Gitnux/Report 2026

Felt Industry Statistics

The carbon and graphite felt market moves from $656.9 million in 2026 to $1.19881 billion by 2034, explore growth, company footprints and 2025–2026 trends.
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November 11, 2026Updated
Felt Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Gitnux editors write the brief first: the topic, the inclusion rules, and the frame for what belongs.

02Source Research

Agents search the published record and log every extracted figure back to the passage it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The felt industry at a glance

The global carbon and graphite felt market was valued at $597.18 million in 2025, while Europe’s broader nonwovens production reached 2.919 million tonnes in 2025.

$597.18M[77]
Carbon felt market, 2025
7.8%[77]
Carbon felt CAGR, 2026–2034
57%[77]
Asia-Pacific share, 2025
2.919M tonnes[78]
European nonwovens production, 2025
Market size
The global carbon and graphite felt market was valued at $597.18 million in 2025. A separate industrial felt fabric estimate puts the broader market at $2.98 billion in 2025, reflecting differences in product scope.[77][79]
Forecast & CAGR
The carbon and graphite felt market is forecast to grow from $656.9 million in 2026 to $1.19881 billion in 2034, representing a 7.8% CAGR. Industrial felt fabric is separately forecast to reach $4.12 billion by 2032 at a 4.72% CAGR.[77][79]
Market share & regions
Asia-Pacific accounted for 57% of the global carbon and graphite felt market in 2025, with regional revenue of $340.73 million. In broader European nonwovens, production reached 2.919 million tonnes in 2025 after declining 2.2% year over year.[77][78]
Segmentation
Carbon and graphite felts are segmented by raw material into rayon-, PAN- and pitch-based products, and by applications including optical fiber, furnaces, heat shields, automotive exhaust linings and batteries. Industrial felt is used for filtration, sealing, insulation, cushioning, polishing, sound management and fluid handling.[77][79]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Demand is being supported by battery and long-duration energy-storage applications: carbon felt is an essential cathode component in sodium-sulfur batteries, while graphite felt is studied for vanadium redox-flow batteries. In Europe, 2025 nonwovens output fell 2.2%, with hygiene demand down 2.7%, indicating weaker short-term demand in important end markets.[80][78]
Consumer behavior & competition
Available industry data points to predominantly business-to-business competition rather than household consumption. Key buying criteria include thermal stability, chemical resistance, insulation performance and application-specific electrochemical properties, particularly in industrial, automotive, electronics and energy-storage markets.[77][80]
M&A
Consolidation has continued in specialized felt applications: United Felts was formed in January 2024 through the acquisition of United Felts, FerraTex Solutions and MaxLiner by Vortex Companies. United Felts subsequently announced the acquisition of BKP Berolina on April 13, 2026.[81]
Regulation
EU textile policy is increasing compliance pressure around chemicals and end-of-life management. The European Environment Agency notes that EU textile-waste collection became mandatory from January 1, 2025, while PFAS phase-out and sorting requirements create additional challenges for treated technical textiles.[82]
Latest news
The latest reported sector development is United Felts’ April 13, 2026 acquisition of BKP Berolina, expanding its standard felt and advanced composite UV CIPP liner manufacturing footprint. Separately, EDANA reported that Greater European nonwovens production reached 2.919 million tonnes in 2025.[81][78]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Felt Industry

The leading companies in the felt industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 10, 2026 · Next review December 10, 2026

Verdict

FFF Group stands out for wool felt and technical nonwovens coverage because it develops and produces for more than 80 industries, while Voith focuses on paper-machine press felts since it develops and supplies multiple press-felt types for tissue and paper production with 3.5% revenue growth and 3.8% R&D of revenue.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in wool felt and nonwovens

    FFF Group

    DE

    Ranked #1 · 9.4 · Wool felt and nonwovens

    Why we picked it: Its wool felt and technical nonwovens coverage spans a wide range of industrial use cases.

    See in ranking ↓Visit fff-group.de ↗

  2. Leader in press-felt systems

    Voith

    DE

    Ranked #2 · 9.0 · Press-felt systems

    Why we picked it: It supplies multiple press-felt types for tissue and paper production while keeping R&D at 3.8% of revenue.

    See in ranking ↓Visit voith.com ↗

  3. Leader in technical needle felts

    BWF Group

    DE

    Ranked #3 · 8.9 · Technical needle felts

    Why we picked it: Its global manufacturing footprint covers technical needle felts, industrial felts and wool felts.

    See in ranking ↓Visit bwf-group.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the felt industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

FFF Group

Wool felt and nonwovens · DE

9.4
2

Voith

Press-felt systems · DE

9.0
3

BWF Group

Technical needle felts · DE

8.9
4

ANDRITZ

Press-felt systems · AT

8.8
5

Nordifa

Pressed wool felt · SE

8.7
6

Albany International

Paper-machine press felts and machine clothing · US

8.3
7

Sutherland Industries

Industrial wool, polyester and architectural felt · US

8.2
8

Filzfabrik Gustav Neumann

Technical felt and customized felt products · DE

8.0
9

Valmet

Press felts and paper-machine clothing · FI

8.0
10

Filzfabrik Wurzen

Wool, technical and piano felts · DE

7.6

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 10, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Top 10 companies in the felt industry. In Felt Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/felt-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Textile felt market share by region

Asia-Pacific holds the largest share at 44.4%.

Asia-Pacific44.4%
Europe23.8%
North America21.4%
Latin America5.8%
Middle East and Africa4.7%
source-verifiedpmarketresearch.com

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

Digital adoption varies across the textile ecosystem: 26% of companies reported a concrete digital-transformation strategy in 2024, while 4.8% of EU SMEs adopted digital-twin technology in 2023.

Digital Transformation in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • 4.8% of textile-ecosystem SMEs in the EU had adopted digital-twin technology in 2023.[1]
  • 26% of textile-ecosystem companies in the EU reported having a concrete digital-transformation strategy in 2024.[1]
  • 38.3% of textile-ecosystem SMEs in the EU used online platforms in 2023.[1]
  • 65% of textile companies in the 2023 sample had a website, according to analysis of company websites in the EU textile ecosystem.[1]

Technology Adoption in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • 54% of North American fashion and apparel manufacturers used product-lifecycle-management software in 2023.[2]
  • 58% of North American fashion and apparel manufacturers used supply-chain-management software in 2023.[2]
  • 44% of North American fashion and apparel manufacturers used warehouse-management systems in 2023.[2]
  • 58% of North American fashion and apparel manufacturers used enterprise resource planning software in 2023.[2]
  • 40% of North American fashion and apparel manufacturers used electronic data interchange in 2023.[2]
  • 68% of North American fashion and apparel manufacturers used an online payment platform in 2023.[2]

Cloud Computing in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • 16% of apparel organizations with revenue below $100 million had already moved to cloud ERP in 2025.[2]
  • 19% of apparel organizations with revenue of $100 million or more had already moved to cloud ERP in 2025.[2]
  • 32.3% of textile-ecosystem SMEs in the EU had adopted cloud technologies in 2023.[3]
  • 39% of apparel organizations with revenue below $100 million were in the process of moving to cloud ERP in 2025.[2]
  • 48% of apparel organizations with revenue of $100 million or more were in the process of moving to cloud ERP in 2025.[2]
  • 33% of textile-ecosystem companies in the EU used cloud technology in 2024.[1]

Big Data in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • 12.8% of textile-ecosystem SMEs in the EU had adopted big-data technologies in 2023.[1]
  • 12% of textile-ecosystem companies in the EU used big-data technology in 2024.[1]
  • 12.8% of European textile SMEs had adopted Big Data and related data analytics in 2023, according to the European Monitor of Industrial Ecosystems survey.[1]
  • 12% of companies in the European textile ecosystem reported Big Data adoption in 2024, based on the EMI Enterprise Survey.[1]
  • 52% of surveyed Indian companies said they were likely or very likely to adopt Big Data analytics within five years in 2023; the report identifies textile companies among respondents.[4]

IoT in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • 14% of European textile SMEs reported using Internet of Things technologies in 2023, according to the European Monitor of Industrial Ecosystems survey.[1]
  • 32.26% of textile-industry respondents in an Asia-Pacific survey reported moderate integration of smart technologies such as IoT and production data analytics in 2026.[5]
  • 20% of companies in the European textile ecosystem reported Internet of Things adoption in 2024, up from 14% in 2023.[1]
  • 20% of textile-ecosystem companies in the EU used Internet of Things technology in 2024.[1]
  • 14% of textile-ecosystem SMEs in the EU used Internet of Things technology in 2023.[1]
  • 64% of surveyed Indian companies said they were likely or very likely to adopt aspects of IoT within five years in 2023; the report identifies textile companies among respondents.[4]

Innovation in the felt industry

  • 1 felt-body production patent granted to Groz-Beckert was published in Europe on June 27, 2012, covering three-dimensional felt articles and production methods.[6]
  • 1 apparatus-for-manufacturing-felt patent was granted in the United States on June 20, 1967, describing drive and control arrangements for felt-manufacturing equipment.[6]
  • 1 method-of-producing-felt-articles patent was granted in the United States on October 13, 1964, covering hollow felt articles including hats, filters, tubes and footwear.[6]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Traceability and measurable process visibility remain partial: 44% of fashion and apparel businesses verified current traceability data in 2025, and only 38% of surveyed textile firms in the Global South used recognized data-sharing standards in 2025.

Data Quality in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • 46% of fashion and apparel businesses had visibility into Tier 4 raw-material suppliers in 2025, according to a global industry survey.[7]
  • 75% of fabric-level textile firms could report process input and output volumes at batch level in 2025 across the surveyed Global South markets.[8]
  • 79% of yarn-level textile firms could report process input and output volumes at batch level in 2025 across the surveyed Global South markets.[8]
  • 44% of fashion and apparel businesses verified their current traceability data in 2025, based on a survey of more than 450 industry professionals globally.[7]
  • 77% of raw-material-level textile firms could report process input and output volumes at batch level in 2025 across the surveyed Global South markets.[8]
  • 51% of garment-level textile firms could report process input and output volumes at batch level in 2025 across the surveyed Global South markets.[8]

Data Governance in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • 38% of surveyed textile firms in the Global South used recognized industry standards for data sharing in 2025, while 44% used none and 18% were unsure.[8]
  • 32% of raw-material suppliers in the surveyed textile supply chains used recognized data-sharing standards in 2025, compared with 55% that used none.[8]
  • 83% of surveyed textile firms in the Global South actively shared product-related data with suppliers in 2025, while 17% had not adopted this practice.[8]
  • 30% of textile firms using recognized data-sharing standards reported using ISO/IEC 27001 in 2025, making it the most commonly cited standard.[8]
  • 52% of textile firms affected by the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation reported using industry data-sharing standards in 2025.[8]
  • 45% of textile firms not affected by the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation reported using industry data-sharing standards in 2025.[8]

KPIs in the felt industry

  • 905 units of production were recorded on felt life day 3, with 2.2 breaks, 905 units of steam, 55.8 units of compaction and 2.34 units of dynamic permeability.[9]
  • 989 units of production were recorded on felt life day 5, with 1.0 break, 800 units of steam, 58.1 units of compaction and 2.19 units of dynamic permeability.[9]
  • 992 units of production were recorded on felt life day 8, with 0.9 breaks, 800 units of steam, 61.0 units of compaction and 1.96 units of dynamic permeability.[9]
  • 2 web breaks were recorded on January 8, 2020, while press-felt position 2 recorded 23 days of life, 66.7% compaction and 1.05 dynamic permeability.[10]
  • 980 units of paper were produced on January 6, 2020, while press-felt position 1 recorded 21 days of life, 56.1% compaction and 1.12 dynamic permeability.[10]
  • 680 units of paper were produced on January 8, 2020, while press-felt position 1 recorded 1 day of life, 49.1% compaction and 2.36 dynamic permeability.[10]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Growth is frequently tied to distribution reach and product portfolios, with exports credited across regions for companies in medical filtration and acoustic felt use cases in the latest reported profiles.

Growth in the felt industry

  • 6 continents were reached by Superior Felt & Filtration through exports of medical filtration technology, according to its company profile.[11]
  • 15 years after its 2007 launch, New Zealand marketplace Felt said makers collectively generated more than NZ$1 million in annual sales in 2022.[12]
  • 4 continents have local support networks for Felt Vibe’s products and solutions.[13]
  • 30% of the energy used to manufacture Acoufelt’s core materials at its Thailand OEM facility came from solar power in 2023.[14]
  • 12.3 million plastic bottles have been diverted from landfill annually by Acoufelt’s FilaSorb acoustic felt since 2016.[14]
  • 171 million 12-gram PET bottles were represented by Acoufelt’s cumulative avoided plastic waste from 2016 through 2023.[14]

Differentiation in the felt industry

  • 2 new styles, Index Linear and Index Wide, were introduced in FilzFelt and Submaterial’s 2016 collection.[15]
  • 80% of laminate- and glue-free felt offcuts from Acoufelt’s Melbourne factory are sent to UPPAREL for processing.[16]
  • 20% post-consumer recycled polyester is included in Duvaltex Felt 9900’s composition.[17]
  • 60% to 65% post-consumer recycled content is used in BAUX Acoustic Felt Recycled PET.[18]
  • 100% biodegradable is the stated end-of-life characteristic of FilzFelt’s wool Design Felt.[15]
  • 100% wool is the fiber content of FilzFelt’s Design Felt, positioned for architectural and acoustic products.[15]

Mergers and acquisitions in the felt industry

  • 1 acquisition was announced by Applied Felts when it agreed to acquire FerraTex Services in December 2019.[19]
  • 1 acquisition was completed by Creative Foam when it acquired Aetna Felt Corp.’s assets in November 2020.[20]
  • 1929 was the founding year of Aetna Felt Corp., acquired by Creative Foam in 2020.[20]
  • 16 transactions were completed by Multi Packaging Solutions within its addressable products and markets between 2005 and 2016.[21]
  • Approximately $40 million in synergies had been realized by Multi Packaging Solutions from the Chesapeake and ASG transactions by March 31, 2016.[21]
  • 2 businesses, Dalco Nonwovens and Global Felt Technologies, were acquired by Snow Peak Capital in one transaction announcement.[22]

Strategic partnerships in the felt industry

  • 2 manufacturing partners, Panolite and Lessard, were identified by Feltkütur among its selected partners.[23]
  • 1 strategic alliance between Lumetta and Sutherland Felt created the Linear Acoustic LA product brand in 2020.[24]
  • 1 distributor partnership between Feltkütur and EMBLM was announced for acoustic products in Quebec.[23]
  • 1 first distributor, Richelieu Hardware, supported Feltkütur from the brand’s creation in 2016.[23]
  • 2 new styles were introduced in the FilzFelt–Submaterial partnership announced in 2016.[15]
  • 1 exclusive North American distribution partnership links Superior Felt & Filtration with Hollingsworth & Vose’s Technostat filter-media line.[11]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Operational staffing scales with facilities: Albany International employed 5,700 people worldwide across 25 facilities in 12 countries in 2025, and its learning-management system offered 8,000-plus courses in 2023.

Hiring in the felt industry

  • 2,400 employees were employed by Albany International in the United States as of December 31, 2025.[25]
  • 14% of Albany International interns joined the company as full-time employees after graduation in 2022, supporting its talent pipeline in the global machine-clothing and engineered-composites business.[26]
  • 5,700 people were employed worldwide by Albany International across 25 facilities in 12 countries in 2025.[27]

Employee retention in the felt industry

  • 50% was the reduction in employee turnover reported by G+D after implementing an in-house training program at its Twinsburg, Ohio facility.[28]
  • 6.3% was Albany International’s global voluntary employee turnover rate in 2022.[26]

Remote Work in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • In 2024, 15% of non-factory-floor employees at surveyed global manufacturers worked fully remotely, compared with 8% of factory-floor employees.[29]
  • Among non-manager manufacturing employees able to work remotely, 67% can work from home two days per week, according to a 2024 member survey.[30]
  • In a global survey of more than 1,000 fashion professionals, 65% identified flexible working policies as the most important employer benefit.[31]
  • Across U.S. manufacturers, 95% of employees with work flexibility use it, according to a 2024 member survey covering operations and production roles.[30]

Hybrid Work in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among global manufacturers in 2024, 42% of non-factory-floor employees worked in hybrid arrangements, compared with 10% of factory-floor employees.[29]
  • Among fashion and beauty professionals globally, 52% preferred a hybrid schedule with two or three days in the office.[31]
  • Across surveyed manufacturers in 2025, 79% operated a hybrid model for non-production employees, while 17% were fully back in the office.[30]
  • In 2025, 23% of surveyed manufacturers were actively updating hybrid policies to add more structure around required office days.[30]

Upskilling in the felt industry

  • 50% was the reduction in new-employee training-period length achieved by G+D after introducing its in-house training program in Ohio.[28]
  • 219 leaders participated in Albany International leadership, supervisory, and women’s leadership programs in 2023.[32]
  • 100% of Albany International employees participated in business-ethics training in 2022.[26]
  • 8,000-plus courses were available to Albany International employees through its learning-management system in 2023.[32]

Employee Engagement in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • Moncler Group recorded a 76% employee engagement rate in 2024, based on responses from 6,777 employees worldwide.[33]
  • Global Fashion Group reported that 76% of employees would recommend it as a great place to work in its 2025 engagement survey.[34]
  • Fast Retailing reported a 78.0% overall employee-engagement index in its fiscal 2025 survey, covering 36,827 respondents globally.[35]
  • NEXT Group reported a 75% overall employee-engagement score in 2025/26, exceeding its cited UK fashion-retail benchmark of 64%.[36]
  • Burberry reported a colleague engagement score of 74 points in its fiscal 2023/24 Glint survey.[33]

DEI in the felt industry

  • 25.8% of Albany International’s U.S. workforce were minorities in 2022.[26]
  • 26.3% of Albany International’s global workforce was women in 2022.[26]
  • 27% of Albany International’s global workforce was women in 2023.[37]
  • 30% of Albany International’s U.S. workforce identified as a U.S. minority in 2023.[37]
  • 28.0% of Albany International’s global workforce was female as of December 31, 2025.[25]

Change Management in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • Fashion and apparel companies attributed a 37% improvement in analytics and business-intelligence KPIs to digital transformation in a 2023 survey.[2]
  • Fashion and apparel companies attributed a 35% improvement in inventory and warehousing KPIs to digital transformation in a 2023 survey.[2]
  • Fashion and apparel companies attributed a 40% improvement in procurement KPIs to digital transformation, according to a 2023 industry survey.[2]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

B2B repeat demand shows up in customer mix metrics: Felt+Fat reported 60% returning customers in 2023, while Superior Felt & Filtration offered 2,000+ SKUs across North and South America in 2025.

Customer experience in the felt industry

  • 2,000+ SKUs are available from Superior Felt & Filtration to support customer requirements across North America and South America in 2025.[11]
  • 80% of Brand Felt Group customers choose customized felt, foam, rubber or cork products, with no geography or year stated.[38]
  • 6 continents are reached by Superior Felt & Filtration’s filtration technology exports, according to its company information page.[11]

Customer retention in the felt industry

  • 60% of Felt+Fat’s customers were returning customers in 2023, while new customers represented the remaining 40%.[39]
  • 15% was Felt+Fat’s year-over-year direct-to-consumer revenue increase from the start of 2024, despite wholesale revenue declines.[26]

Customer acquisition in the felt industry

  • 15% was Felt+Fat’s reported direct-to-consumer revenue growth from the start of 2024, attributed partly to optimized paid customer acquisition.[26]
  • 40% of Felt+Fat’s customers were new customers in 2023, during a year when the company reported 60% topline growth.[39]
  • 1.5 million dollars was Felt+Fat’s targeted fundraising amount to increase marketing and accelerate scaling in 2025.[26]
  • 1.1 million dollars was the estimated 2025 online-store revenue of The Felt Company in the United States.[40]

Customer loyalty in the felt industry

  • 18,000+ customers had been served by Felt and Yarn Nepal by 2023, according to its company profile.[41]
  • 40,000+ orders had been delivered by Felt and Yarn Nepal by 2023, according to its company profile.[41]
  • 60% of Felt+Fat’s customers were returning customers in 2023, indicating that repeat purchasing formed the majority of its customer mix.[39]

Lead generation in the felt industry

  • 49,686 dollars came from Felt+Fat’s wholesale white-label sales in 2024.[26]
  • 59,609.24 dollars came from Felt+Fat’s wholesale shop sales in 2024.[26]
  • 374,157.90 dollars came from Felt+Fat’s wholesale hospitality sales in 2024.[26]
  • 1,534,488.77 dollars came from Felt+Fat’s online and pop-up sales in 2024.[26]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Reported spend and revenue provide a baseline for branded felt businesses: Felt+Fat recorded marketing expenses of $326,642 in 2023 and $374,157.90 in hospitality sales in 2024.

Marketing in the felt industry

  • $200,351 was reported as Felt+Fat’s marketing expense in 2022 in its U.S. operating statement.[26]
  • $1,983,944 was Felt+Fat’s reported revenue in 2023, covering its Philadelphia ceramics business.[26]
  • $1,534,488.77 came from Felt+Fat’s online and pop-up sales in 2024 in the United States.[26]
  • $326,642 was reported as Felt+Fat’s marketing expense in 2023 in its U.S. operating statement.[26]
  • $374,157.90 came from Felt+Fat’s wholesale hospitality sales in 2024 in the United States.[26]

Digital marketing in the felt industry

  • $1,534,488.77 was generated through Felt+Fat’s online and pop-up sales in 2024 in the United States.[26]
  • 1 website was launched by Felt+Fat as its home audience began requesting products during 2015–2019.[26]
  • $150,214.92 in discounts was recorded against Felt+Fat’s 2024 sales, indicating the scale of its promotional pricing activity in the United States.[26]

Branding in the felt industry

  • $101,645 was raised by Felt+Fat on Wefunder by the latest funding update.[39]
  • 4 named celebrity or cultural collaborations were listed for Felt+Fat: Underdog, Houseplant, Death & Co, and Megan Rapinoe.[39]
  • $2 million was Felt+Fat’s reported 2023 revenue, with 66% year-over-year growth, according to its U.S. investment profile.[39]
  • 26,000 square feet was the size of Felt+Fat’s expanded Philadelphia manufacturing facility, compared with 6,000 square feet previously.[39]
  • 200+ restaurants used Felt+Fat tableware, according to the company’s U.S. investment profile.[39]

Influencer Marketing in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • 1.8% was the average influencer engagement rate for giant fashion brands, compared with 1.9% for challengers and 1.6% for up-and-comers in 2024.[42]
  • $15.1 billion in earned media value was generated by the top 100 global fashion brands in 2025.[43]
  • 76% of fashion earned media value was generated by affordable fashion brands globally in 2025.[43]
  • 25% of fashion earned media value came from TikTok globally in 2025, following 45.2% year-over-year growth in TikTok fashion earned media value.[43]
  • 1.21 trillion impressions were generated by fashion influencer content globally in 2023, primarily on Instagram.[44]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Recycling and manufacturing execution are tracked with hard production inputs: BIT Felt reports 90% of finished products made from recycled raw material in the U.S., and inventory of more than 6 million pounds supports fast lead times.

Process optimization in the felt industry

  • 20% is the maximum share of short fibers from felt leftovers that Multifelt reports it can reuse as production raw material.[45]
  • 9% of textiles collected by Wolkat are processed into nonwovens, including felt, in its circular textile-processing operation.[46]
  • 85% of Textile Felt FR is made from postproduction textile waste, with the product designed for complete recycling.[47]
  • 90% of BIT Felt’s finished products use recycled raw material in its U.S. industrial-felt production.[48]

Operational efficiency in the felt industry

  • More than 1 million feet of precut felt stripping are held by Sutherland Felt in various densities, widths and thicknesses.[49]
  • 4% is Wolkat’s reported residual-waste rate in its textile recycling process that produces felt-like nonwovens.[46]
  • More than 6 million pounds of raw material are held in inventory by BIT Felt to support fast lead times and large production runs in the United States.[48]

Quality management in the felt industry

  • 2022 was the registration year for Buffalo Felt Products’ ISO 9001:2015 system covering manufacturing and converting of industrial fabrics, felt and nonwoven materials.[50]
  • 2019 was the initial certification year for U.S. Felt Company’s ISO 9001:2015 management system covering precision nonmetallic materials and fiber felt.[51]
  • 2013 was the inspection year for Fella Felt’s certificate of compliance stating that its PET felt contains up to 60% post-consumer recycled PET.[52]
  • 2024 was the certification year for PLUS FELT’s IATF 16949 quality-management system covering acoustic and thermal insulating textile felts in Spain.[53]
  • 2018 was the year Sutherland Industries, parent of The Felt Company and Sutherland Felt Company, received ISO 9001:2015 registration for its felt operations.[54]

Supply chain in the felt industry

  • 80% of laminate- and glue-free felt offcuts from Acoufelt’s Melbourne factory are sent to UPPAREL for conversion into cushion and mattress filler.[16]
  • 60% is the minimum recycled content in the backing of Acoufelt’s felt panels, sourced from recycled PET bottles.[16]
  • About 80 small plants in the United States scour and card wool, supporting the upstream supply chain for wool textiles and felt.[55]
  • 15–16 million pounds of greasy wool could potentially be scoured annually by U.S. commercial processors together with small and medium mills.[55]
  • Two-thirds of surveyed buyers source textile materials from Mexico and Canada, up from 40% in 2019–2020, according to a 2026 wool-market report.[55]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the fashion and textiles sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among large U.S. fashion companies with 1,000+ employees, approximately 60% sourced apparel from at least 10 countries in 2025.[56]
  • Among surveyed apparel and footwear brands globally, 49% prioritized transforming their supply base to increase margins or decrease costs over the next two years.[57]
  • Among U.S. fashion companies, more than 80% planned to further reduce apparel sourcing from China over the following two years through 2027.[56]
  • Among U.S. fashion companies, 60% sourced less than 10% of their apparel products from China in 2025.[56]
  • Across U.S. fashion companies, 46 countries were used as apparel sourcing destinations in 2025.[56]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Paper-machine-felt pricing and felt-company restructuring appear alongside booking visibility: Albany International expected $166 million in 2026 revenue from remaining performance obligations at December 31, 2025.

Pricing strategy in the felt industry

  • RMB179,948.3 per tonne was the average Chinese papermaking-felt selling price in 2017.[58]
  • RMB170,817.7 per tonne was the average Chinese papermaking-felt selling price in 2016.[58]
  • RMB198,000 per tonne was the average selling price for high-speed papermaking felts in China in 2018.[58]
  • RMB214,000 per tonne was the average selling price for high-speed papermaking felts in China in 2020.[58]
  • RMB181,047.1 per tonne was the average Chinese papermaking-felt selling price in 2020.[58]

Cost reduction in the felt industry

  • $13.7 million was Albany International’s restructuring expense in 2025, including actions affecting Machine Clothing manufacturing facilities.[26]
  • RMB135.1 million was Vanov’s revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2026, after capacity release and efficiency-enhancement actions.[32]
  • 42.5% was Vanov’s gross-profit margin for the six months ended June 30, 2026, after lean-production and efficiency-enhancement measures.[32]
  • RMB42.7 million was Vanov’s gross profit for the six months ended June 30, 2025, the comparison period for its reported efficiency improvement.[32]
  • RMB14.8 million was the year-on-year increase in Vanov’s gross profit for the six months ended June 30, 2026, alongside reported cost-reduction and efficiency measures.[32]

Profitability in the felt industry

  • RMB14.280 million was gross profit from low-speed papermaking felts in 2018.[58]
  • RMB99.619 million was total gross profit from Vanov’s papermaking felts in 2020.[58]
  • RMB25.772 million was gross profit from high-speed papermaking felts in 2019.[58]
  • RMB48.958 million was gross profit from medium-speed papermaking felts in 2019.[58]
  • RMB89.329 million was total gross profit from Vanov’s papermaking felts in 2019.[58]

Financial planning in the felt industry

  • $166 million was Albany International’s expected 2026 revenue from remaining performance obligations at December 31, 2025.[26]
  • $277.226 million was Albany International’s 2025 Eurasia paper-machine-clothing revenue.[26]
  • $182 million was Albany International’s expected 2027 revenue from remaining performance obligations at December 31, 2025.[26]
  • $349.544 million was Albany International’s 2023 Americas paper-machine-clothing revenue.[26]
  • $708.066 million was Albany International’s Machine Clothing revenue in 2025, forming the revenue base for planning in its paper-machine-felt business.[26]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Service support and troubleshooting are quantified through lab testing and lifetime outcomes, including 1,000 used press felts analyzed annually in Valmet’s Tampere laboratory and a Voith Infinity replacement interval record of 97 days.

Product development in the felt industry

  • Hundreds of hours were spent developing bio-based or recycled materials for Valmet’s press felts before its first bio-based-material felt launched in 2025.[59]
  • $29.832 million was Albany International’s technical and research expense in 2024, primarily within its machine-clothing business serving paper-machine-felt applications.[27]
  • 1,000 used press felts are analyzed annually in Valmet’s Tampere laboratory to support press-felt product development and process troubleshooting.[59]
  • 2011 was the market-launch year for Voith’s Infinity press-felt family, which was subsequently expanded with additional modular felt products.[60]

Product lifecycle in the felt industry

  • Around 3,700 metric tons of press felt reached incineration or landfill annually in Europe, according to Voith’s 2025 circularity assessment.[61]
  • Nearly 15,000 metric tons of press felt per year was estimated to reach incineration or landfill globally, based on Voith’s 2025 estimate.[61]
  • 30% was the reduction in waste from Valmet’s fabrics production over the three years preceding its 2023 report.[59]
  • 84% was Valmet’s recycling rate for press-felt production waste after installing balers and implementing other waste-reduction measures in Tampere, Finland.[59]
  • 97 days was the replacement interval achieved by Voith Infinity press felts at a South American paper plant, setting a reported service-life record for that application.[60]

After-sales in the felt industry

  • 35 days was the press-felt lifetime observed at Thai Cane Paper before Valmet diagnosed and corrected the press-section operating conditions.[59]
  • 1,000 used press felts are examined each year by Valmet’s Tampere laboratory, providing customer-specific information for troubleshooting and service support.[59]
  • 25 days was the felt-life improvement achieved in Thai Cane Paper’s press section, increasing lifetime from 35 to 60 days after Valmet’s improvement project.[59]
  • 60 days was the press-felt lifetime achieved at Thai Cane Paper after Valmet’s trials and optimization of felt design and vacuum-system performance.[59]

Value proposition in the felt industry

  • 44.7% was the lowest paper dryness after the press recorded at Thai Cane Paper before the Valmet improvement project.[59]
  • 9.6% lower steam consumption was reported at a South American paper plant using Voith Infinity press felts.[60]
  • 3 percentage points of additional paper dry content were achieved on average with Voith Infinity press felts in the reported South American application.[60]
  • 47.6% average paper dryness after the press was recorded at Thai Cane Paper before Valmet optimized the press-felt and vacuum-system configuration.[59]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Sustainability claims vary by material and end-of-life: FilzFelt’s Wool Design Felt is described as biodegradable and commercially compostable, and EU compliance pressure is reinforced by mandatory textile-waste collection from January 1, 2025.

Sustainability in the felt industry

  • 818 12-gram PET bottles are used per square metre of Acoufelt’s 24-millimetre acoustic panel in Australia.[16]
  • 100% of FilzFelt’s Wool Design Felt is described as biodegradable and commercially compostable.[15]
  • 375 12-gram PET bottles are used per square metre of Acoufelt’s 22-millimetre acoustic panel in Australia.[16]
  • 100% of FilzFelt’s Wool Design Felt is made from sheep’s wool, water and plant-based textile dyes in the United States.[15]
  • 120 12-gram PET bottles are used per square metre of Acoufelt’s 12-millimetre acoustic panel in Australia.[16]

Circular economy in the felt industry

  • 6 recycling cycles were reported as possible for wool fabrics while retaining suitable quality under specified minimum-fibre-length conditions.[62]
  • 96% of the recycled PET felt material documented by Matrec is post-consumer recycled PET from plastic bottles.[63]
  • 90% of Bouckaert Industrial Textiles’ finished products are made from recycled raw material.[48]
  • 93% is the pre-consumer recycled content of FilzFelt Cork Composite Backing made from repurposed cork cutoffs.[15]
  • 23% of FilzFelt’s Wool Design Felt with Akustika backing is classified as biodegradable or compostable at end of life.[15]

Carbon footprint in the felt industry

  • 60% is the approximate impact saving attributed to recycled wool fibres compared with virgin fibres under the study’s circular-footprint calculation.[64]
  • 1.5 kilograms of CO2e per square metre is BAUX’s transport impact for wood-wool acoustic material.[18]
  • 0.362 kilograms of CO2e per kilogram is the reported emissions intensity for manufacturing reclaimed-fibre felt from used clothing in Japan.[64]
  • 1.67 kilograms of CO2e per square metre is the cradle-to-gate embodied-carbon result for Armstrong FeltWorks VarAffix 9-millimetre PET felt.[65]
  • 3 kilograms of CO2e per square metre is BAUX’s manufacturing impact for recycled-PET felt.[18]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

International trade scales in aggregate values: global felt trade reached $1.5 billion in 2024 across 371 thousand tonnes, while the United States’ felt-export value was $129 million in 2024.

Globalization in the felt industry

  • $129 million was the United States’ felt-export value in 2024.[72]
  • $4,070 was the average value per tonne of internationally traded felt in 2024.[72]
  • $1.5 billion was the value of global felt trade in 2024, covering 371 thousand tonnes.[72]
  • $269 million was Germany’s felt-export value in 2024.[72]
  • 68.9% was China’s share of Vietnam’s felt purchases in 2024.[72]

Cultural adaptation in the felt industry

  • 3 regions—Europe, Asia and North America—were identified as operating markets on Gentuğ Textile’s global country map in 2025.[13]
  • 4 product and customer-design contexts were named by Texfel for its felt expansion: automotive, acoustic, interior-design and architecture applications.[73]
  • 7 destination regions were listed by Applied Felts for shipments from its United Kingdom and India facilities: the United Kingdom, Eurozone, Scandinavia, Africa and the Middle East, Asia, Australasia, and the Subcontinent.[19]
  • 75 or more countries were served by Nepalese handmade wool-felt exporter Felt and Yarn, according to its company profile.[41]
  • 2 new PET-felt acoustic-panel products were presented by Texfel at ORGATEC-Cologne in October 2022.[73]

Supplier management in the felt industry

  • 1 wool-felt manufacturing process using machinery and methods more than a century old was described by FilzFelt as available at only a handful of mills.[15]
  • 1 Nepalese partner-factory relationship was identified by myfelt as part of its long-standing production model for felt carpets.[74]
  • 3 primary wool-sourcing countries—Australia, New Zealand and South Africa—were identified for FilzFelt’s Merino-wool felt.[15]
  • 2 hand-picked New Zealand supplier relationships were described by myfelt for wool and its Nepalese manufacturing partnership.[74]
  • 1 GoodWeave certification was held by myfelt for its felt-ball carpets, covering social conditions in its supply chain.[74]

Stakeholder management in the felt industry

  • 3 sustainability dimensions—environmental, economic and social balance—were identified by Felt Italia in its stakeholder-oriented sustainability statement.[75]
  • 3 stakeholder groups—customers, local agents and engineers—were identified in Nippon Felt’s Asian customer-support model.[76]
  • 100% of FilzFelt’s manufacturing remnants and scrap were reported as resold or donated rather than landfilled.[15]
  • 1 GoodWeave certification was held by myfelt to provide assurance on fair and socially sustainable production of felt carpets.[74]
  • More than 60 million metres of successful global installations were reported by Applied Felts for its felt and fiberglass pipeline liners.[19]

Distribution channels in the felt industry

  • 7 destination regions were served by Applied Felts from its manufacturing locations, including Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and Australasia.[19]
  • 95%–96% of revenue came from Chinese paper and paper-products manufacturers and trading companies for the cited papermaking-felt business period.[58]
  • 2 manufacturing locations supported Applied Felts’ international distribution network: the United Kingdom and India.[19]
  • 3 channels were named by myfelt for European distribution: selected online shops, design catalogs and specialist retailers.[74]
  • 2 overseas subsidiaries were identified by Nippon Felt: China Nippon Felt in Shanghai and Taiwan Felt.[76]

Key questions about the felt industry

What is the felt market size in 2025 for carbon and graphite felts?
The global carbon and graphite felt market was valued at $597.18 million in 2025.
How fast is the carbon and graphite felt market growing from 2026 to 2034?
The market is forecast to grow from $656.9 million in 2026 to $1.19881 billion in 2034, a 7.8% CAGR.
Which companies lead the felt industry?
FFF Group stands out for wool felt and technical nonwovens coverage because it develops and produces for more than 80 industries, while Voith focuses on paper-machine press felts since it develops and supplies multiple press-felt types for tissue and paper production with 3.5% revenue growth and 3.8% R&D of revenue.
What technology shifts matter most for felt in industrial buyers’ workflows?
EU textile SMEs report 26% having a concrete digital-transformation strategy in 2024, and 4.8% adopted digital-twin technology in 2023. Separately, felt buyers also face compliance and traceability pressure as EU textile-waste collection became mandatory from January 1, 2025.
Is the felt supply chain concentrated or fragmented, based on structure signals?
Industry data points to predominantly business-to-business competition rather than household consumption. Consolidation also continued in specialized felt applications, including United Felts’ acquisition of BKP Berolina announced April 13, 2026.
Which demand application themes are most cited in 2026 felt industry data?
Battery and long-duration energy-storage applications support demand: carbon felt is an essential cathode component in sodium-sulfur batteries, and graphite felt is studied for vanadium redox-flow batteries.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Felt Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/felt-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Felt Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 10 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/felt-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Felt Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/felt-industry-statistics.

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