Albany International Corporation

Machine Clothing customers are paper, paperboard, and tissue producers that require high-performance fabrics to run forming, pressing, and drying sections efficiently, as well as customers in nonwovens (e.g., diapers and wipes), building products, and tannery/textile applications. These customers buy based on uptime, product performance, and total cost, and often negotiate aggressively, creating ongoing pricing pressure—especially during consolidation, plant closures, or contract renewals. AEC primarily sells to commercial and defense aerospace OEMs and tier suppliers through program-based supply agreements for engine and airframe applications, where qualification, delivery performance, and cost targets are central. Customer production schedules and program changes can drive volatility, as illustrated by historical swings in LEAP-related revenues tied to aircraft production issues and external disruptions.

In Machine Clothing, management is positioning the business around cost control, manufacturing productivity, and targeted growth areas such as packaging and tissue demand in Europe, while managing continued declines in publication-grade paper and softness in Asia. The company emphasizes new product development, technical product support, and manufacturing technology to defend performance-based differentiation amid persistent pricing pressure. In AEC, the near-term focus is ramping production across commercial, defense, and space programs while improving program execution and cost performance on complex contracts. Across the enterprise, Albany is integrating sustainability into product design and operations—reducing energy use and emissions, pursuing renewable energy sourcing, and developing circularity and recycling solutions that align with customers’ Scope 3 goals.