Lydall Invests in New Fine Fiber Meltblown Production Line in France to Support EU Face Mask and Air Filter Production for the Fight Against COVID-19

• New Production Line Further Solidifies Company’s Position as One of the World’s Largest Suppliers of Fine Fiber Meltblown Filtration Media for N95 and Equivalent Respirators, Surgical Masks and MERV-, HEPA- and ULPA-Grade Air Filters

• Investment Supported by a Grant Awarded by the French Government to Create a Domestic Supply Chain of Products Essential to National Security and Public Health
   
• Lydall Positioned to Supply Enough Fine Fiber Meltblown Filtration Media to Support EU Production of 600M FFP2/FFP3 (N95 Equivalent) Respirators or 2.2B Surgical Masks Per Year

MANCHESTER, Conn. and SAINT-RIVALAIN, France, Sept. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lydall, Inc. (NYSE:LDL), a leading global manufacturer of value-added engineered materials and specialty filtration solutions, today announced its investment in a new production line to create fine fiber meltblown filtration media for face masks and high-efficiency air filtration systems. This new line will be installed at Lydall’s facility in Saint-Rivalain, France in the second quarter of 2021, substantially increasing the company’s capacity to supply this critically needed material to the European market.

The investment solidifies Lydall’s position as one of the largest global suppliers of fine fiber meltblown filtration media, the crucial component of N95 respirators and the European equivalent, FFP2/FFP3, as well as surgical masks and MERV-, HEPA- and ULPA-grade air filters. Lydall will receive up to 30 percent of funding for the investment through the support of France’s Ministry of the Economy and Finance.

“COVID-19 has created unprecedented global demand for face masks, upgraded air filtration systems and other products that are essential to preventing the spread of the virus. In response, governments around the world are now focused on establishing secure, reliable and sustainable domestic supply chains so they can guarantee they have access to high-quality products that are pivotal to national security and public health,” said Sara A. Greenstein, President & CEO of Lydall. “Our global footprint and 100-year heritage in creating specialty filtration solutions position Lydall to serve as a local manufacturing partner to governments around the world, now more than ever. We take our role in creating products that protect people and places from viruses such as COVID-19 incredibly seriously, and we are grateful for the support of the French government, which will allow us to ramp up production even further.”