Oerlikon buys Truetzschler's staple fibre tech division

18 Apr '16

3 min read

Swiss technology group Oerlikon has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the entire staple fibres technology portfolio of Trützschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibres GmbH which is a part of the German Truetzschler Group, a specialist in fibre preparation for the yarn spinning and nonwovens industries. The acquisition expands the Manmade Fibres Segment's technology portfolio and opens up access to new customers in the market for synthetic staple fibres, Oerlikon said in a press release.

Oerlikon is strengthening its technology and market position in its core business areas by taking advantage of the ongoing consolidation in the chemical fibres market, which was triggered by the market downturn in China. With the acquisition of the former Fleissner staple fibres technology portfolio and the intellectual property (IP) of Trützschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibres GmbH, the Segment becomes the leading technology and equipment provider in the global staple fibres market. The acquisition expands the Manmade Fibers Segment's staple fibres technology expertise and broadens the Segment's customer base and service business in the respective areas.

As staple fibres projects are increasingly tied to continuous polycondensation facilities, already now the Manmade Fibers Segment is well positioned to operate as a provider of complete solutions. Both parties have agreed not to disclose details of the transaction. Truetzschler Group is discontinuing its staple fibre business as it has decided to focus on its core business activities.

Dr. Roland Fischer, CEO of the Oerlikon Group, said, “The acquisition of the staple fibres technology portfolio of Truetzschler is another important step in line with our strategy to strengthen our position outside the filament business, where we occupy a leading technology and market position. The ongoing consolidation in the chemical fibres market presents interesting opportunities and we are taking this step to ensure that the Manmade Fibers Segment will merge stronger from the current market weakness and
profit from the positive long-term market perspectives.”

Staple fibres technology is one of the core technologies within the manmade fibers industry. In 2015, the produced staple fibers amounted to 18.5 million tonnes, or some 33 per cent of the total synthetic fibres capacity. Synthetic staple fibres are produced by the main conversion steps: polymer production, spinning further down to baling. The liquid polymer is either produced in a polycondensation plant or polymer chips are melted in an extrusion

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