With respirators and medical facemasks at the forefront of efforts to fight COVID-19, a new report from INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, examines the market and outlook for the stand-alone meltblown process used to produce those products.

Available Aug. 4, the report, Meltblown Nonwoven Markets: COVID-19 Impact Analysis, https://bit.ly/meltblownreport, presents an outlook on the meltblown required for medical facemasks and respirators in the U.S., providing critical insights for companies to make informed decisions during these times. The report also provides a global view of meltblown capacity.  

“With U.S. policymakers currently considering or putting in motion policies to achieve self-sufficiency in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) base material, understanding the dynamics of supply and demand of meltblown, a critical base material for PPE, in North America and other regions is critical at this time,” says Dave Rousse, INDA President.

INDA is continuing its role as a valuable resource connector by bringing together users of PPE with suppliers and working to facilitate increasing the U.S. production footprint of meltblown materials, a limiting factor to U.S. facemask production. 

Based on extensive research, producer surveys and interviews with industry leaders, the report is authored by Brad Kalil, INDA’s Director of Market Intelligence & Economic Insights, an industry leader on providing important information on this sector of the nonwoven industry.

This report is focused on the overall market and provides an introduction to meltblown techniques, the fibers’ unique properties and end-use applications, historical capacity, and estimated U.S. and global volumes.

Meltblown Nonwoven Markets: COVID-19 Impact Analysis provides valuable insights for companies involved in the meltblown supply chain from resin equipment producers to fabric producers to end-use converters involved in facemask production, the filtration industry and wipes markets.

INDA also has been working to promote the outstanding efforts of nonwoven and engineered fabric producers mobilizing in the fight against the coronavirus through its new portal on the inda.org website: Allies Against COVID-19.