Milliken & Company has acquired Kasbar National Industries, a manufacturer of custom quilting, needlepunched nonwovens and bonded fibrefill headquartered in Broomall, Pennsylvania, with manufacturing in Columbia, Tennessee.

The acquisition will strengthen Milliken’s position in nonwoven materials for the automotive market while adding new capabilities in quilting and fibrefill for the fire-resistant furniture and bedding markets.

“By combining Kasbar’s technologies with our own we can bring new solutions to the nonwovens industry,” said Jeff Shapiro, former chairman and CEO of Kasbar National Industries.

Milliken, established in 1865, has developed one of the largest collections of patents held by a private US company and its operations today encompass speciality chemicals, floorcoverings and performance materials.