Kimberly-Clark Corporation has approved an investment to expand capacity and bring new nonwovens capability to its Corinth, MS, manufacturing facility to support Kimberly-Clark’s continued personal care category growth in North America. “The Corinth team is excited about the role we will play in bringing innovations to life and supporting Kimberly-Clark’s future in the region,” says Vince Overholt, facility manager for Kimberly-Clark’s nonwovens operations in Corinth. “We’ve been a part of the community for nearly 40 years. Our engaged workforce and the generations that came before them have worked diligently to deliver sustainable results over the years and strengthen our competitive position within the organization. This wouldn’t be possible without their efforts and the support of our local and state partners.” With an estimated investment of more than $20 million, the multi-phased project includes expanding the facility by more than 45,000 square feet and installing new technology to manufacture nonwovens components primarily for Depend and Pull-Ups products. The investment is expected to deliver increased capacity, greater manufacturing efficiency and enhanced product quality. The facility will build on its current employee base with the addition of 25 new full-time jobs; hiring for these roles is expected to begin later this year and openings will be posted at careersatkc.com. "That Kimberly-Clark has decided to further invest in Alcorn County is a strong reflection of their confidence in the local workforce,” says Clayton Stanley, president of The Alliance. "The Alliance is pleased to have the opportunity to work with Kimberly-Clark, our local elected officials and the State of Mississippi who all helped make this great expansion possible." "For almost 40 years Kimberly-Clark has been a vital partner to Alcorn County, providing great careers to hundreds of our citizens," says Jimmy Tate Waldon, president of the Alcorn County Board of Supervisors. “The Board is pleased to again partner with this great company.” Kimberly-Clark employs more than 300 workers in Corinth, MS, between its nonwovens and Kimberly-Clark Professional facilities. The shared site produces nonwovens components under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Depend, WypAll, and Block-it brand names, as well as industrial wipers under the WypAll brand names. Kimberly-Clark employees continue to be active within the greater Corinth area through volunteer efforts and charitable donations, including more than $145,000 in donations to the United Way and other non-profit organizations in 2018.

After many years of low penetration compared to other markets around the globe, Africa’s diaper market has finally reached a tipping point. Several recent investments in the Africa region by global players in the hygiene and nonwovens sector are confirmation of this. Pegas Plans its First Factory in Sub-Saharan Africa In 2017,Pega Nonwovens, the largest producer of spunmelt nonwovens in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, finalized the purchase of their land in Cape Town, in preparation to put up a new factory, their second on the continent, but their first in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is anticipated they plan to invest R1.3 billion. Production is expected to commence in early 2019 and the factory will have an annual production capacity of approximately 10,000 tons. Pegas already has a factory in Egypt. This South African move is a most logical investment. The two biggest diaper manufacturers Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark are No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, in South Africa, Africa’s second biggest economy. Spunchem Increases Its Capacity In 2016, Spunchem International, another nonwovens player who has been in the South African market for the past 20 years, responded to the anticipated growth within the South African hygiene sector by increasing its production capacity in its hygiene focused facility to 32,000 tons per annum by 2018. Their website says, “Spunchem worked hand in hand with a top-three diaper manufacturer, which included extensive trials of product manufactured using the technology that Spunchem will employ.” In July 2016, the company completed  construction on a  state-of-the-art SMXS line of 8000 tons per annum nameplate capacity plant, to increase total capacity to over 22,000 TPA nameplate capacity. This was Spunchem’s fourth spunbond line. A second 10,000 TPA SMMS plant is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018 to meet the market requirements of South Africa and surrounding regions. In addition, Spunchem plans to increase its coating/laminating and printing capacity. The company currently operates three coating / laminating lines, which includes the ability to make cloth like backing sheet, cast film, breathable film and textile backing sheet. South Africa is the biggest market in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) economic block. So any manufacturer based in South Africa will have full advantage to export their goods to the other 14 SADC members, among them key markets of Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Tanzania, without paying duties, as long as the product is manufactured in a SADC member country and carries a SADC certificate. Other markets like Mauritius, Namibia and Botswana, while their population sizes are small, offer consumers that have much higher disposable incomes than the regional average.  Diaper market penetration is also higher in these markets, for the same reason. Furthermore the retail environments in these countries are also quite highly develope...

Like all consumer markets, personal care wipes are undergoing a significant paradigm shift in their retail landscape. The simplest characterization is the ongoing shift from ‘brick and mortar’ selling to online selling or e-commerce. Smithers latest market report, ‘The Future of Personal Care Wipes in a Changing Retail Landscape to 2024’ forecasts global retail sales for personal care wipes will grow from a projected $9.3 billion in 2019 at an annual rate of 6.1% during 2019-2024 to reach $12.5 billion in 2024. Personal care wipes is the largest wipes segment using nonwovens. The changing retail landscape presents specific opportunities for wipe suppliers, Smithers’ analysis tracks five brands active in this space and how they are reacting to the challenges of e-commerce selling and the latest unmet end-user demands. With shifts in end-use demands increasing across the five years to 2024, ‘The Future of Personal Care Wipes in a Changing Retail Landscape to 2024’ identifies the following key drivers and trends for the global personal care wipes industry today: Sustainability – In 2019, there are multiple levels of sustainability driving personal care wipes – to reduce/eliminate plastics waste, to use all-natural ingredients, and to use biodegradable materials. Nonwoven supply and demand – One of the most important drivers for wipes over the next five years will be the oversupply of high-quality nonwovens for the wipes market. This will result in lower prices and accelerated product development as nonwovens producers attempt to sell this oversupply. Current, near-term and long-term global economy impact – Consumers tend to revert to the lowest-cost options – paper or cloth scraps replacing wipes, or baby wipes replacing higher-price speciality wipes – in times of economic hardship. Thus any future economic downturn will have a major negative impact on the personal care wipes market. Performance requirements and developments – Wipes performance continues to improve, some to the point of passing from luxury to requirement. For example, flushable wipes originally were not dispersible and were not very good at cleaning. But these products have improved to the point now that many consumers cannot do without them. Even if governmental agencies try to outlaw them, it is expected that many consumers would revert to using fewer dispersible wipes rather than do without. Smithers latest report, ‘The Future of Personal Care Wipes in a Changing Retail Landscape to 2024’ quantitatively defines this burgeoning sector by end-use segment, region, nonwoven product type, and raw materials used. To contextualise this rapid growth, Smithers’ analyses the changing retail landscape for these wipes, reviewing current brand owners, suppliers, retailers, business models, and supply chains; within a growing global nonwovens market.

Through its commitment to sustainability, and by deeply investigating its customers'needs,GDMannounces the development of a machine “green concept” that puts together all GDM solutions, propelling sustainability in every step of the manufacturing supply chain. Raw materials Less material, better core performances GDM's Extra Thin Core allows savings of up to 800 k€ per year: a 40% saving on core materials (fluff & SAP, compared to previous core formation process), thanks to an optimized mix and allocation featuring permanent channels construction, for an outstanding wetness distribution. Alternatives for core and topsheet Bamboo, eucalyptus, banana and cotton are driving the raw materials global trend in sustainability: GDM’s converting and packaging solutions are set-up to handle fibers other than from softwoods, more sustainable and with a lower environmental impact. Waste reduction with Option Zero Option Zero is GDM's cutting-edge program aiming to minimize any sort of waste in the converting process and to maximize its related savings. According to a customer's needs, the focus is on: Zero Waste: enabling the elimination of trims, thanks to the “zero waste” product design, customers can save up to 30% on nonwovens material used in Rear Wings process Zero Defects: matching market needs for premium quality products, reducing defects costs and boosting sales and earnings Zero Glue: reducing the total amount of construction glue up to 10%, through ultrasonic bonding technology, GDM can also minimize glue contamination in the final product Zero Time: customers can cut by half their size changeover time, thanks to GDM's patented Linear Motion technology, eliminating hardware replacement and set-up Energy saving Extra Thin Core saves up to 40% of power consumption The new Extra Thin Core formation process has been designed to minimize the use of air for fluff and SAP convey. The resizing of the suction fan of the forming wheel and the mill redesign have further contributed to the reduction of energy consumption up to 40% compared to the traditional version. Space management Thinner products, lighter shipping expenses Thanks to Extra Thin Core, diapers are thinner compared to those with a standard core formation, thus reducing the package size: 25% more space available on the shelf and in the stockroom. Spare parts management reducing vehicles’ emissions GDM has created a central warehouse and local stocks to reduce its customers’ on-site inventory stock value and fixed working capital investment up to 30% per year, while optimizing maintenance planning. The result is twofold: delivery time within 48 hours and polluting gas emissions reduction associated to spare parts logistics. Learn more: https://www.gdm-spa.com/en/news/embracing-sustainability-thanks-to-gdm-solutions

  Parasol Co continues on its quest to deliver parents and their babies a superior performance, state-of-the-art disposable diaper. This August, the now three-year old company is determined to end the major cause of diaper rash—prolonged exposure to moisture. “We are in constant conversation with our parents, and the #1 thing they want is to open that diaper and see clear, healthy skin and not a red, irritated bottom,” says co-founder/CEO Jessica Hung. “We worked tirelessly with our global R+D team and worldwide network of vendors to innovate the right combination of materials and a new construction to make that a reality.”   As the product name states, Clear+Dry diapers keep baby’s skin clear and drier, thanks to Parasol's exclusive new RashShield protection, a dual-core absorption system that immediately wicks moisture and locks it away from sensitive skin. Improved to be softer, drier and comfier, this latest generation diaper is also lighter and sleeker, providing greater mobility for babies to develop and explore their world. Clear+Dry diapers are dermatologist-certified with a 5-Star Seal of Excellence for Sensitive Skin from the Dermatest research Institute.   “Important to Parasol success has been our offering of fun, modern patterns for today’s millennial parents. With these new diapers, we were inspired by the casual fashion world of denim and tees that today’s parents love to live in,” says Hung. “Instead of the more predictable patterns of mainstream brands, this collection’s palette is modern minimalism in classic black and white.”   Each package of diapers includes two clever patterns that are being delightfully received in comments by parents on the company’s Instagram posts: an artist’s abstract illustration of denim jeans (right down to the front zipper and stitched back pockets); and a tee shirt-inspired slogan, “See you at 2 AM”, a clever, insider wink to parents that Parasol knows the challenges of getting a full night’s sleep. For babies size 3 and up, Parasol continues with the success of its pull-up diaper pants, also now with RashShield protection. Sharing the same superior level of dryness, softness and comfort as the diapers, this Parasol “underwear “style is a parent favorite for active babies and potty training.

  Wemy Industries is making a comeback by focusing on three categories and is poised to lead in two categories of the hygiene sector in Nigeria. Founded 35 years ago, Wemy Industries Limited is the foremost local pioneer manufacturer of baby diapers in Nigeria. With the brands Dr. Browns and Nightinale, which are well known to Nigerian consumers of baby care, feminine care and adult care products, Wemy has grown from a mono product company to a company that manufactures and trades over 15 product lines with a nationwide coverage. Today, the company owns a highly modernized world class factory in Lagos. In 2016, the company was one of the victims of the massive recession that hit the country and it had to lay off over 200 workers, according to a recent report in Business Day Nigeria.    Already leading the wet wipes category with a 19% market share, according to the most recent Euromonitor report, after a three year absence in baby care, Wemy Industries has re-launched its baby diapers in Nigeria and is also focusing on another hygiene category, adult diapers, according to a recent report by Business Day Nigeria. Wemy Industries’ strategy for the adult diaper category is to service the local Nigerian population as well as to target the rest of the ECOWAS market. Exports to the other markets within the same economic block of ECOWAS means that Wemy Industries pays no duties to export their products in high growth markets including Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.   The machines for the adult diapers have already been purchased and the company awaits installation. This prepares them for a pole position in the adult diapers category as they will most likely be the only major regional manufacturer of adult diapers within the ECOWAS economic block. About 80% of the raw materials are imported, so exports will be a very key part of the business strategy as it will allow the business to earn foreign currency, while at the same time assisting the other countries in the economic block to obtain the products like adult diapers at better prices than they would pay by importing them from overseas.  Most of the packaging is procured locally, as much as 60-70% on some lines but on some as little as 10%. This is likely to improve as there are plans that Dangote will be coming into this space soon, which will improve Wemy Industries’ backward integration in the next five years.