McIlvaine has a created a free site for specifiers of air filtration and purification equipment and products. This market report is designed to leverage the information on the McIlvaine free site. Furthermore, the site provides suppliers a way to reach the markets they discover in this report. Click on the Free Knowledge Site Coordination link on the left table of contents in the Air Filtration Market Report.

The Market Share Analysis and Company Financial Analysis sections have been updated for selected air filter and media companies, linked through the left table of contents in the Air Filtration Market Report, Market Share Analysis and U.S. Market Share

• European Suppliers
• European Filter Market Share
• Asian Market Share

• Company Financial Analysis. We welcome your comments.

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Many projects, mergers and acquisitions are detailed in monthly updates in the Market Report’s Chapters under Industry Analysis. Click on the links below to view current updates for each industry.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONSTRUCTION

FINANCIALS

COMPANY NEWS

January housing starts were at 596,000, 14.6 percent above the December rate. Building permits issued in January were at an adjusted annual rate of 562,000. This is 10.4 percent below the revised December rate of 627,000 and is 10.7 percent below the January 2010 estimate of

629,000.

Privately-owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000, 4.3 percent below the revised November estimate of 553,000. Permits rose 16.7 percent for December on gains in both the single- and multifamily sectors.

China has surpassed the United States as the skyscraper's home. If the fast-growing nation continues its current pace of urbanization, China could build more than 1,500 new buildings that are more than 30 stories high by 2030. That is the equivalent of a new Chicago every year, according to a recent McKinsey & Co., report. China is building 44% of the skyscrapers scheduled to be completed worldwide in the next six years, increasing the number of skyscrapers in Chinese cities by more 50%. China is already the site to six of the 15 tallest completed buildings in the world.

"The appetite in China for high-rises, in the last five years and the next five, is bigger than ever before in the history of building," says Silas Chiow, China director for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the U.S. architectural firm, founded in Chicago, responsible for the Burj Khalifa. The firm is currently engaged in 50 China projects, including the tallest buildings in eight separate cities.

Year 2010 compared to 2009:

• Net sales EUR 1,894.2 million (EUR 1,596.1 million in 2009), an increase of 18.7%.

• Operating profit EUR 53.7 million (EUR -14.6 million in 2009). The figure includes non-recurring items of EUR -20.5 million (EUR -54.3 million in 2009). Operating profit excluding non-recurring items EUR 74.2 million (EUR 39.8 million in 2009).

• Profit before taxes 25.5 million (loss EUR 40.1 million in 2009)

• Net cash flow from operating activities EUR 167.5 million (EUR 209.6 million in 2009).

Outlook for 2011

• The company estimates that net sales for the current year will amount to EUR 1,920–2,080 million. Operating profit excluding non-recurring items is estimated to be EUR 90–110 million.

Jan Lång, President and CEO:

- Last year, our financial result development took a positive turn and cash flow continued strong. Our growth strategy in Asia progressed very well with a growth of almost 50% and in addition, we completed an acquisition in the Filtration business and established a joint venture in China in the Food and Medical business.

- Our strengthened balance sheet gave us the opportunity to implement our strategy and develop our businesses. We started a significant change program with the aim of building a stronger and more harmonized company. We also streamlined our product portfolio through divestments.

- Last year was challenging for us in terms of higher raw materials costs but our organization succeeded well in the margin management by increasing selling prices.

Kimberly-Clark reported $5.1 billion in net sales for fourth quarter of 2010, an increase of 2%. Organic sales rose 3%, driven by higher net selling prices of 2% and improved product mix of 1%, while overall sales volumes were even with year-ago levels.

In the Personal Care segment, sales increased 2%. Sales volumes were up 2% and net selling prices rose 1%, while changes in currency rates reduced sales by 1%.

Sales of health care products decreased 1% in the fourth quarter. The acquisition of I-Flow Corporation benefited sales by 5%, while organic sales volumes declined 5% and net selling prices fell 2%. The organic volume comparison was adversely affected by about 5 points due to increased demand in 2009 for face masks as a result of the H1N1 flu virus. In addition, overall North American supply volumes in 2010 were impacted by a modest slowdown in market demand. Meanwhile, organic sales volumes for medical devices rose at a high-single digit rate.

Buckeye Technologies Inc. reported second quarter net income of $17.1 million. Net sales were $209.5 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2011, up 14% versus net sales of $183.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2010 due to higher selling prices and improved mix.

Comparing the second quarter to the first quarter of fiscal 2011, sales were up $7.4 million as increased shipment volume from the company's specialty cotton fibers plants combined with higher selling prices and improved mix in the specialty fibers segment offset the impact of reduced nonwovens shipment volumes.

Net sales in the Nonwovens segment totaled $62 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared to $60 million for the same period last year.

Filtration specialist Porvair plc’s results for the year ended 30 November 2010 are ahead of expectations with revenues up 15% to £63.6 million and profit before tax 82% ahead of last year at £3.1 million.

The Porvair Microfiltration division had a good year with revenues increasing 11%. Porvair says that the Aviation business saw revenue improve in the second half of the year, while nuclear and energy filtration revenue increased by over 70% last year, and revenue from environmental laboratories for clean water analysis had a second good year.

According to Porvair, the Metals Filtration division has recovered well from a difficult 2009 reporting a 24% increase in 2010 revenues.

Porvair chief executive Ben Stocks said: "Porvair made good progress in 2010 and there is opportunity for more in 2011. The Metals Filtration division will benefit from changes afforded by the development of its operation in China and the better margins generated from its patented products. The Microfiltration division has a firm aviation order book and a full pipeline of opportunities in nuclear and gasification markets. Its US subsidiary is set for further growth with a larger sales team and improved manufacturing capabilities."

CLARCOR Inc. has purchased one of its suppliers of filtration media, TransWeb, LLC. Founded in 1996 andbased in Vineland, New Jersey, Transweb is a manufacturer and supplier of media used in a variety of end-market applications, including respirators and heating, ventilation and air conditioning filters. The terms of the transaction, which closed on December 29, 2010, have not been publicly disclosed.

Norm Johnson, CLARCOR’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are excited about our acquisition of Transweb, a company that has supplied technologically advanced products to CLARCOR for several years, and the opportunities that this presents for both companies. We believe that Transweb adds significantly to our technological capabilities and offers outstanding opportunities to enhance the product offerings of many of our filtration operating companies. We also believe that Transweb will benefit from the growth opportunities and financial support presented by an affiliation with a company such as CLARCOR. We have been interested in taking an ownership position in Transweb for some time, and were grateful when the opportunity to do so on attractive terms presented itself."

The LA region's pollution control agency recently signed off on a contract that will bring 47 air filtration devices to Wilmington-area schools.

The South Coast Air Quality Management board at its monthly meeting unanimously approved the contract with IQAir North America, at an amount not to exceed $5.4 million.

The cost to install and maintain the devices comes from a settlement agreement over the TraPac terminal expansion project at the Port of Los Angeles. Opponents of the expansion had argued that a fund was needed to pay for projects that could help protect students and nearby residents from port pollution.

Once the devices are in place in Wilmington, additional schools in San Pedro could be selected, an AQMD report says.

Ahlstrom will invest into additional capacity in transportation filtration material at its site in Turin, Italy. The total investment is approximately EUR 17.5 million and it will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Tommi Björnman, Executive Vice President, Filtration, states, "We have been pleased to grow with our key customers and as a commitment to the filtration business we are expanding the operation with state of the art equipment. This is an important step in our global growth roadmap where we have strengthened our global platform first in Asia and now in Europe. We will also continue to keep our focus on the Americas - both North and South America - hence being a global supplier in the filtration market with a full offering of filter media."

Ahlstrom is a leading manufacturer of filtration materials with 11 production sites across four continents. The company acquired in September a transportation filtration material plant in Binzhou, China.

UV Flu Technologies, Inc. recently announced it has completed an agreement securing the acquisition of RxAir Industries, LLC headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

RxAir is a manufacturer of high quality air purification equipment designed for applications within the medical and hospitality marketplace, and also includes products geared for specialized industrial applications, such as emergency preparedness.

The agreement includes a patented, trademarked product line, with national distributors and representatives, an extensive customer list, inventory, and all associated manufacturing equipment. The Company has been in business for 15 years, and existing sales include an installed base of several thousand units in over 1000 unique facilities nationwide, including over 400 hospitals. The Company's two main products, the RX3000, which is the Company's best seller, provides air purification coverage in spaces up to 2000 sq. ft, while the RX4500, also known as the "Smoke Handler," is the preferred choice of hospitality establishments nationwide. The unit protects spaces of up to 5000 sq. feet, and can be connected to existing ductwork. Both units can remove more than 99.97% of airborne contaminants and pathogens greater than 0.3 micrometers in size and are designed with exterior cabinetry able to match any décor. They combine multiple filter configurations, including HEPA, with germicidal UV lamps, making one of the most effective air purification systems in the world today.

"This acquisition will be operated as a subsidiary of UV Flu Technologies, and will provide a U.S. manufacturing base to aid our efforts in the pursuit of medical, hotel, casino, government and DoD contract opportunities, including military and government facilities," said Mr. John Lennon, President of UV Flu Technologies. "The enhanced product line will make us increasingly attractive to large US distributors, and increase our visibility within the hospital and hospitality marketplace. The larger models and coverage that the RxAir units add to our product line open up a whole new marketplace for us. Larger public spaces like school cafeterias, gaming areas, restaurants, gymnasiums, and construction sites are now just some of the many potential new targets for our products. We believe the synergies will be extraordinary and hope to significantly increase our revenue estimates for 2011 as a result. Once our residential model is introduced to the lineup in 2011 we are highly optimistic for increased traction across the entire segment."

UV Flu Technologies is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of bio technology products initially targeting the rapidly growing Indoor Air Quality industry sector. The Company manufactures the ViraTech UV-400, which utilizes high-intensity ultraviolet radiation (UV-C).

AeroMed and Custom Air Controls, specializing in environmental infection control solutions, merge under the AeroMed name effective January 1, 2011, creating a more diverse and capable provider.

"2010 has been quite a year for us," Bill Palmer, President of AeroMed proclaimed. "Earlier this year Custom Air Controls acquired BWG Filtration which is a supplier of air filter manufacturing equipment and air filter components such as plastic filter frames. This acquisition gives us a presence in another air filtration market and further diversifies our offerings within the industry." Markets served by the companies include air purification equipment and services for environmental infection control in healthcare facilities, HVAC replacement air filters for commercial applications, SafeMail™ containment hoods and rooms for bioterrorism applications, and pressure controls for laboratories and containment applications. Equipment manufactured by AeroMed for these applications rely heavily upon HEPA filtration and germicidal ultra violet light technology.

2010 saw AeroMed® expand its domestic sales force while beginning to market its line of air purification products in China and Mexico. Custom Air Controls increased the number of its local service technicians in 2010 in an effort to improve its ability to meet the needs of its local customer base.

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