NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                    DECEMBER 2012

$1.5 Billion Market for Roll Goods for Fabric Filter Dust Collectors

Suppliers of bags and cartridge will spend $1.5 billion in 2013 for roll goods which they will cut and sew into bags and cartridges used to collect dust.  This is the latest forecast in World Fabric Filter and Element Market markets published by the McIlvaine Company.

Fabric Filter Roll Goods Media ($ Millions)

The market share for woven media is shrinking.  At one time woven glass bags with reverse air cleaning were the sole choice for high temperature dust removal. Now pulse jet bags with nonwoven media are carving out the lion’s share of the market.

There has been a major trend to supply media with a nonwoven substrate and a membrane laminate. This smooth surface increases collection efficiency while improving cake release.

The media market is becoming very international, whereas bag cutting and sewing remains regional. One reason is that the weight of roll goods is much higher than finished bags, so transportation costs on a per ton basis are less. The second reason is that the international media suppliers are building plants where bags are used. There have been many new media plants built by international suppliers in Asia.

China is emerging as the largest purchaser of bags and as one of the top media producers. Some Chinese companies are now supplying the higher technology and more expensive media as well as the lower cost higher volume roll goods.

The media market will grow at slightly higher rates than the bag market and the market for the equipment. The reason is that plants are upgrading to more expensive media.  The U.S. EPA has predicted in its cost analysis for the cement plant air toxic regulations on the assumption that cement plants will switch to the more expensive membrane bags.

For more information on World Fabric Filter and Element Market, click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/air.html#n021