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Editorial

The Medical Market—What Is Normal?

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By: Karen McIntyre

Editor, Nonwovens Industry

Three years ago, the Coronavirus pandemic led to an unprecedented surge in demand—and therefore significant investment—for nonwoven materials. While demand for face masks made the headlines and even made nonwovens a household word (at least for a short while), significant shortages and resulting investments were felt in the medical market as well.

Companies that had never done business in medical—like Johns Manville and Hof Textiles—converted existing machinery to convert medical garments and new investments were planned around the globe. Three years later, the world has pretty much returned to normal and companies have returned to their traditional businesses, but medical demand continues to feel the impact.

In this month’s article, “Medical Nonwovens Move Forward,” executives from KNH, a Taiwanese nonwovens manufacturer, tell associate editor Tara Olivo that brand owners worldwide are actively seeking new application areas and innovative approaches to cope with the situation of excess capacity in the healthcare market. At the same time, due to the sustained improvement in people’s hygiene awareness, the demand for various medical nonwovens continues to grow.

And while growth will be slow as the market corrects itself from oversupply and overcapacity brought on by the pandemic, prospects remain strong for this market. The biggest single driving force as a matter of fact is the aging population. As people live longer worldwide, they will require more medical care. This will also lead to improvements in healthcare quality that will lead the industry to becoming more consumer-oriented. “Health-conscious consumers” will play a significant role in driving the widespread adoption of health technology, leading to a continued rise in demand for disposable medical care products, such as adult wet wipes, light incontinence pads, adult diapers and absorbent pads.

These new “health-conscious consumers” will not only crave higher quality healthcare items, these trends will extend into other key areas for nonwovens, like hygiene, where demands for thinner and softer products have paved the way for investment in air through bonding technology (see page 26) to be used in acquisition and distribution layers and as high bulk outer layer materials for a cloud-like feel.

As always, we appreciate your comments.


Karen McIntyre
Editor
kmcintyre@rodmanmedia.com

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