The nonwovens specialist Glatzeder

For over 45 years, Glatzeder has been distributing and processing nonwovens and technical textiles to its many customers from various sectors. The company, based in north-west Germany, currently operates two facilities and is planning to increase capacity soon. Romana Moares spoke to managing director Kristin Glatzeder about the company’s development and plans for the future.

Kristin Glatzeder

THE NONWOVENS SPECIALIST

With its partner company, NOW Contec GmbH + Co. KG, Glatzeder specialises in converting and distributing nonwovens and technical textiles and offers a spectrum of additional services such as folding and packaging, different format cutting, rewinding, hot and cold calendering, as well as flexographic and screen printing. All products are packaged according to individual customer requirements and sent worldwide.

Trusted partners

“Glatzeder was founded in 1972 by Peter and Ruth Glatzeder as a supplier to the upholstery furniture sector. As a result of a close cooperation with Freudenberg, the worldwide leader in the production of nonwoven fabrics and textile materials, we were able to expand our range of services to include converting (slitting, rewinding and printing) and distribution of nonwovens and several other technical textiles to customers mainly in Germany and Europe,” begins Mrs Glatzeder.

In 1990, a company called Convert Vliesveredelung was founded together with Freudenberg in Waldfischbach-Burgalben (near Kaiserslautern), specialising in the converting of nonwovens for agricultural needs. A few years later and at the same location, Peter Glatzeder founded NOW Contec, the core focus of which was the production of tailor-made nonwovens for roofing for renowned companies such as DuPont and Caplast. In 2016, shares of both companies were sold to Mehler AG. “Our two German facilities employ a total of 90 people and serve customers in Germany and elsewhere in Europe,” says Mrs Glatzeder.

In 2017, Glatzeder exhibited at Techtextil, the leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens in Frankfurt am Main, where it showcased its services in the field of converting and welcomed customers and suppliers alike. “Whether the fair was a success, I cannot estimate at the moment. We received some very interesting enquiries and are now in the process of their evaluation and offer preparation,” reflects the managing director.

From a single source

As a wholesaler, Glatzeder mainly distributes PP-spunbond in all weights and standard colours in white, grey, black and beige. The product portfolio also includes polyester spunbond, needlefelt, spunlace, chemical bonded, meltblown and Evolon®. As a converter, Glatzeder together with NOW Contec manufactures nonwovens to meet customers’ needs, such as rectangle blanks, shape blanks, sewed and welded bags, folded products, laminated products, coated products and many more.

“We do not have our own product line; we see ourselves as an extended workbench of our customers, including nonwovens manufacturers as well as processors for the automotive, roofing, packaging and printing industries and the hygiene and medical sectors,” she explains. “At the same time, we always strive to make customers’ wishes come true. Our goal is to provide customers with a finished product from a single source. Together with numerous partners, who can perform tasks that we cannot fulfil ourselves, we offer our customers ready-made products. We also offer a range of thought-through services, from storing raw materials and finished

SWg

SWG can refer to a long standing engraving tradition since 1890. our rotary printing and embossing forms are applied in over 50 countries in lots of various branches of industry such as packaging, tissue, textile, wall paper, automotive. In the past few years we invested a great deal into new technologies and highly productive laser engraving machinery in order to fulfil highest market demands. our business activities cover the complete service from design development, colour management, reproduction up to the printing form according to the requests of our client.

P. Glatzeder GmbH and Now Contec GmbH & Co.KG belong to our most important business partners who SWG supplies with flexo printing forms for the production of top quality special foils for construction materials.

goods to completing all logistic processes (including the implementation of software for the near-time data comparison, if required), handling of all customs formalities and dispatch to end customers.”

State-of-the-art technology

Glatzeder currently operates two production facilities, in Detmold and in Waldfischbach-Burgalben. Mrs Glatzeder points out that the company’s unique competitive advantage is the combination of its extensive machinery park, know-how and long-term experience of its employees in the field of nonwoven converting. “To give you some examples, the Detmold facility employs an offline hot and cold Küsters calendering machine with a working width of 350cm, while the Waldfischbach-Burgalben plant is equipped with several short-roll winders with integrated flexographic printing units and fully automated packaging units. We are also willing to invest in

new machines if required for new jobs, should we not have the required technology available.”

Last year the company boosted production capacity at Waldfischbach-Burgalben by purchasing an additional short-roll winder with twocolour flexographic printing unit and another fully automated packing system for short rolls up to a width of 150cm. Now Detmold is in focus – later this year the machinery park will be extended by the addition of a short-roll winder with a working width of 210cm. “We are also planning to integrate a new flexographic printing unit with a width of approximately 220cm into an existing machine,” adds Mrs Glatzeder.

New horizons

The key partner for Glatzeder has always been Freudenberg SE but the company has forged links with others too. “We are working intensively with DuPont de Nemours and other well-known nonwoven manufacturers. In recent years, we have been increasingly purchasing our products from Turkish manufacturers. Our customer base currently remains in Germany and Europe,” confirms Mrs Glatzeder, while adding that the biggest growth in the future is expected in the construction industry and the hygiene and medical sector.

The managing director has an optimistic outlook in terms of future development. She explains that, in 2016, Glatzeder took over the general distribution and converting of small volumes of Evolon® printing media for Germany and central Europe and in 2017 is going to intensify its efforts to distribute these products.

“I hope, of course, that we can grow organically, but I also see that we have to open up new markets. We can do this only through targeted acquisitions, intensive market research and intelligent investment in our machinery as well as staff training and development. I also think that in the future we will have to make more efforts to make sustainable products. The focus is also on the development of own products. With our own brand nu:ju, micro fibre cleansing textiles, we have laid foundations for development in both directions,” she concludes. n