Andritz Group of Graz, Austria, has agreed to buy the nonwoven’s division of the France-based NSC Group. 

The acquisition, which includes Asselin-Thibeau of Elbeuf, France, and NSC Wuxi of Wuxi, China, makes and supplies machinery and systems for the production of drylaid nonwovens, selling mostly to customers making textiles and hygiene products. Formerly known as NSC Nonwoven, the division will be renamed Andritz Asselin-Thibeau and will retain its base in Elbeuf. It will join the existing nonwovens businesses within the Andritz Group: Andritz Küsters of Krefeld, Germany, and Andritz Perfojet of Monbonnot, France. Andritz Küsters and Andritz Perfojet already cooperate in order to supply customers with a range of technologies for making wetlaid, hydroentangled, spunbond and spunjet nonwovens. Andritz says the companies to be acquired employ about 200 staff in total and generate annual revenues of around ?0 million. NSC and Andritz have declined to reveal the purchase price, but expect the deal to close during the fourth quarter of 2011, subject to the approval by the relevant authorities.

Andritz Group specializes in providing customized plants, process technologies and services for the hydropower, pulp and paper, metals, solid/liquid separation, feed and biofuels industries. Its nonwovens operations are part of its Pulp & Paper business unit and it says the acquisition from NSC will allow this division to supply complete systems for nonwoven production.