TEXTILES.ORG
Parent company seeks global growth
Colbond Inc. and Bonar Technical Fabrics announced in an April 4 press release that the two companies will merge under organizational changes introduced by their parent organization, Low & Bonar PLC, a multinational group of technical textile producers. The release said the merger is “aimed at accelerating growth and putting [the group] on a clear path to globalization.”
The release noted that the portfolios of Colbond and Bonar are complementary: “The merger will create an organization that has the scope and scale necessary for further sustainable global growth.”
Orwig Speltdoorn, a member of the Low & Bonar executive management team and managing director of Bonar Technical Fabrics will lead the integration. He will be supported by Bart Austin from Colbond’s management team, the release said. Jan van Boldrik, Colbond’s CEO for 15 years, was named managing director of Low & Bonar’s Coated Fabrics Division Mehler Texnologies.
Steve Good, group chief executive, Low & Bonar PLC, commented: “These changes are designed to enhance our global reach, accelerate growth, and balance our great operational strengths with a strategic, longer-term market focus. The merger of Bonar Technical Fabrics and Colbond will create a strong platform for further top-line growth and an even wider technology portfolio for our customers.”
Colbond is a producer and supplier of synthetic nonwovens for flooring, automotive, and construction applications and of three-dimensional polymeric mats and composites for civil engineering, building, and industrial applications. The company’s production facilities are based in Emmen and Arnhem, Netherlands; Obernburg, Germany; and Asheville, N.C.
The Bonar Technical Fabrics Group is a producer and supplier of woven fabrics, nonwovens, and fibers for civil engineering, agriculture, and the construction industry. Bonar operates manufacturing plants and offices in Zele and Lokeren, Belgium; Hull, UK; Tiszaújváros, Hungary; and Yizheng, China; with a facility in the Middle East operational in 2012.