Fitesa pursues expansion initiatives

CONFIRMING expansion plan announcements made in previous months, Brazilian spunmelt maker Fitesa has recently provided details about company augmentation efforts. 

The firm is gearing up to build a new nonwovens manufacturing site in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This second facility in Brazil will complement operations in Gravesend, which has been active since 2006, and will be equipped for multiple lines. The first line will be a state-of-the-art spunmelt line capable of making 20,000 tons of material per year. It is targeted to start commercial operation by the first quarter of next year.  

Fitesa will also boost its existing capacity in Lima, Peru with an additional 5,000 tons. This facility in South America was added three years ago when the firm was still in a joint partnership with Fiberweb.

A new spunmelt line is currently under construction in Norrk?ping, Sweden. The site, which was acquired from Fiberweb in 2011, was expanded in 2006 with the addition of a 20,000-ton Reicofil 4 line. The 5.2 meter line was said to add nearly 50% capacity to the site at the time.

In the US, Fitesa’s second line located in Simpsonville, South Carolina, is in startup mode with an additional 20,000 tons capacity. 

In China, the company’s operations are not focused on the spunmelt market. It has instead added a new carded line in Tianjin for air through-bonded and resin-bonded product. The site also houses an airlaid line.