Knowlton Technologies

What Knowlton Technologies does

Knowlton Technologies, LLC is a Watertown, New York-based developer and manufacturer of wet-laid nonwoven composite materials, operating as a division of Eastman Chemical Company since its August 2014 acquisition. The company designs, prototypes, and produces engineered nonwoven webs serving six primary product lines: Filtration Media (HEPA/ULPA, micro-fiberglass, activated carbon media), Friction Materials (resin-saturated media for clutches, brakes, and torque management), Composite Media (pre-pregs, pre-forms, veil media for aerospace, automotive, and military applications), Specialty Media (battery separators, coalescers, speaker cones, structural laminates), Fiber Blends (exotic and nano fiber composites), and Toll Saturation (contract resin processing using phenolic, epoxy, acrylic, and flame-retardant systems). Its underlying technology is a wet-laid papermaking process — using water as a fiber carrier — combined with proprietary multi-method solvent saturation and multi-zone drying, executed across a 100,000 sq ft facility with multiple Fourdrinier paper machines spanning 30–1,550 gsm output, a pilot paper machine for prototyping, and a hand sheet laboratory.

The company's business model is direct B2B enterprise sales of custom-manufactured technical materials to industrial customers in automotive, aerospace, filtration, medical, military, and friction end-markets. Revenue derives from three streams: sale of manufactured wet-laid nonwoven products (hardware), toll saturation processing services for customer-supplied substrates, and accelerated prototyping using the pilot paper machine and hand sheet lab. Knowlton is privately held and does not disclose pricing or revenue; it holds ISO 9001:2015 and IATF 16949:2016 certifications required for automotive and industrial supply chains, and operates primarily in North America with global customer reach via Eastman's distribution.

Name

Knowlton Technologies

Legal name

Knowlton Technologies LLC

Website

https://knowlton-co.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1824

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Knowlton Technologies designs, prototypes, and manufactures custom wet-laid nonwoven composite materials for filtration, friction, composites, and specialty applications, serving automotive, aerospace, industrial, military, and medical customers as a division of Eastman Chemical Company.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineered Nonwoven Materials Manufacturing

NAICS

Nonwoven Fabric Mills (31323)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial Filtration Media & Dust Collection Textiles (Air/Liquid Filtration) (IMAOADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

FRP/GRP & Composite Materials (Resins, Fibers, Core Materials) (IMAJAKAC)

Keywords

• Wet-laid nonwovens
• Filtration media
• Friction materials
• Engineered composites
• Specialty paper manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Watertown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wet-Laid Nonwovens Manufacturing: Design, prototyping, and manufacture of wet-laid nonwovens including filtration media, friction materials, and custom composite webs. Revenue derived from sale of manufactured materials to industrial customers.
2. Toll Saturation Services: Processing customer-provided substrates with various resins (phenolic, epoxy, acrylic, oil modified, flame retardants, PVA, PVOH) as a toll manufacturing service
3. Prototyping Services: Accelerated prototyping services using hand sheet laboratory and pilot paper machine to develop and test new composite materials before full production

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Knowlton Technologies designs, prototypes, and manufactures wet-laid nonwoven engineered composites and high-performance media for filtration, friction, and custom composite web applications. The company operates from the historic Pioneer Mill in Watertown, NY, producing custom engineered materials from natural, synthetic, glass, carbon, and exotic fibers for industrial customers across automotive, aerospace, industrial, and military markets.

Product overview

Knowlton Technologies is a world-leader in the design, accelerated prototyping, and manufacture of wet-laid nonwovens. The company operates as a single unified product portfolio centered on wet-laid nonwoven manufacturing technology, offering specialized products including Filtration Media, Friction Materials, Composite Media, Specialty Media, and Fiber Blends. These products are supported by Prototyping Services and Toll Saturation capabilities, enabling customers to move from concept through production. The company focuses on manufacturing filled composites and high performance wet-laid nonwovens for filtration, friction, and custom designed composite webs, serving automotive, aerospace, industrial, military, medical, and filtration markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Filtration Media Engineered wet-laid nonwoven media designed for filtration applications across HVAC, pool and spa, medical, aviation, and general industrial filtration markets. Supplied to OEM filtration manufacturers.
• Friction Materials Wet-laid nonwoven substrates used as engineered base materials for friction components in automotive and heavy equipment applications, including brake, clutch, and related friction parts.
• Composite Media Advanced wet-laid nonwoven composite webs serving aerospace, military, and industrial composite applications, with capability to process glass, carbon, and exotic fibers.
• Toll Saturation Contract solvent-based saturation processing service for customer-supplied substrate materials, leveraging Knowlton's specialty processing infrastructure.
• Prototyping Services Prototype material development and small-batch production services supported by Knowlton's in-house hand sheet laboratory and pilot paper machine, enabling customers to develop and test new engineered nonwoven materials.
• Fiber Blends Custom-formulated combinations of natural, synthetic, glass, carbon, and exotic fibers engineered into wet-laid nonwoven substrates to meet specific customer performance and processing requirements.
• Specialty Media Custom engineered nonwoven media products for niche industrial applications that fall outside the company's standard filtration, friction, and composite product lines, leveraging its broad fiber processing capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Prototype testing possible with as little as 300 pounds / 135 kilos of material over 10-12 hours
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Eastman Chemical CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 August 2014Eastman Chemical Company completed the acquisition of Knowlton Technologies, LLC on August 6, 2014. The acquisition supports Eastman's commitment to its microfibers growth platform. Knowlton brings complementary skills and development capabilities to help Eastman better innovate with nonwovens-producing customers and accelerate the innovation cycle for microfibers in important markets like filtration. Knowlton operates as a division of Eastman under the name Knowlton Technologies, LLC, a Division of Eastman.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Parker Hannifin: Diversified industrial manufacturer with a significant filtration division producing filtration media and systems for hydraulic, aerospace, and industrial applications, serving similar OEM customers but at much larger scale.
• Johns Manville: Berkshire Hathaway-owned manufacturer of insulation, roofing, and engineered nonwoven products with filtration media exposure; much larger scale and broader product portfolio than Knowlton but overlapping industrial customer base.

Direct peers

• Ahlstrom: Finnish specialty fiber materials manufacturer with substantial filtration and nonwoven fabrics businesses using similar wet-laid and saturation processes to serve industrial filtration customers globally.
• Hollingsworth Vose: Private US manufacturer of filtration media including wet-laid nonwovens for air, liquid, and industrial filtration, directly competing with Knowlton's filtration segment using similar paper-making technology and serving overlapping industrial customers.
• Neenah: Technical specialty papers and nonwovens manufacturer producing filtration media and performance substrates using comparable wet-laid capabilities for industrial and filtration applications.
• Glatfelter: Global specialty nonwoven and engineered materials producer with significant wet-laid and filtration media exposure, serving similar composite, filtration, and specialty paper end-markets as Knowlton.
• Lydall: Specialty engineered materials manufacturer with filtration media and nonwoven substrate businesses closely overlapping Knowlton's wet-laid technology platform across automotive, industrial, and life science applications.

Others

• Eastman Chemical Company: Parent conglomerate that acquired Knowlton in 2014 to bolster its microfibers growth platform; included as a contextual reference rather than a competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/knowlton-technologies-llc

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Knowlton Technologies