In the dynamic and global filtration industry, news and information is breaking on a daily basis. International Filtration News is tracking stories relevant to our industry from air and gas filtration to liquid filtration and the various end-uses for filtration technology. Here we will post news stories relevant to filtration and its downstream applications on an ongoing basis. Please check back for regular updates. If you have news that you feel should be added to this summary report, please email it to Matt Migliore at mmigliore@inda.media.
Most recent update: November 27, 2020
MANN+HUMMEL to close Wolverhampton, UK, manufacturing facility
The MANN+HUMMEL Group, a leading filtration expert, proposes to close its main manufacturing facility at Hilton Cross Business Park in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, as it continues to review its operational footprint. With the closing of this Wolverhampton production facility, all manufacture will be relocated within the European MANN+HUMMEL network.
The decision will affect around 230 employees. The manufacturing operations are expected to be fully closed by the end of 2022. MANN+HUMMEL remains active with all its business offerings and services in the United Kingdom.
“Over the past months, several opportunities have been presented and evaluated to improve the plant’s competitiveness. Unfortunately, we concluded that savings or other measures could not offset the dramatic decline in volume. We know that the decision to close the plant will be more than difficult for our employees, and we are committed to work in close cooperation with our negotiation partners,” says Marco Heck, Senior Vice President Operations Europe Automotive Systems.
The decision to close the Wolverhampton plant results from a difficult market environment, declining manufacturing volume, and the entire automotive industry undergoing a structural transition throughout Europe. Therefore, the MANN+HUMMEL Group will focus even more on filtration products and continues to intensify its activities in the Life Sciences & Environment business unit.
The company will ensure a smooth transition for its customers and suppliers and a constant high quality of all products.
Source: mann-hummel.com
FSA Asia to host the filtration industry this December in Shanghai
The 8th Filtration & Separation Asia combined with the 11th China International Filtration & Separation Exhibition will open its door on 9th-11th Dec, 2020 at Hall N1, Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), Shanghai, China. This bi-annual event aims to provide a trade and technical communication platform for exhibitors and visitors in the filtration industry.
The scale of the FSA 2020 exhibition has expanded to 12,500㎡, an increase of 12% compared with 2018, featuring over 200 brands. The exhibit category covers Filter Media, Filter Media Production Equipment and Accessories, Chemicals, Filters, Filters Production lines, Testing & Analysis equipment, Services and Others. Participating companies include Ahlstrom-Munksjö, ATI, ADM, BERRY, BOYO, CORID, Low&Bonar, Lusenta, TSI, TOPAS, TOYOBO, TAKETA, PALAS, RUIAN RUNYE, SHANGHAI KINGFO, SHIJIAZHUANG CHENTAI, WETZEL, HOLLINGSWORTH & VOSE and others.
Source: fsa-expo.com
Camfil building new manufacturing facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas
Camfil Air Pollution Control (APC), manufacturer of industrial dust, fume, and mist collection systems, announces construction of a new manufacturing facility in Jonesboro to replace its previous building that was destroyed by a tornado in March. The new factory and office space will be located at Craighead Technology Park. The target date for completion is early 2022.
Committed to continuing development in the area, Camfil APC has operated in Jonesboro for over 20 years, providing jobs, investing in the local economy, and contributing to the community. Since the tornado, the company has been conducting manufacturing operations out of a rented local facility. Sales offices, filter cartridge production, warehousing, and shipping were not damaged. All these functions will move to the new facility.
“We are grateful to everyone who has helped us move forward and make this new production facility possible, especially our parent company, Camfil Group, for committing the resources to help us rebuild. We also thank the city of Jonesboro, the Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce, architects Fisher Arnold, our dedicated employees, our extremely supportive customers, and the people of Jonesboro,” said Graeme Bell, Vice President of Camfil APC Americas.
Source: camfil.com
Fitesa’s new equipment investments and upgrades add 55,000 MT/year of spunmelt and meltblown capacity
Fitesa, a leading global supplier of spunmelt nonwovens, announced more information about new equipment and debottlenecking/upgrade projects that will increase the company’s capacity by 55,000 MT/year.
Latin America will lead the capacity expansion with a new multibeam Reicofil 5 line to be installed in Cosmópolis (Brazil). Construction is in an advanced stage and the line will arrive in July 2021. Once this new line is installed, the site will become the most advanced spunmelt nonwovens production location in the region, according to Fitesa.
In Gravataí (Brazil), one upgraded and redesigned meltblown line started 3 months ago to produce N95 meltblown grades and help the fight against COVID19. In addition to the above-mentioned line, one additional Reicofil meltblown line is being assembled to start before the end of 2020.
The total investment in the region will increase Fitesa’s production capacity by 30,000 MT/year and triple the company’s pure meltblown supply availability, fulfilling the rising demand from the healthcare and hygiene markets.
Stand-alone meltblown capacity is also being added in other regions, with new machine start-ups coming on stream in November 2020 at the plant in Trezzano Rosa (Italy), before Christmas 2020 in Peine (Germany) and in January 2021 in Simpsonville, South Carolina (USA). These lines will complement Fitesa’s product portfolio in Europe and North America with high-quality filters for surgical facemasks and respirators.
In addition to the above mentioned investments Fitesa is adding projects to increase production volumes, modernize the assets, and enhance the flexibility of the current asset base. As a result, in Q2 and Q3 2021 another 20,000 MT/year of spunmelt capacity (evenly split between the U.S. and Europe) will become commercial to continue serving the healthcare and hygiene markets with nonwovens for medical gowns, drapes, diapers and sanitary products.
“2020 has been a challenging year for all of us. I am pleased with our ability to respond fast in approving new investments that continue to expand our presence in the hygiene and healthcare markets, while also moving forward with important existing projects,” says Silverio Baranzano, Fitesa’s CEO. The aforementioned existing projects include the acquisition of Freudenberg Hygiene Brazil, Fiber Dynamics and Tredegar Personal Care, as well as the start-up of a new Reicofil 5 in November of 2020 in Thailand, which all together adds an additional 130,000 MT/year to the company’s portfolio.
By the end of 2020, Fitesa will have significantly increased its participation in the films and elastics market, while consolidating its position as one of the largest spunmelt manufacturers worldwide.
Source: fitesa.com
Neenah reports strong third-quarter results, with 9% YOY increase in filtration revenue
Neenah Inc’s third quarter results showed net sales of $190.7 million, increased 18 percent versus the second quarter with strong rebounds in each segment. Filtration revenues increased 9 percent versus the prior year and contributed to a $3 million year-on-year increase in Technical Products operating income. Consolidated operating income of $13.9 million compared with $19.0 million in the prior year. Excluding adjusting items of $2.0 million in 2020 and $2.5 million in 2019, operating income increased $15.4 million versus the second quarter, but declined from $21.5 million in 2019 to $15.9 million in 2020. Adjusted operating margins returned to double-digit levels in both segments. Cash generated from operations of $36.8 million increased from $33.4 million in the prior year as a result of actions in 2020 to carefully manage working capital and reduce spending. Liquidity of $182 million as of September 30, 2020 increased from $159 million as of June 30, 2020. Quarterly cash dividends paid of $0.47 per share increased 4 percent from $0.45 per share in the prior year.
Source: neenah.com
Koch Separation Solutions acquires RELCO
Koch Separation Solutions (KSS), a global provider of separation technology, announced the acquisition of RELCO, a top provider of cutting-edge process technologies for the dairy and food industry. The acquisition allows KSS to better serve customers and leverage the synergistic capabilities of its various complementary technologies in the dairy, food, and beverage markets.
KSS has a long history in providing innovative membrane products to the food and dairy industry, having pioneered the development of the sanitary spiral wound membranes commonly used today. KSS seeks to drive technological innovation to meet market needs through the vertical integration of KSS’ advanced membrane filtration and ion exchange capabilities with RELCO’s proven evaporation, spray-drying and crystallization processes.
Source: kochseparation.com
Cerahelix names new CEO & VP of Sales
Cerahelix, Inc., a provider of ceramic nanofiltration membrane products, announced the appointment of William (Bill) Paulus as Chief Executive Officer.
Paulus, who joined Cerahelix in January as Chief Operating Officer, will oversee the company’s plans to accelerate growth and firmly establish its leadership in the growing market for ceramic nanofiltration to solve often complex filtration and separation challenges.
Paulus brings more than 30 years’ experience in manufacturing and global operations to his position. Prior to becoming part of the Cerahelix team, he was Vice President of Global Operations at Celgard, a global leader in the development and manufacturing of high-performance membrane separators, where he also served as Vice President of Product Development and Director-Intellectual Property and Corporate Strategy. He also served as Vice President of Manufacturing & Supply Chain at Blackmore Sensors & Analytics, and Vice President of Manufacturing at Pittsburgh Glass Works. He also held senior management positions at Delphi (now global technology company Aptiv) including Director of Business Planning and Business Development & Ventures Director for various operating units. Paulus began his career as Senior Manufacturing Engineer at General Motors.
Fred Wiesler has also joined the company as Vice President of Sales.
Highly respected in the water and wastewater industry, Wiesler brings more than 30 years’ experience to Cerahelix. Prior to joining the company, he was Global Commercial Manager at DuPont Water Solutions, where he directed the global sales team for water treatment equipment. Earlier, he served as Global Director of Sales for Membrana, part of 3M and a manufacturer of microporous membranes, and Director of Sales for QUA, a developer and manufacturer of advanced membrane products.
Wiesler’s deep experience also includes consulting for membrane companies to help expand market opportunities for their products.
Source: cerahelix.com
The American Filtration & Separations Society (AFS) will present its fall conference virtually, Dec. 2-3
The AFS Fall Conference will be presented virtually Dec. 2-3, covering a range of topics relating to challenges and developments in filtration amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference will take place over the span of two (2) half days, from 10 am – 2 pm, CST. There will be a total of 20 presentations, including two (2) keynotes and 18 technical presentations.
For more information: afssociety.org
Pall to present webinar on protecting food & bev production from airborne pathogens
Pall has scheduled a webcast focused on protecting food and beverage production from airborne pathogens and/or spoilers. This task is mission-critical to ensure product quality and brand reputation. A key task of sterilizing grade gas filters is to remove airborne contaminants and provide microbiologically stable finished products, ingredients, packaging and equipment surfaces.
- How final membrane filtration protects your product quality from airborne microorganisms
- How selection of a gas filter affects your contamination risk by testing the integrity of gas filters as part of a quality control program
Register at: https://go.pall.com/sterile-gas-filtration-webinar.htm
Source: pall.com
HanesBrands facemask receives US FDA authorization
HanesBrands announced that a proprietary surgical facemask developed in conjunction with North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health has been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use by health care professionals as personal protective equipment.
The two-ply, single-use surgical mask features a unique fabric developed by NC State’s Nonwovens Institute combined with a fit design created in collaboration with UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State biomedical engineers and UNC Health infection prevention experts.
The Hanes mask uses a duckbill shape for better breathability, a wire nosepiece and foam insert to enhance a contoured fit, and placement of stretchable straps for a secure fit. UNC Health tested the masks to assure they meet FDA particulate filtration standards and OSHA respiratory protection program requirements.
The FDA issued its Emergency Use Authorization for surgical masks in response to concerns relating to the insufficient supply and availability of disposable single-use surgical masks that provide a physical barrier to fluids and respiratory droplets.
The use of unique spun-bond fabric developed by the Nonwovens Institute, the world’s first accredited academic program for the field of engineered fabrics, eliminates the need for a third filtration layer for cost efficiency and filtering effectiveness. The spun-bond fabric is composed of two different polymer materials to make a single fiber that has significant strength and bulk that is as effective in filtration as current materials on the market.
Source: hanes.com/corporate
Waterloo Filtration Institute announces course on filtration and separation in water treatment
Waterloo Filtration Institute (WFI) announced a new course, “Filtration and Separation in Water Treatment,” which is focused on providing a high-level understanding of operating principles, possibilities, and limitations of membrane processes for the treatment of water, process fluids, and wastewater.
The course will be presented by Ing.Thomas Peters, Ph.D., Senior Technology consultant for Membrane Technology and Environmental Engineering, Neuss, Germany. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Peters has experience in the field of pressure-driven membrane processes for the treatment of water, process fluids, and wastewater. Related pioneering work focused on the use of reverse osmosis for desalination of seawater, for the purification of landfill leachate, and water reuse in different areas.
Upon completion, the participants of this course, in close cooperation with experts, will be able to identify and design the adequate processes that can be used to resolve production-specific / product-relevant tasks in their respective water-related problems.
Course Outline:
- General aspects of water treatment with membrane technology
- Technological fundamentals of the pressure driven membrane processes microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO)
- Materials and structures of commercially available membranes, membrane elements and membrane modules used for MF, UF, NF and RO
- Example for improving operation of membrane processes
- Future developments
The price of the course is $350 for nonmembers and $175 for members.
For more information about this course: https://www.wfinstitute.com/wfi-online-courses/Filtration-and-Separation-in-Water-Treatment
Source: wfinstitute.com
