A wave of nonwoven companies and their customers have recently either expanded or built new facilities in the state.
The latest is Israel’s Shalag Industries, which has announced its intention to open a new $17 million thermobonded nonwovens plant in Oxford, Granville County.
“Shalag is looking forward to becoming a successful corporate citizen in North Carolina,” said CEO Ilan Pickman. “North Carolina is a recognised centre for nonwoven manufacturing and R&D and we have identified a strong infrastructure there to support our business.”
Shalag manufactures over 40 types of fibre for the hygienic disposables and wipes sectors, with its major customers including Johnson & Johnson, Nice-Pak and Kimberly Clark.
The decision for Shalag’s new plant was made possible in part by a $110,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. Through the use of the One NC Fund, more than 40,000 jobs and $7 billion in investment have been created in North Carolina since 2001.
“North Carolina is home to more nonwoven textile plants than anywhere else in the United States” says North Carolina’s Governor, Bev Perdue. “Our business-friendly policies, superb quality of life and skilled, productive workforce are helping companies to build success in our state.”
Among other high-profile corporations investing in North Carolina over the past few years have been:
- Brazil’s Companhia Providência is currently resuming work on the plant in Stateside which it suspended last year as a result of the recession. The line, which is being built at a cost of €80 million, will add new Reicofil spunmelt capacity of an annual 20,000 tonnes for the Brazil-headquartered company.
- Jacob Holm Industries, the Swiss-headquartered producer of hydroentangled nonwoven roll goods opened its first US manufacturing facility in the western North Carolina region of Asheville, creating 70 new jobs and investing $50 million.
- Livedo Corporation chose Wilson, North Carolina for its first-ever manufacturing city located outside Japan. The producer of adult incontinence products and other nonwovens invested an estimated $35 million in establishing its US presence.
- Israel’s AFG Wipes, headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, located its first US operation in Reidsville, Rockingham County, bringing 200 jobs.
- Spuntech Industries, another Israeli wipes manufacturer established its first US manufacturing facility, creating 60 new jobs.
- Avgol Industries, which makes lightweight nonwoven materials for products such as diapers and crop protection covers, expanded its existing manufacturing facility in Mocksville and invested $27 million into the area.
- Goulston Technologies and Polyvel formed a joint venture, based at Goulston’s Monroe headquarters, to manufacture and market melt additives for the global synthetic fibre and nonnwovens industries.
- PGI, one of the world’s leading producers of nonwovens for use in medical, hygiene and industrial applications, expanded its operations in Mooresville and followed up by relocating its headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina, four years ago.
“North Carolina’s incentives were very helpful in the plans to establish our headquarters in Charlotte and the expansion at Mooresville, and we also received help with utilities,” says PGI’s chief financial officer Dennis Norman. “North Carolina is focused on getting manufacturing jobs into the state, and on top of that, it’s clearly the intellectual knowledge base for the nonwovens industry, with the consortium at North Carolina State, as well as INDA, being here.”
North Carolina State University’s Nonwovens Cooperative Research Centre (NCRC) is acknowledged as having played a pivotal role in the region’s nonwovens development.
Established as a state/industry university cooperative research centre in 1991, the NCRC’s core funding comes jointly from the State of North Carolina as well as the fees of local businesses, who recognise the value of having advanced and independent R&D facilities on their doorstep – literally all nonwovens-related companies in the region hold active membership.
“This is where companies come for assistance with training, product development, analytical services, in-plant training, research, and recruitment of new personnel,” says Dr Behnam Pourdeyhimi, the current director of the NCRC. “NCRC has become the research arm of the industry and a world class resource.”
NCRC member companies enjoy significant discounts on the work carried out within the company’s extensively-equipped labs and pilot manufacturing operations, which include those dedicated to both melt spinning and drylaid nonwovens production.
Core research programmes at NCRC are initiated from the suggestions of members and focus on industrially-relevant problems. While the resulting intellectual property belongs to NC State, all full members receive a non-exclusive, non-royalty bearing license for internal use and the right of first refusal to license any technologies exclusively.
For Dr Pourdeyhimi, there are a number of clear reasons for North Carolina’s success in attracting investment from the nonwovens industry.
“First, the state is very supportive of the industry at both county and state levels and the Department of Commerce and County Economic Development groups provide help and assistance to new companies,” he says. “At the same time, this is where it all happens. Many of the key suppliers and technical needs of the industry can be met within a short radius of North Carolina or the neighboring states”.
“Partnerships are another key factor”, he adds, with universities and the Department of Commerce and Economic Development groups working together.
“The US nonwovens trade organisation, INDA, has become the economic and lobbying arm of the industry and the partnership between INDA and NCRC is a strong one. The Research Triangle Park area is also home to many other industry-focused organisations, so it’s where help can be found with almost any conceivable need.”
North Carolina is also the home of INDA, and its president Rory Holmes adds that a number of factors are driving companies to the state.
“They range from the state’s already-established technological and manufacturing presence, to an ambitiously financed, organised and even global campaign by the North Carolina commerce department,” he said. “A skilled and technologically-proficient labour pool has also apparently been a consideration for companies, and then there is the local university system, with 16 campuses offering training programmes. As a result there’s a built-in population of qualified labour candidates. This is all part of the incentive. And the quality of life shouldn’t be overlooked, either.”
“It is just an absolutely wonderful place to live. We enjoy favourable weather. We still have four seasons, but the winter is short-lived. I think that goes a long way. I’m certainly pleased that I live here.”
The companies of North Carolina – and indeed, those from the USA in general – will be heavily represented at the next INDEX – the leading show for the nonwovens sector which takes place at Geneva Palexpo from April 12-15 2011.
