MADISONVILLE - Ahlstrom has completed of a major investment at its plant in Madisonville, Kentucky, US, increasing its glass fibre tissue business and strengthening its global manufacturing platform.

As market demand for high-performance, sustainable building materials is increasing, Ahlstrom’s product portfolio for the construction industry, FibRoc, offers carriers, facings, and backing solutions protecting against fire, flame spread, moisture, and water. All of Ahlstrom’s glass fibre tissue solutions are fluorocarbon-free and have formaldehyde-free options.

With this US$100 million investment announced in May 2021, Ahlstrom has expanded its building materials manufacturing capabilities to support customers globally.

”We can be proud of what we have accomplished in Madisonville, successfully delivering this major investment,” said Emmanuelle Picard, EVP, Building Materials. “This investment significantly strengthens our technical capabilities in the region, supporting the industry with sustainable solutions for building materials and increasing our production capacity in North America."

Pekka Helynranta, vice president, Glass Fiber Tissue business, added: "This new platform will further strengthen our leadership in this field by consolidating our global position in flooring applications but also by giving us a unique platform to expand into other glass fibre tissue applications, in particular for the Industrial Filtration portfolio."

Ahlstrom’s Building Materials portfolio includes highly engineered building material applications for every face of the building. It produces glass fibre media for flooring, ceiling, and plasterboard applications and makes nonwoven materials for automotive, abrasive, construction, textile, and hygiene applications, as well as wallcover materials.