Technical Textiles 2009 State of the Industry
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Technical Textiles 2009 State of the Industry William C. (Bill) Smith Industrial Textile Associates Greer, SC 29650, USA www.intexa.com 1 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry What are technical/industrial textiles? A casual definition: "if we don’t wear it as clothing (apparel), if we don’t use it to decorate our homes (home furnishings), then it is industrial." While that may be a bit imprecise, and there is much overlap, it is functional enough to show perspective. And it is not too far removed from the "actual" definition -- as best we have been able to define it. 2 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry Textile Institute (Manchester, UK) says: Industrial Textiles are: "1) Textile materials and products intended for end uses other than clothing, household furnishing, and floor covering, where the fabric or fibrous component is selected principally, but not exclusively, for its performance and properties as opposed to aesthetic or decorative characteristics, and 2) A category of technical textiles used either as part of an industrial process or incorporated into final products." 3 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry Textile Institute (Manchester, UK) also says: Technical Textiles are: "Technical materials and products manufactured primarily for their technical performance and functional properties rather than their aesthetic or decorative characteristics, a non- exhaustive list of end uses include: aerospace, industrial, marine, medical, military, safety, transport textiles, and geotextiles." 4 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry Textile Institute (Manchester, UK) also says: Technical Textiles are: "Technical materials and products manufactured primarily for their technical performance and functional properties rather than their aesthetic or decorative characteristics, a non-exhaustive list of end uses include: aerospace, industrial, marine, medical, military, safety, transport textiles, and geotextiles.“ Sounds a lot like the definition of industrial textiles. A lot like the “casual” definition as well. Confusing? The industry is difficult to define as there are a lot of overlapping areas and collected data does not always agree as to what is counted where. 5 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry 6 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry Categories of Technical Textiles 1. Agrotech - Fabrics used in agricultural, farming, landscaping applications 2. Buildtech - Materials used in construction, civil engineering, temporary buildings, etc. 3. Clothtech -- Technical components of clothing, shoes, etc. 4. Geotech -- Geotextiles and geosynthetics -- materials for soil control, road reinforcement, landfill liners, etc. 5. Hometech -- Technical components of home furnishings 6. Indutech -- "Industrial" items not categorized elsewhere: filtration, mechanical rubber goods, sound absorption, etc. 7 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry 7. Medtech – Textiles for medical, hygiene, rescue use 8. Mobiltech - Automobile, truck, trains, buses, aerospace 9. Oekotech - Environmental fabrics; can be from many other segments, such as filtration, erosion fencing, and landfill lining. 10. Packtech -- Materials for packaging (i.e. lumber wrap), protective covering systems, sacks, bulk storage bags 11. Protech -- Protection of persons or property -- firemen's, chemical hazmat garments, clean room garments. 12. Sportech -- Sports and leisure active wear, outdoors and sports equipment, sports shoes. 8 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry 9 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry 10 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry It depends on what you count –not every study agrees. Pounds of fiber? Square yards of fabric? Dollars – production, retail? 11 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry Approximately 25% of all fiber consumed in US for TT About 24 million tons of fiber worldwide Roughly $120 billion worldwide About $31 billion sales in US CAGR 3.8% 12 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry So – Is Dilbert Right? Numbers are great to have – and necessary to put things into perspective. It depends on what/how you count! 13 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry Market shares, by segment (% total TT fiber usage) Shown to provide perspective Source: David Rigby Associates, Manchester, UK; World Market Forecasts to 2010 14 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry The state of the industry? It's down – by some estimates 20-40%, depending on what industry you consider – and what segment. The TT industry reaches into every facet of our economy, and follows it’s up and down. So, what is happening? 15 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textile 2009 – State of the Industry A giant lack of confidence! People are scared, so they put off buying cars, houses, big ticket appliances, eating out, taking trips, even getting their hair cut, and it impacts the TT industry! 16 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry 17 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry Technical textiles get into many areas of products of our every day life. Most we never see or know. Using Automotive as an illustration, one can see the myriad of places where TT are used. While this is one example, one industry, similar things could be developed for most any of the markets in our previous pie chart. 18 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry The NA automotive industry represents the largest market for technical textiles, in dollars – and by some estimates, the market accounts for about 23% of all technical textiles worldwide. 19 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry The NA automotive industry represents the largest market for technical textiles, in dollars – and by some estimates, the market accounts for about 23% of all technical textiles worldwide. Global consumption of technical textile and nonwovens in mobiltech – textiles used in transportation - is/was forecast to reach 3.34 million tons by 2010. BUT – now it will obviously take a while longer! 20 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Automotive Textile Applications & Content Seat Back Headliner Headliner Scrim Sunroof Upholstery Facing Package Tray Backing Facing Facings Rear Shelf Sun Visor Facing Seatbelts and padding Insulation Trunk Door Insulation Liner Eco-friendly dash composites Air Intake Filter Muffler Battery Separators Wraps Oil and transmission Filters Belts and Hoses Gas tank filters Sound Proofing Wheel House Insulation Floor Mats Electronic and structural Composites Door Upholstery Seat Bolster Upholstery Carpet Cabin Air Backing Tire Reinforcement Filters Dash Insulation Seating Carpets Airbags Adapted from Freundenberg Vitek:2008 21 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textile 2009 – State of the Industry Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry Automotive Textile Application Categories Facing Structural Filter Acoustic/Thermal . Seat Back/Bolster . Carpeting . Engine . Door panel . Seating . Carpet backing . Cabin . Trunk . Headliner . Headliner Substrate . Fuel . Dash Insulator . Carpet . Door panel . Exhaust . Seat . Trunk . Air bag . Transmission . Anti-Squeak . Door panel . Wheel House . Oil . Package Tray . Package Tray . Trunk Trim . Floor Insulation . Cargo facing . Tires . Load Floor cover . Seatbelts . Composites . Pillar cover (structural and electronic) . Belts/Hoses Adapted from Freundenberg Vitek:2008 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry Each vehicle (cars and light trucks) uses, on the combined average, 33 square yards of textile materials in interior areas (including trunk), and approximately 21 kg of fibrous material. 23 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry Automotive textile according to current usage (average numbers) Application Weight(kg) Carpets, interiors 4.5 Upholstery 3.5 Belts, hoses 1.6 Tire cord 1.5 Seat belts 1.9 Airbags 1.2 Composites 4.5 Others 2.2 Total 20.9 kg Article: Upholstery in Automobiles; D. Gopalakrishnan, Arpita Nayak;www.Fibre2Fashion.com 5/17/08 24 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles2009 – State of the Industry 16,000,000 cars = 528 million sq yds And that does not count many unseen “working textiles” – hoses, tires, etc. 10,000,000 cars = 330 million sq yards to be used = Loss of 198 million square yards of fabric in 2009 if current economic situation continues 25 SPESA2009 Orlando June 5,, 2009 Technical Textiles 2009 – State of the Industry “The United States is a country that depends on the motor vehicle for transportation, and many of those vehicles will be made in the US. The automotive industry will eventually continue to provide opportunities for economic development and jobs, and now is the time to plan and prepare for that bright future … Until 1984 the automotive industry’s presence in the south was minimal – since then 32 plants and 42,500 jobs have resulted…” Center for Automotive Research, 3/27/09 26 SPESA2009