American felt & filter company

What American felt & filter company does

American Felt & Filter Company (AFFCO) is a family-owned manufacturer of precision-engineered nonwoven felt and technical textiles, founded in 1899 and headquartered in New Windsor, New York, with additional manufacturing in Newburgh, NY and (post-2017) E. Rochester, New Hampshire through the acquisition of Bacon Felt Co. The company produces more than 1,000 product variants across industrial filtration media, aerospace and defense thermal insulation, automotive gasketing and vibration control, medical felts, piano felts, writing instrument nibs, paint markers, car wash mitter curtains, and decorative felts, using needle-punching, laminating, chemical bonding, pressing, and proprietary processes such as an in-house knucklefelt machining center and a total-penetration dyeing system for piano felt. AFFCO holds Berry Amendment compliance for U.S. Department of Defense procurement and ISO 9001 certification (achieved 2024), serving named enterprise customers including Chrysler, SAAB, Gore, Donaldson, American Air Filter, Precisionaire, the Boston Symphony, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Revenue is generated primarily through B2B hardware sales of custom-engineered felts and technical textiles, supplemented by custom fabrication services (die cutting, guillotine knife cutting, kiss cutting, slitting, packaging, and pressure-sensitive adhesive application) and federal/defense contract products. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; lead times run 4-6 weeks for standard production. Go-to-market combines a domestic direct-sales team handling U.S. accounts, a long-term distribution partnership with Germany's Loeffler (which also channels products into Asian markets), and factory-direct fulfillment for select consumer-adjacent products like car wash mitter curtains.

Ownership remains with the Pryne family: Wilson (Bill) H. Pryne has been president since 1996 and acquired the company outright in 1998, with Mark Pryne serving as Vice President, Treasurer and Corporate Secretary, and Scott H. Pryne as Senior Vice President of the ABBFCO merged entity.

Name

American felt & filter company

Legal name

American Felt & Filter Co., Inc.

Website

https://affco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1899

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Family-owned American manufacturer of precision-engineered nonwoven felt, filtration media, and technical textiles founded in 1899, serving aerospace and defense, industrial filtration, automotive, medical, musical instruments, and consumer products customers from facilities in New York and New Hampshire.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Felt & Filtration Media

NAICS

Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial and Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing (3252)

SIC

Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300)

akta.pro primary industry

Elastic, Tapes & Webbing Manufacturing (Elastic Bands/Binding/Strapping/Webbing) (IMAOALAD)

Keywords

• Industrial felt products
• Filtration media manufacturing
• Nonwoven technical textiles
• Custom die cutting
• Engineered felt components

Headquarters

HQ city

New Windsor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineered Felt Products: Manufacturing and sale of precision engineered felt products including wool felt, synthetic felt, and blends for industrial applications. Products sold directly and through distributors.
2. Custom Fabrication Services: Custom fabrication including die cutting, guillotine knife cutting, kiss cutting, slitting, packaging, rewinding, spooling, and pressure sensitive application services.
3. Defense/Government Contract Products: Berry Amendment compliant products for defense procurement and federally funded projects requiring domestically sourced materials.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

American Felt & Filter Company manufactures and supplies precision-engineered felt, non-woven technical textiles, and filtration media for industrial, aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, musical instrument, and consumer product applications. The company offers custom design engineering, in-house R&D, and fabrication services (die cutting, slitting, kiss cutting, packaging) from its facilities in New Windsor, NY and E. Rochester, NH, with over 1,000 product variations and ISO 9001 / Berry Amendment compliance.

Product overview

American Felt & Filter Company is a family-owned manufacturer of engineered felt and filtration products established in 1899, operating as a single-product focused company rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The company's core offering centers on precision-engineered nonwoven felt and technical textiles, with the product portfolio organized across distinct categories including industrial felt products (S.A.E. Felt, Adhesive Backed Felts, Decorative Felts, Felt Dots), specialty felt products (Piano Felts, Medical Felts, Paint Markers, Erasers), filtration products (High Temperature Technical Textiles, Wicks/Fluid Transfer systems), industrial fabric products (Stitchbond Fabric Products, Knit Fabrics), custom fabrication services (Cut Parts, Drumbeaters), and defense-compliant products (Berry Amendment Compliant Felt). The company also acquired Bacon Felt Co. in 2017, expanding its manufacturing capabilities with additional product lines including the Paramount Polishing Wheel and car wash Mitter Curtains. Products are marketed across diverse industries including automotive, aerospace & defense, industrial filtration, musical instruments, medical, architectural, and consumer products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aerospace Products Aerospace-grade thermal insulation and high-temperature felt materials for extreme thermal environments, including rocket re-entry applications, ablative shielding, thermal barriers, and precision-formed insulation components for aerospace and defense manufacturers.
• Car Wash Mitter Curtains Made-in-USA soft cloth mitter curtains manufactured from unsupported polypropylene for car washes, available in various colors and sizes, factory direct with custom widths, colors, and lengths.
• Cut Parts Custom die-cut, guillotine knife cut, kiss cut, and slit felt parts for automotive, household appliances, office equipment, and satellite industries.
• Erasers Laminated tri-component whiteboard erasers with ergonomic comfort grip, available for whiteboards or any color board configuration.
• Fibers Comprehensive range of fibers including acrylic, aramid (Nomex, Kevlar), carbon fiber, fiberglass, fluorocarbon (Teflon), olefin, polyester, PPS, rayon, and specialty fibers for various industrial applications.
• High Temperature Technical Textiles Custom-engineered roll good media for high-temperature industrial insulation applications, tailored in fabric weight, thickness, and widths per customer specifications.
• Knit Fabrics Engineered knit fabrics for protective clothing and industrial apparel with thermal, flame, and abrasion resistant properties, available in custom configurations.
• Stitchbond Fabric Products Economical stitchbond fabrics with strength and versatility for protective clothing, thermal barriers, flame barriers, industrial apparel liners, coverings, padding, and wipes.
• Wicks / Fluid Transfer / Reeds / Fragrance Delivery Systems Fluid transfer and wicking systems for moving liquids between parts, through medical testing devices, or for fragrance diffusion, used in medical, engineering, military, and household applications.
• Adhesive Backed Felts Pressure sensitive felt products including dots, squares, strips, and custom shapes with permanent or repositionable adhesive, including specifications for automotive applications.
• Drumbeaters and Custom Timpani Felt drumbeaters trusted by the Boston Symphony and custom timpani mallets for marching bands and private musicians, with sounds adjusted by size and density of beater.
• Medical Felts Pressed wool felt and synthetic needlepunch roll goods for orthopedic, podiatry, sports medicine, dermatology, and general medical applications with shock absorbing and abrasion resistant properties.
• Paint Markers Paint markers using alcohol-based ink or custom non-toxic paints with smudge-proof and waterproof qualities on most surfaces, available in 170 colors for architectural design, commercial, and manufacturing applications.
• Paramount Polishing Products The Paramount Polishing Wheel with revolutionary design created by Charles Bacon and originally patented in 1875, trusted for quality and reliability in polishing applications.
• Piano Felts Specialized piano felt products including Knucklefelt, Underfelt, Understring Felt, Backcheck Felt, and related components in various colors and quality tiers including Royal Red, Blue Rhapsody, and White Glove.
• S.A.E. Felt Complete line of engineered wool, synthetic, and blended felts meeting SAE specifications (F-1 through F-55 and Type II sheet felt) for mechanical felt applications including cushioning, gasketing, sealing, vibration control, and polishing.
• Synthetic & Wool Felt Nibs Extensive line of felt nibs for permanent markers, highlighters, paint markers, jumbo markers, art markers, and dry erase markers, customized for flow and hardness based on client specifications.
• Berry Amendment Compliant Felt & Textiles Felt and textiles compliant with Berry Amendment requirements for domestically produced goods, made in the United States from U.S.-sourced materials for government contractors and defense procurement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Shock and vibration reduction up to 85%
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Bacon Felt Co. (Boston Felt Co.)coreOthers · 15 March 2017Acquisition effective March 15, 2017, merging American Felt & Filter with Bacon Felt Co. (founded 1825, America's first felt factory). Created American Bacon Boston Felt Companies (ABBFCO). Brought together expertise and rich history; expanded manufacturing and product development capabilities.
• LoefflercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman-based distributor representing AFFCO in European markets. Loeffler has expanded into Asian markets, enabling AFFCO products to reach broader international customers. Long-term partnership built over decades. Attended Envitec trade show together in Germany.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hollingsworth & Vose: Hollingsworth & Vose is a global leader in filtration media and engineered nonwovens serving industrial, automotive, and defense applications — a direct overlap with AFFCO's filtration media customers (Donaldson, Gore, etc.).
• TWE Group: TWE Group is a European leader in technical nonwovens and felt products for automotive, industrial, and filtration applications, offering comparable needle-punch and specialty fiber capabilities to AFFCO.
• Glatfelter: Glatfelter is a global manufacturer of engineered specialty papers and nonwovens, with air filtration media and technical textile categories overlapping AFFCO's industrial filtration segment.
• Lydall (Unifrax): Lydall, now part of Unifrax, is a major manufacturer of engineered filtration media and high-temperature technical materials, competing with AFFCO in industrial filtration and aerospace thermal/acoustic insulation.
• Johns Manville (Berkshire Hathaway): Johns Manville is a large manufacturer of insulation, roofing, and engineered nonwoven products, overlapping with AFFCO's high-temperature technical textiles and aerospace insulation lines.

Regional players

• Filc (Filc d.o.o.): Filc is a Slovenia-based technical nonwoven and felt manufacturer producing needle-punched and laminated felts for automotive, construction, and industrial filtration — directly overlapping with AFFCO's core technology and product categories in Europe.
• Filzfabrik Fulda: Filzfabrik Fulda is a German wool felt manufacturer producing industrial and technical felts, comparable in heritage (long-established European mill) and product overlap to AFFCO's wool felt lines.
• BWF Group: BWF Group is a Germany-based manufacturer of industrial filtration media and needle felts, competing with AFFCO's filtration products in European markets served via Loeffler.

Direct peers

• Monadnock Non-Wovens: Monadnock Non-Wovens is a US-based manufacturer of high-performance nonwoven fabrics for filtration, industrial, and specialty applications, using similar needle-punch and bonding technologies as AFFCO.
• Sutherland Felt Company: Sutherland Felt is a direct US competitor manufacturing wool and synthetic felts for industrial, musical instrument, and craft applications, with overlapping piano felt and industrial filtration media lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 American felt & filter company