[pageLogInLogOut]

#Technical Textiles

Trelleborg celebrates grand opening of advanced manufacturing facility in North Carolina

Grand opening in Forest City © 2026 Trelleborg Group
Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics proudly celebrated the grand opening of its new, state-of-the-art extrusion coating manufacturing facility in Forest City, North Carolina, US on May 6, 2026. The event brought together community leaders, customers, partners and Trelleborg leadership to mark a significant milestone in the company’s continued investment in innovation, capacity and sustainable operations. The new facility represents a significant investment and reinforces Trelleborg’s long-term commitment to advancing high-performance engineered coated fabric solutions for critical applications across aerospace, healthcare & medical, safety & protection and industrial markets.

“This is a proud moment for Trelleborg and a clear sign of our commitment to our customers,” said Fredrik Nilsson, Chief Financial Officer of Trelleborg Group. “This facility strengthens our ability to deliver advanced coated materials that meet the highest standards of performance, precision and reliability. It is also supporting our long-term growth and sustainability ambitions.”

The Forest City facility features next-generation polymer extrusion coating technology designed to significantly enhance production efficiency, quality and scalability. The site includes both a pilot production line for Research & Development, and a full-scale, highly automated production line that will enable us to deliver to the highest quality materials with exceptional consistency.

We hope to set a new benchmark for sustainable manufacturing within the coated fabrics industry as the operation is completely solvent-free and powered by renewable electricity resulting in zero emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or carbon dioxide during production.

“Extrusion coating is our most advanced and most sustainable coating process to date,” said Steve Brockman, President of Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics. “We designed this facility to help our customers meet their growth, innovation and sustainability goals while ensuring we remain a responsible and long-term partner to the communities where we operate.”

The project reflects strong collaboration with local and regional partners, including Rutherford County and Isothermal Community College, which supported workforce development and early-stage process training. These partnerships played a critical role in bringing the facility to life and preparing a skilled workforce to support future growth.

“The investment is not only about technology, it’s about people, partnerships and the future,” Brockman added. “Forest City positions us for long-term expansion, with the flexibility to scale our footprint as customer demand continues to grow.”

The new site enhances Trelleborg’s global manufacturing network and expands capacity to meet increasing demand for high-performance materials made in the United States while accelerating innovation across key markets.



More News from Trelleborg Group

More News on Technical Textiles

#Knitting & Hosiery

STOLL: Agreement signed for the divestiture of selected assets

In early 2025, KARL MAYER announced its strategic decision to focus on its core business areas of WARP KNITTING, WARP PREPARATION, and TECHNICAL TEXTILES. As part of this move, the flat knitting machine business under the STOLL brand was discontinued and the production site in Reutlingen was closed in October 2025.

#Man-Made Fibers

DYNEEMA® and NP Aerospace advance personal protection for military servicewomen

Dyneema®, owned by Avient Corporation, an innovator of materials solutions, is supplying its high-performance unidirectional (UD) materials to world-leading armor manufacturer NP Aerospace, enabling the production of armor systems designed specifically to fit the female body. With 2,000 new armor systems, including 4,000 plates, made in the United Kingdom (UK) and delivered in June 2026, this collaboration addresses a long-standing lack of high-quality personal protection specially built for female defense and security personnel.

#Associations

Keeping products moving with Swedish automation at FILTECH 2026

At FILTECH 2026, taking place in Cologne from June 30th to July 2nd, members of TMAS – the Swedish textile machinery association – will highlight how the country’s engineering expertise is enabling filtration manufacturers to increase productivity, improve traceability and reduce dependence on labour-intensive manual processes.

#Weaving

Itema manufactures the first Projectile Weaving Machines “Made in Italy” at its Colzate Headquarters.

Itema proudly announces an important industrial milestone: in early May, the first Itema projectile weaving machines manufactured in Italy were successfully produced at the Group’s headquarters in Colzate.

Latest News

#Dyeing, Drying, Finishing

Ferraro S.p.A. acquires the “Finishing” business unit of Cibitex S.r.l.

Ferraro S.p.A. and Cibitex S.r.l. are pleased to announce the completion of the agreement pursuant to which Ferraro S.p.A. has acquired the “Finishing” business unit of Cibitex S.r.l., specialized in the development and manufacturing of technological solutions for textile finishing.

#Recycling / Circular Economy

Reju opens its first R&D Center in the U.S. in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania

Reju, the company specializing in textile regeneration, today announced the opening of a Research and Development (R&D) Center in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, the company's first proprietary research center in North America. Located within Technip Energies' existing Advanced Materials and Catalysts research center, the lab will allow Reju to accelerate the rollout of its recycling technologies and develop its next-generation circular solutions.

#Weaving

Itema reaffirms its commitment to the Syrian textile industry at NasTex 2026

From July 18th to 21st, Itema will exhibit at NasTex at the Damascus Fairground (Hall 11 – Stand C02), marking its return to one of the Middle East’s historically significant textile markets. Itema will showcase advanced weaving technology designed to support the competitiveness and technological evolution of Syrian manufacturers and announces a new partnership with Growfast Agency as the sole agent of Itema in Syria.

#Knitting & Hosiery

KARL MAYER's HKS 2-SE Expands Possibilities for Premium Stretch WARP KNITS

Warp knitted fabrics with a woven look are more in demand than ever in the fashion and apparel industries. Stretch WARP KNITS, in particular, impress with their freedom of movement, breathability, and virtually wrinkle-free wear – thereby opening up new style worlds such as smart casual or business casual. When it comes to the highly efficient production of premium-quality stretch WARP KNITS, the HKS 2-SE has long been the machine of choice. KARL MAYER’s best-selling tricot machine produces standard elastic fabrics characterized by high gauges, smooth, delicate surfaces, and a soft hand feel.

TOP