HIGH PERFORMANCE MATERIALS Ahlstrom is a world-leading high performance fibre-based materials producer. Its products are used in a wide range of everyday applications from filters, medical fibres and life sciences to wall coverings and food packaging. Industry Europe finds out the latest from the company.
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stablished in Finland in 1851, Ahlstrom has evolved from a diversified conglomerate into a highly focused specialist. Its core activities are dedicated to the manufacture of high performance fibre-based materials, speciality nonwovens and papers from natural and synthetic fibres. The company supplies these materials to industrial customers for further processing, with applications across a range of industries including construction, automotive, healthcare, food and beverages, energy, and water.
October 2014 saw the appointment of a new chairman of the board for Ahlstrom. Robin Ahlström was elected following the resignation of the previous chairman, Pertti Korhonen. Mr Ahlström has been a member of the board since 2013. In his new role, he will also become a member of the Shareholders’ Nomination Board. Ahlstrom has four key business areas: Advanced Filtration, Building and Energy, Food and Medical and Transportation Filtration all offering value added fibre-based materials to their customers. It enjoys a
wide customer base; none of Ahlstrom’s customers have a dominating position, with its ten biggest customers constituting just 20 per cent of net sales. This gives the company a very strong, well-balanced position across market segments and has proved to be a profitable strategy during the economic downturn. The company currently has 29 manufacturing plants and 25 sales offices across the world. In terms of sales, today Europe accounts for 50 per cent, North America 22 per cent, South America 13 per cent, Asia-
