As market demand for high-performance, sustainable building materials is increasing, Ahlstrom continues to grow its glass fibre tissue business and strengthen its manufacturing platform globally by completing a major investment at its plant in Madisonville, KY, US. 

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 investment announced in May 2021, Ahlstrom expands its building materials manufacturing capabilities to support customers globally. During the past five years, Ahlstrom has invested over $100 million on the Madisonville site, the company said in a press release.

”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. I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in this project.”

“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," said Pekka Helynranta, vice president, glass fibre tissue business.

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.