Germany’s Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier handed over the first notice of funding to Innovatec GmbH in Troisdorf as part of the recently launched “Nonwoven Production” funding program.
The North Rhine-Westphalian company plans to produce an additional 1,500 tons of nonwovens per year with two newly installed subsidized meltblown lines, one of which is from Oerlikon Nonwoven.
The additional volume will enable the production of more than 1.5 billion protective masks.
Self-proclaimed as the largest nonwovens manufacturer in Europe, Innovatec has invested a double-digit million amount of euro in the two new production lines for meltblown nonwovens. Both lines are “made in Germany” – and one line comes from Oerlikon Nonwoven in Neumünster.
Rainer Straub, Head of Oerlikon Nonwoven, explains, “We are very proud to have been involved in this project from the very beginning, and to be able to actively support such an important nonwoven producer as Innovatec with our meltblown technology,”
Peter Altmaier said at the on-site event, “We want to significantly expand production capacities for protective equipment in Germany, and thus effectively reduce our dependence on imports. Our long-term goal is to cover the entire value chain – from machines to filter fleece and protective masks.”
The investments by Innovatec have brought the company a big step closer to its goal of an additional 4,000 tons of nonwoven annually.
In order to promote the further value-added chain, the support program of the Federal Government was supplemented by two further modules on June 1, 2020. With these, the establishment and expansion of facilities for the production of up to seven billion certified protective masks will be supported with an investment grant of up to 50%.
Oerlikon Nonwoven already decided months ago to significantly ramp up its production of machines and systems for meltblown technology. The demand from Germany, Europe and the rest of the world resulted in a pleasing increase in order intake in a very short time.
“We are already looking ahead to 2021 thanks to an attractive order pipeline. Our order intake is now in the upper double-digit million-euro range. We have adjusted our delivery time to the extent possible. This is what has enabled us to deliver the first meltblown line to Innovatec. Further deliveries and installations are scheduled globally,” added Rainer Straub.