Alcantara Targets Growth

Materials specialist Alcantara SpA plans to invest €300 million ($370 million) and add 200 employees through 2022 to double the Italian company’s production capacity.

The expansion supports Alcantara’s forecast for a 60% increase in sales over the period. This follows a nearly threefold spike from €64 million in 2009 to €187 million in 2016.

Alcantara, which is jointly owned by Japan’s Toray Industries Inc. and Mitsui Group, introduced its eponymous material in the early 1970s. The microfiber composite covering is used in high-end vehicles as a lightweight and more environmentally friendly alternative to leather.  

Much of the recent growth has come from Asia and North America. Alcantara tripled material shipments to carmakers and suppliers in China from 2014 to 2016, while deliveries more than doubled in the U.S.

Automotive applications include seating, steering wheels, headliners and other trim components in luxury vehicles from Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Buick, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, Maserati, McLaren and Mercedes. The material costs about the same as a mid-range leather while providing as much as a 50% weight savings, according to the supplier.

Other purported benefits include grip, breathability, design flexibility and wear, scratch and fade resistance. On the production side, Alcantara says its material has higher yield rates with less in-process waste than leather.

Alcantara began using raw materials from renewable sources last year, and aims to switch completely to bio-based materials by 2020. The company boasts that it has been carbon neutral since 2009.

In addition to automotive, which accounts for 80% of its business, Alcantara is rapidly expanding into the fashion and consumer electronics industries. These applications, which range from designer shoes, clothes, eyewear and jewelry to headphones, laptop cases and furniture, allow the company to test new material blends in demanding environments.

“We’re becoming more of a lifestyle brand with strong relationships with automotive designers and the fashion industry,” notes Chairman and CEO Andrea Boragno. He says this will help the company expand into new industries as well as into more mainstream cars and crossover vehicles.