Profile: Xerium Technologies Inc (XRM.N)

XRM.N on New York Stock Exchange

12.48USD
1 Aug 2013
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$0.10 (+0.81%)
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Xerium Technologies, Inc. is a global manufacturer and supplier of two types of consumable products used primarily in the production of paper clothing and roll covers. The Company markets its products through industry-recognized brands, such as Huyck Wangner, Weavexx, Stowe Woodward, Mount Hope, Robec and Xibe. The Company operates in two segments: clothing and roll covers. The Company's clothing segment products include various types of industrial textiles used on paper-making machines and other industrial applications. Through the Company's roll covers segment, it manufactures various types of roll covers, refurbish previously installed roll covers, provide mechanical services for the internal mechanisms of rolls used on paper-making machines and manufacture spreader rolls. The Company had 31 manufacturing facilities in 14 countries, located in the paper-producing regions of North America, Europe, South America and Asia-Pacific.

Clothing Products

The Company's clothing segment products are synthetic textile belts that transport paper as it is processed in a paper-making machine from paper stock into finished paper. Clothing generally ranges in size from approximately 7 feet to over 30 feet wide and 24 feet to more than 460 feet long and operates on paper-making machines that run at speeds up to 7,500 feet per minute. It manufactures three general types of clothing products used on paper-making machines forming fabrics, press felts and dryer fabrics each of which is located in a different section of a machine. Its Forming fabrics are used at the beginning of paper-making machines, where diluted paper stock is deposited on the forming fabric while the fabric is traveling at a very high speed. Forming fabrics allow water to drain from the paper stock, creating an initial wet sheet. Forming fabrics are custom-manufactured in single, double, and triple layer designs in a variety of meshes to suit particular machines and paper grades. During the year ended December 31, 2011, forming fabrics accounted for approximately 41% of net sales in the Company's clothing segment.

The Company’s Press felts are used to carry the paper sheet through a series of press rolls that mechanically press water from the sheet under high pressure. Press felts are designed to maximize water removal, which reduces the amount of water that must be removed during the expensive energy-intensive drying section of the production process. Press felts differ from forming fabrics and dryer fabrics due to the addition of several layers of staple fiber that are needled into the fabric base. Press felts are manufactured in a variety of designs, including lightweight single layer felts, multi-layer laminated endless felts and seamed felts that allow for reduced installation times. During 2011, press felts accounted for approximately 41% of net sales in the Company's clothing segment.

Dryer fabrics are used to transport the paper sheet through the drying section of paper-making machines, where high temperatures from large, steam-heated dryer cylinders evaporate the remaining moisture from the paper sheet. Dryer fabrics, which are less technically advanced than forming fabrics or press felts, are woven from heat-resistant yarns with a coarser mesh than forming fabrics. The Company manufactures other fabrics used in other industrial applications, such as pulp, steel, plastics, leather and textiles manufacturing. It also manufactures auto-joining equipment used in clothing production.

Roll Covers Products and Services

In the Company's roll covers segment, the majority of its sales are generated through the manufacture of roll covers. The Company also refurbishes previously installed roll covers, provide general mechanical maintenance and repairs services for the internal mechanisms of rolls and manufacture spreader rolls. It manufactures, refurbish and replaces covers for three kinds of rolls on paper-making machines: working rolls (including vacuum rolls and press rolls), calendar rolls and coater rolls. There can be up to 200 such rolls in a typical paper-making machine. These metal rolls, which can be up to 39 feet long, six feet in diameter and weigh 500 to 140,000 pounds, are covered with an exterior layer of rubber, polyurethane, composite or ceramic, each of which is designed for use in a particular phase of the paper-making process.

Roll cover replacement is performed at the manufacturing facility of the supplier, such as Xerium, which necessitates removing the roll from the paper-making machine, transporting it to the supplier's site and using a spare roll in the interim. Roll covers are refurbished a number of times over the two to five years they are in service before needing to be replaced. Refurbishment includes the regrinding of the roll cover to standard specifications and inspecting the bearings and other mechanical components of the roll.

The Company offers a range of mechanical maintenance and repairs services for the internal mechanisms of rolls. As of December 31, 2011, the Company provided mechanical services at 10 locations worldwide. During 2011, roll cover refurbishment services and mechanical services accounted for approximately 24% of the Company's total net sales in its roll covers segment. It manufactures and repair spreader rolls, which are small-diameter curved rolls, used throughout a paper-making machine to stretch, smooth and removes wrinkles from the paper and clothing.

The Company competes with Albany International Corp., Voith AG and Metso Corporation.

Company Address

Xerium Technologies Inc

Suite 300, 8537 Six Forks Road
RALEIGH   NC   27615
P: +1919.5261400
F: +1302.6365454

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