Profile: Albany International Corp. (AIN.N)

Albany International Corp., along with its subsidiaries, operates in five business segments: Paper Machine Clothing, Albany Door Systems, Engineered Fabrics, Engineered Composites and PrimaLoft Products. The Paper Machine Clothing segment includes fabrics and belts used in the manufacture of paper and paperboard (paper machine clothing (PMC)). The Albany Door Systems designs, manufactures, sells, and services industrial doors, for a range of interior, exterior and machine protection industrial applications. Albany Engineered Composites include textiles and materials to other industries, including specialty materials and composite structures for aircraft and other applications. Albany Engineered Fabrics includes a variety of products similar to PMC for application in the corrugators, pulp, non-wovens, building products, tannery and textile industries. PrimaLoft Products includes insulation for outdoor clothing, gloves, footwear, sleeping bags and home furnishings.

The Company designs, manufactures and markets paper machine clothing for each section of the paper machine. PMC consists of permeable and non-permeable continuous belts of custom-designed and custom-manufactured engineered fabrics that are installed on paper machines and carry the paper stock through each stage of the paper production process. PMC products are consumable products of design that utilize polymeric materials in a complex structure. Principal products in the PMC segment include forming, pressing and dryer fabrics, and process belts. A forming fabric assists in sheet formation and conveys the dilute sheet through the section. Press fabrics are designed to carry the sheet through the presses, where water pressed from the sheet is carried through the press nip in the fabric. In the dryer section, dryer fabrics manage air movement and hold the sheet against heated cylinders to enhance drying. The Company’s customers in the PMC segment are paper industry companies, many of which operate worldwide.

Albany Door Systems segment derives most of its revenue from the sale of high-performance doors, particularly to customers in Europe. The Company is focused on the aftermarket business. The Engineered Fabrics segment derives its revenue from various industries that use fabrics and belts for industrial applications other than the manufacture of paper and paperboard. Approximately 40% of revenue in this segment is derived from sales to the non-wovens industry, which includes the manufacture of diapers, personal care and household wipes, and fiberglass-reinforced roofing shingles. Approximately 30% of segment revenue is derived from sales to markets that are adjacent to the paper industry, and 20% of revenue is derived from the building products market.

The Engineered Composites segment (AEC) serves primarily the aerospace industry, with custom-designed composite and advanced composite parts for static and dynamic applications. The PrimaLoft Products segment includes sales of insulation for outdoor clothing, gloves, footwear, sleeping bags, and home furnishings. The segment has manufacturing and sales operations in the United States, Europe and Asia. The Company maintains manufacturing facilities in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, Sweden, and the United States.