PFÄFFIKON – Germany’s Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier t handed over the first notice of funding to Innovatec GmbH in Troisdorf, as part of the country’s recently-launched nonwovens production funding program.
The North Rhine-Westphalian company intends to produce an additional 1,500 tons of nonwoven per year with two newly-installed and subsidised meltblown lines, one of which is from Oerlikon Nonwoven. The additional volume will enable the production of more than 1.5 billion protective masks.
Innovatec GmbH has invested a double-digit million euro amount in the two new production lines for meltblown nonwovens, both made in Germany
“We are very proud to have been involved in this project from the beginning and to be able to actively support such an important nonwoven producer as Innovatec with our meltblown technology,” said Rainer Straub, head of Oerlikon Nonwoven.
“We want to significantly expand production capacities for protective equipment in Germany and thus effectively reduce our dependence on imports,” said Altmaier. “Our long-term goal is to cover the entire value chain – from machines to nonwovens and protective masks. The investment by Innovatec GmbH has brought us a big step closer to our goal of an additional 4,000 tons of meltblown nonwovens annually.”
In order to also promote the further value-added chain, the support programme of the Federal Government was supplemented by two further modules on June 1, 2020. With these, the establishment and expansion of facilities for the production of up to seven billion certified protective masks will be supported with an investment grant of up to 50 per cent.
Oerlikon Nonwoven significantly ramped up its production of the machines and systems for its meltblown technology some months ago and the demand has resulted in a pleasing increase in order intake in a very short time.
“We are already looking ahead to 2021 thanks to an attractive order pipeline,” said Raub. “Our order intake is now in the upper double-digit million Euro range. We have adjusted our delivery times to the extent possible. This is what has enabled us to deliver the first meltblown line here at Innovatec. Further deliveries and installations are scheduled globally.”
