AstenJohnson Announces a State-of-the-Art Nonwovens Plant in Waco, Texas

AstenJohnson, a global textile manufacturer headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, with roots dating back to 1790, has selected Waco, Texas as the location for their eighth North American location. The company will invest over the next two years to build the 220,000-square-foot facility.

Kevin Frank, CEO, and President said, “We are excited to add a new AstenJohnson facility in Waco, Texas. The long-term prospects for our nonwovens business are excellent. Customer demand for our products has only been growing. This investment will allow us to satisfy the increasing demand and continue to offer more products and innovation. We are delighted to welcome future Waco associates to the AstenJohnson family.”

“On behalf of the McLennan County Commissioners Court, I extend our welcome to AstenJohnson.  We are confident the company will enjoy the relationships it creates with the numerous communities and residents across our county,” said Scott Felton, McLennan County Judge.  

“Waco is a unique location for AstenJohnson. It’s close to our customers, but more importantly, the spirit of innovation, integrity, inclusion, and teamwork is infused in the people of this region,” said Neil Johnson, President, Nonwovens. “These values are at the core of AstenJohnson and have made Waco feel like home as we begin our partnership. We’re here for the long haul and excited to offer stable career options to members of the community, along with competitive wages and a commitment to extensive training and development.”

AstenJohnson's decision to locate in Greater Waco represents a regional economic development collaboration between Waco, McLennan County, and the Waco Industrial Foundation.  Waco and McLennan County strategically partnered to provide incentives supporting the project.  In addition, the Waco Industrial Foundation partnered with the project regarding the land necessary to sustain the AstenJohnson operation.

“The City of Waco is pleased to welcome AstenJohnson to our community.  This is an exciting announcement, bringing quality jobs, significant capital investment, and advanced technologies to Waco,” said Dillon Meek, Mayor, City of Waco.  “This announcement reinforces what we know is true: Waco’s economy is continuing to grow and is a great city for business.” 

Per Jim Porterfield, VP of Sales and Marketing, “This facility will allow us to better serve both our existing and new customers for our Eagle Nonwovens and Foss Performance Materials business units.  Those customers in the automotive, aerospace, filtration, Cure in Place Pipe, and other technical industrial segments will be among those we plan to support from our new Texas site.”

The plant will focus on nonwoven fabrics for growth markets including auto light-weighting and composite manufacturing. In addition to the latest needle punch nonwoven technology in the world, the Waco plant will be clean, air-conditioned, and will have a strong focus on sustainable business practices.

AstenJohnson is planning to begin operations in early 2023.

About Site Selection Group

Site Selection Group LLC is a leading independent location advisory and economic incentives firm providing solutions to corporations and communities across the world. Site Selection Group offers four core services to our customers: Location Advisory, Economic Incentive Services, Corporate Real Estate Services, and Economic Development Consulting. Site Selection Group's mission is to align the needs of corporations with the optimal locations in order to provide the absolute maximum economic benefit. For more information, visit www.siteselectiongroup.com.

About AstenJohnson

AstenJohnson is a global manufacturer of pulp & paper machine clothing, advanced technical fabrics, filaments, and nonwoven fabrics for filtration, automotive, cured-in-place piping, and composites. The company has manufacturing facilities in Europe, Asia, and North America, with corporate headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina. AstenJohnson emphasizes quality in its innovative products and builds long-term relationships with its customers, associates, suppliers, and communities based on five values: Safety, Excellence, Integrity, People, and Sustainability. Together, these values contribute to customer satisfaction.

About Greater Waco

Greater Waco, located in McLennan County, Texas, along the Interstate 35 corridor is home to more than 14,000 companies, 272,000 people and a regional workforce of approximately 337,000. Greater Waco’s centralized location, with access to Dallas and Austin (90 miles) and Houston and San Antonio (185 miles), makes it a regional economic activity center and an ideal community for businesses and individuals.

Since 2006, Greater Waco has seen nearly $2.67 billion in new industrial capital investments and nearly $1 billion in riverfront and downtown development, making it an attractive place to live, work and play. The Greater Waco area is landscaped with top-rated higher educational institutions, including Baylor University, McLennan Community College, Texas State Technical College -Waco, Tarleton State University and Texas Tech University, enrolling more than 30,000 students.