann Hummel's practical experience in operations, distribution and logistics systems to provide Tri-Dim with the nutrients for rapid growth."
See growth opportunities
Some of the major factors affecting the filtration market and contributing to its continued growth include: the development of large cities, the increase in the number of vehicles on the road, and stricter regulations on indoor air quality. Peter Reich, deputy director of product sales for Sandler filtration, said that these require new product solutions.
In particular, he added that the increasingly stringent requirements for indoor air quality have also brought new international standards for filtration performance, such as the ISO 16890 standard. "Product development in the filtration industry is responding to these changes. Filter media must provide high filtration performance and energy efficiency." He explained. In this market, the continuing trend towards fully synthetic filter media creates additional growth opportunities for Sandler.
Sandler develop and produce synthetic filter media for use in HVAC applications, the transportation industry, vacuum cleaner bags, as well as customized special filters for liquid filtration and medical and hygiene applications. The product range includes fiber-based nonwovens and melt-blown filter media, suitable for G1-E11/MERV 1-16 grade filters, and all ISO16890 efficiency ranges.
Sandler bag and pleated filter media are made of ultra-fine fibers, using sub-micron fibers, and therefore have a large inner surface to help improve mechanical deposition. "They combine long-lasting high filtration performance and long service life." Reich explained. The result of its latest development is a filter medium for activated carbon filters. "With these filter media, the function of an activated carbon filter can be combined with the best particle filtration efficiency of non-woven media in a durable product, which can be used for in-car air filtration in vehicles." Reich added that filtering has always been an important business segment for Sandler, and as with all segments, they work closely with their customers to develop new products.
"In general, the filtration industry has a great demand for innovation, product development is ongoing all the time, and new norms and standards are changing the market," he said. "Given new legislation and environmental issues, the importance of the filtration industry may increase every day. Major trends such as electric vehicles, as well as new players from regions such as China, are bringing new growth potential and challenges to this market.
New standards, new challenges
In the air filtration market, the German TWE Group offers a range of filter media. "With the introduction of the new standard ISO 16890, the market needs new 100% synthetic media with higher filtration efficiency." TWE Group Air Filtration Sales Manager Marcel Boersma. TWE's R & D department has been working hard to achieve this goal and will release new products in the third quarter of 2019.
"With these new products, we will be able to capture more opportunities in the market and also add value," Boersma explained. "Glass fiber has a long tradition in the filtration business, but we believe that for people who use the media and process it into a complete filter, synthetic fiber-based filter media will bring a better impact on their health."
TWE's latest achievement in the liquid filtration market is the ParaJet evo, a new addition to the ParaJet product range. These products are made from a fiber mixture of polyester and micropolyester fibers by cross-lapping and hydroentangling. Due to the use of the new fiber mixture, a higher separation efficiency can be achieved. It can be used in metal processing, automobiles, steel rolling mills, wire drawing, tool manufacturing and other applications.
Boersma believe that the growth potential of the filtration market is huge. "Our goal is to be a valued partner for our customers. The range of customers is so diverse that the filtration market is challenging and we are happy to meet that challenge."
