Global Technical Textiles Business Update, 1st quarter 2009

Table of Contents

• SUMMARY
• ACQUISITIONS
• 3M has completed its acquisition of the Futuro health supports and compression hosiery product line from Beiersdorf
• Adidas' s acquisition of Textronics suggests a potential mass market for wearable sensors
• Benninger has sold its weaving preparation division to Karl Mayer
• DSM has agreed to sell Solutech to Lydall Polyamide High Performance (PHP) has acquired Diolen Industrial Fibers and renamed it Polyester
• High Performance
• TenCate intends to take a holding in the synthetic turf company TigerTurf

• BUSINESS NEWS
• A US court has ruled against Zoltek and in favour of Gurit concerning a dispute over a 10-year carbon fibre supply agreement
• DSM Dyneema has won a patent battle in Europe with Teijin Aramid
• Fiberweb has announced plant closures in France, Germany and Sweden
• Teijin has reorganised its High Performance Fibers Business Group into an Aramid Fibers Business
• Group and a Carbon Fibers Business Group

• INVESTMENTS
• Bayer MaterialScience is investing in the world' s biggest plant for producing carbon nanotubes
• Elmarco has moved to a new research, development and production centre for nanofibre technology in Liberec
• Teijin has delayed its plans to build a new facility for producing Technora ultra-fine para-aramid powder

• JOINT VENTURES
• Avgol and Elmarco will cooperate in the manufacture of nonwoven fabrics using a technique based on Nanospider technology

• MARKETS
• The US advanced wound care market will be worth US$6.0 bn in 2013
• US demand for coated fabrics is forecast to reach 655 mn square yards in 2012
• US demand for geosynthetics is forecast to reach 905 mn square yards in 2012

List of tables

• Table 1: USA: demand for coated fabrics, 2002-12
• Table 2: USA: demand for geosynthetics, 2002-12