Nonwovens producer Ahlstrom, which has been developing a range of new products in order to strengthen its leadership in the Chinese wall coverings market, plans to showcase its expanded Ahlstrom Easylife wall cover range at the China Wallpaper Exposition in Beijing from 7-10 March 2013.

The company is a leading producer of wall cover substrates and claims to produce the widest product range on the market. Its materials are currently manufactured in Europe and North America and are part of Ahlstrom's Building and Energy business area.

However, in order to further support development of the Chinese wall covering market, Ahlstrom will commence manufacture of nonwoven wall cover substrate in Binzhou in Shandong province, where production of high quality and innovative wall cover substrates will start during late 2013.

The Ahlstrom Easylife product offer ranges from 3D appearances to new backing and coated facing materials. Additionally, Ahlstrom will be partnering with HP, presenting its EasyLife digital printing products with HP's latest Latex printing technology. Ahlstrom EasyLife is said to be quickly expanding into the digital arena and is positioned as one of the leading substrates for nonwoven digital wall cover applications.

Ahlstrom will also sponsor the Ahlstrom EasyLife Cup, Wallcovering Design Contest at the China Wallcovering Expo, where talented wall covering designers will gather together, displaying their creative and exquisite work, many of which are on based Ahlstrom EasyLife nonwoven materials.

According to the company, this type of contest is a great way to encourage creative and unique designs, facilitating the positive growth of the Chinese wall cover market.

All Ahlstrom's new wall cover substrates are said to have been developed to reduce environmental impact, as sustainability is a key focus for the company - all products utilize FSC pulp and are CE and RAL approved.

“Recycled polyester is used in several new products, a process that has reduced our cradle-to-gate environmental impact by 10%,” Ahlstrom said in a statement today.

www.ahlstrom.com