Nonwoven gains as need for hygiene grows
Growing awareness about the superior functionality and application of technical textiles is encouraging the higher consumption. The production of high-performance fibres is gaining momentum in India.
Growing awareness about the superior functionality and application of technical textiles is encouraging the higher consumption of these products, according to MarketsandMarkets (MnM). Technical textiles are products which have higher performance qualities as compared to traditional textiles. The increasing adaptability of unconventional value in textiles has influenced traditional manufacturing to escalate the pace of innovation, and upgrade the traditional fibres by contributing to technical textile development. The change is attributed to accelerated demand for product which offers flexibility, durability and offers superior functionalities such as personal safety, high strength, and light weight.
As per MnM report, the global technical textile market is projected to grow from $ 164.6 billion in 2020 to $ 222.4 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2020 to 2025. The outbreak of COVID-19 severely impacted the demand as well as manufacturing as the pandemic affected the chemical industry supply chain to a major extent; thus, having a major impact on raw material procurement. This had an effect on the growth of the technical textile market. However, the pandemic resulted in a sudden increase in demand for medical apparels such as gown, mask, and others, which positively affected the technical textiles market. The technical textile market is expected to witness significant growth due to COVID 19 as manufacturers around the globe are expanding their production capacity and investing in machinery to manufacture healthcare essentials. The growing need from the healthcare sector is giving a boost to the demand for disposable hospital supplies and nonwoven materials, said MnM report.
Market dynamics
With the technological enhancement, the textile industry has witnessed high growth in most of its product segments, especially for technical textiles. New technologies are expected to bring down the production cost, thus making manufacturing of technical textile commercially feasible. The improved technologies in spinning, weaving & knitting segment, such as melt spinning, thermo-forming, and three-dimensional weaving & knitting wet spinning, have made it possible to produce technical textiles fibres with functional properties required for technical textiles. The production of high-performance fibres is largely grounded in technologically advanced countries such as the US, Japan, Canada, and some European countries and is progressing in developing countries such as India, China, and Korea.
As per MarketsandMarkets report, the hygiene segment is projected to be the largest segment in the technical textile market. Nonwovens process are used as an alternative to traditional textiles in hygiene products due to their excellent absorption properties, softness, smoothness, strength, comfort & fit, stretchability, and cost-effectiveness. Owing to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for technical textile for hygiene applications is also accelerating, bringing more opportunities for the manufacturers operating in the nonwoven hygiene products.
Based on material, the synthetic polymer segment is estimated to account for the largest share in 2019, owing to factors such as low cost and high quality. Whereas, based on application, the mobiltech segment of the technical textile market accounts for the larger share. This demand can be attributed to the increasing use of technical textiles in various areas of automobile sector such as seat belts, seating upholstery, tyre cords & linear, and others.
The complex procedure of technical textiles manufacturing is a restraint to the market participants as it requires advanced infrastructure which is cost sensitive. Along with this, high cost of raw material procurement inevitably raises the total cost of finished product to an extent where the manufacturers are left with limited opportunities for profit margin. On the other hand, the high price of technical textiles products affects the pricing structure of the intermediate industries which makes the final product available to the customer.
