Interview with Silke Brand-Kirsch

Our performance sustained a commendable record of financial consistency and continuity that has extended over the past year. The purchasing of Georgia Pacific’s US airlaid operations and Jacob Holm were two major highlights in 2021.

Glatfelter purchased Georgia-Pacific’s US airlaid operations in May 2021 for $175 million. This deal included a large-scale airlaid manufacturing operation in Mount Holly, NC as well as a nonwovens research and development center in Memphis, TN. Shortly after acquiring GP’s US airlaid operations, Glatfelter continued to grow its business by purchasing Jacob Holm in October 2021 for approximately $302 million. The addition of Jacob Holm will expand Glatfelter’s scale and diversification into the high-performing and innovative spunlace nonwoven technologies and advanced plant-based sustainable solutions. These areas of expansion serve the growing wipes, critical cleaning, healthcare, and hygiene categories.

Glatfelter’s airlaid business achieved record sales of $392 million despite a slowdown in the tabletop business brought on by restaurant closures amidst the coronavirus pandemic. This segment saw heightened demand in 2020 as consumers stockpiled necessity items. Although everyone expected that there would be another increase in sales at the beginning of the second lockdown wave, there was not. This caused Glatfelter’s customers to have high inventory levels. Glatfelter has seen an increase in demand now that things have reopened and believe this trend will continue to rise as people become more comfortable stepping back into society.

Customers started using moist toilet tissue as replacement for scarce paper tissue during the pandemic. Due to the significant shortage, manufacturers ramped up capacity rapidly, focusing on essential wipes like sanitizing and disinfecting.

We are projecting to visit and participate in 10-15 tradeshows and events in 2022 – similar to the amount we participated in prior to COVID-19. During these events, we are excited to showcase our latest new product developments for our key businesses. These product developments include launching new grades in our beverage filtration, developing a plant-based range of products for the absorbent hygiene sector, and also working on non-fossil based solutions for packaging materials and composable table top. 

If the COVID-19 situation allows, we will proceed as planned. Our top priority is to keep our people safe and healthy, so we will decide on travel and physical presence once we have visibility on the pandemic situation in the countries concerned.

Although the pandemic may have expedited this trend for some, Glatfelter will continue to make strides in our strong shift into sustainability. To ensure durable products like technical textiles for transportation, the materials of the future need to be recyclable. The usage of mono-materials instead of blends is key to enabling sustainability. Compostability and degradability are essential for disposable products using plant-based raw materials in place of fossil-fuel.

Technical textiles and nonwovens offer many advantages over other materials, especially when they are designed with consumers, sustainability, and efficiency in mind. This results in lower weight products, better recyclability, less carbon footprint, and less energy consumption. The greatest amount of growth can be found in mobility, infrastructure, filtration, and personal care.

Glatfelter is a leading producer of engineered materials for personal care, medical products, and food & beverage filtration. Our claim “Enhancing Everyday Life®” is our guide to developing more sustainable products for a future that will face the challenges of today. For us, building on our 157 years of company history by developing and improving our plant-based product range, is not taking advantage of a trend. At the center of our efforts, we are dedicated to creating environmentally sustainable products made of renewable raw materials that are essential for consumer wellbeing.

We are closely monitoring the supply and demand for our products as well as our growth opportunities in our key regions and segments. (PC)