Suominen plans wetlaid expansion

Suominen – which has just announced a 38% increase in operating profit for 2014, on annual sales of €401.8 million – is planning to invest in a new wetlaid line in North America. 

The new nonwovens manufacturing line would serve several higher value-adding end-use applications for the North American market where the demand for such nonwovens has both developed favorably historically and also has attractive growth forecasts. 

“I’m extremely pleased to announce this major move in the execution of our growth strategy,” said president and CEO Nina Kopola. “Since we are still in the preparation phase of the investment project, several important decisions – including the selection of machine suppliers – are still to be made. Consequently, we cannot yet comment on the total value of the investment, but it’s safe to conclude that this constitutes the most significant single initiative in the €30-50 million growth investment programme we announced in December.”