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High performance materials Ahlstrom
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.
Established 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-
Pacific 13 per cent and the rest of the world 2 per cent. It employs around 3500 people and net sales for 2013 amounted to some €1 billion.
Recent product launches
Continuous product development has always been one of the cornerstones of Ahlstrom’s strategy and 2014 has been no exception to this. In May this year, for example, it launched its EasyLife Spray & Up product – a new offering for the fast growing digital wall décor market. The patent-pending EasyLife Spray & Up has a unique, integrated adhesive system, which significantly improves the decorating experience for consumers.
Ahlstrom EasyLife Spray & Up is quick, easy and clean to use: no additional adhesive or specialist tools are required, just water and a spray bottle. The user can simply spray the wall with water, apply the material to the wall and the job is done. Application time is reduced by up to 60 per cent plus cleaning up is much easier and faster than with traditional wallpapers.
September of this year saw the introduction of Ahlstrom Pleat2Save filtration media to enlarge its indoor air portfolio. This is a new portfolio of product targeted at residential, commercial, healthcare and HVAC applications. It provides superior durability during demanding processes and usage conditions compared to other similar products.
According to Fulvio Capussotti, executive vice-president, Advanced Filtration: “Ahlstrom Pleat2Save is a robust product that offer excellent processing performance during filter pleating. This will bring significant savings to the filter manufacturers and cleaner air for the end customers.”
Growth in China
Already a globally renowned company, Ahlstrom is never ready to rest on its laurels when it comes to expanding its worldwide presence. The Asian market offers particularly strong opportunities for growth – something which the company has been keen to take advantage of. In May this year it celebrated the inauguration of its new wallcovering substrates production line in Binzhou, China. The new line represents an investment of around €40 million and it produces high-end wallcovering products for the Chinese market.
According to Jan Lång, president and CEO of Ahlstrom: “This is a major step in the execution of our strategy and provides us with many growth opportunities in Asia. We have now established Binzhou as a manufacturing platform in the region, further strengthening our presence and commitment to customers.”
The same month saw the inauguration of the company’s new Product & Technology Development Centre in Shanghai, China. This new centre will improve the company’s direct support to its customers in China with local product development. It employs around 30 people and will serve all five of Ahlstrom’s business units in China.
“The new Shanghai product development centre supports Ahlstrom’s growth strategy and strengthens our presence and local market understanding. We are pleased to start long-term development work in Asia and reinforce our offering for a clean and healthy environment to help our customers stay ahead. To more quickly address the local market needs, it is crucial to develop new products and technology close to our customers here in China,” said Mr Lång.
Staying green
Recognising the global megatrends of environmental awareness, resource scarcity and demographics and urbanisation, its unique expertise in fibres, chemistry and materials technology enable Ahlstrom to create prod-
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ucts with sustainability as a driver. A company spokesperson said: “We have a leading market position in all the sectors where we are active and we have been established for over 160 years. With sustainability in mind, we make products that protect people, purify air and liquids and provide surface and structure to our customers’ products. As all human activity has an impact on the environment, we only want to make products with purpose, that are truly needed by people. With them we help our customers to achieve their own sustainability goals.”
Economic responsibility at Ahlstrom is characterised by its responsible business conduct. As a company, it observes the law of the host country, offers local job opportunities, pays local and national taxes and brings prosperity to the region. Ahlstrom’s social responsibility is also a natural part of how the company operates, with safety, taking care of employees and offering excellent training and personal development all central issues. Furthermore, the products with purpose are made in order to have a favourable social impact.
Environmental responsibility is certainly an area where Ahlstrom shines. Passionate about both finding innovative ways to enhance its green performance and to minimise the environmental impact of its operations, Ahlstrom’s focus is throughout its entire process.
Ahlstrom has identified five key performance indicators that support its sustainability programme and reflects its targets with regard to reduced environmental impact. Water intake, electrical efficiency, fuel energy, waste to landfill and CO2 emissions are all major areas of importance, with each area given substantial concentration. In line with this, the company has set itself a zero waste to landfill target to be achieved by 2015. n
