19 May 2011 – Almost 25 years ago, NAUE GmbH & Co. KG transformed the geosynthetic barrier field for sustainable, environmental protection applications. It was in 1987 that NAUE invented the needle-punched method of manufacturing geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) materials. This discovery enabled GCLs to steadily expand in their scope of use in waste management, groundwater protection, secondary containment and many other critical infrastructure projects. Combined with NAUE’s strict adherence to quality control in production, utilisation of high-quality components (such as only using high-swelling, powdered sodium bentonite) and stringent testing programs, the Bentofix® series of GCLs earned a strong international reputation. In 2008, the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) even honoured NAUE with the society’s highest award, the IGS Award, for overall excellence.
The growth of Bentofix®’s reputation, however, is not limited to the product itself. Equally important have been the thousands of engineers, regulators, contractors and others around the world who have influenced the specification and installation of GCLs, who have documented their successes, and who have shared their design challenges and environmental protection needs so that these common problems in engineering, construction and sustainability can be solved.
Today, NAUE is proud to take another step on the path of innovation that has guided the company since its founding in 1967. NAUE GmbH & Co. KG is proud to announce the opening of this new Bentofix® production center NAUE Asia Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia. The center is dedicated to serving the Asian and Oceanic markets.
“This is a significant move for NAUE,” says Shareholder and Managing Director Thomas Knuffinke. “While the company has had joint ventures in manufacturing around the world, NAUE Asia Sdn. Bhd. is the first 100% NAUE-owned facility outside of Germany.”
“NAUE’s business has doubled in the last decade and roughly 70% of our business is outside of Germany,” Sebastian Naue adds. “Asia has been a big part of our growth.”
Sebastian Naue and Alexander Naue, both Managing Directors and Shareholders are also pleased with the establishment of the NAUE Asia manufacturing plant in Malaysia. They are part of the second generation of Naue family members serving in the company’s geosynthetics leadership. “Malaysia’s infrastructure works well for us,” Alexander Naue says. “We have great road access, a high-quality communications network, and a large, skilled, international port to support our clients in Australia, India, China and other places in the region.”
THE ADVANTAGES OF SELANGOR
NAUE Asia’s state-of-the-art, 5,000 sq. m facility in Selangor Darul Ehsan is focused on the production of Bentofix® GCLs. An ISO 9001-certified production center, staffed with experts in manufacturing quality control and testing, is a truly unique facility in the fast-growing Malaysian geosynthetics industry. The 14 jobs created to support the primary production shift bring NAUE’s international family to nearly 500 employees. The Malaysian plant offers an ISO-certified laboratory to provide the essential documentation and manufacturing quality control for confidence in GCL design, specification, installation and performance.
NAUE is committed to quality control and commonly tests at higher frequencies than requested or done by other manufacturers. Furthermore, NAUE’s facility conducts MQC tests on finished rolls to ensure the quality of both the components and the security of their bond. Since NAUE produces its own nonwoven geotextile layers from specially selected staple fibres, it can also provide the detailed certification of these components.
Though the Selangor facility is dedicated to the manufacture of Bentofix®, NAUE Asia’s clients will continue to have ready access to other types of NAUE geosynthetics, such as Secugrid® reinforcement geogrids and Soft Rock coastal protection geotextile container solutions. Also, near- and intermediate-term plans are already in place to facilitate the Selangor site’s expansion.
“The best choice for us was to begin our manufacturing here with Bentofix®,” says Holger Pohlmann, NAUE’s Asia Sales Director. “We have an established market, certainly; but we also recognize that GCLs often need to be delivered quickly to sites for environmental control. Shipping from Europe to Asia takes time. The best thing for our customers was to have a production center right here to serve this region.”
From the inside out, NAUE and its Bentofix® products are strong and dependable. They are designed for long-term performance, whether in Germany, Malaysia or anywhere else in the world. “This is our responsibility as a business partner to our clients and as a producer of essential environmental protection materials” says I. Senthilrajah, the Managing Director from NAUE Asia.
We welcome and encourage your questions regarding NAUE, Bentofix® production in Malaysia, solutions to civil engineering challenges, and much more. And we look forward to working with you to improve our global infrastructures.
ABOUT NAUE
NAUE GmbH & Co. KG is a private owned limited partnership and as head of the group active globally in the manufacture of geosynthetics since 1967, NAUE is an ISO 9001 certified group of international companies and manufactures GCLs, geotextiles, geomembranes, geogrids, drainage products and erosion control materials for all civil engineering and geotechnical applications. The company’s global specialties include filtration, drainage, reinforcement, containment and erosion control for applications such as landfills, groundwater protection, tunneling, waterproofing and hydraulic engineering. NAUE pioneered the needle-punched method of geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) production in 1987 and has received an award in recognition of the company’s activities on development and research on GCLs from the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). www.naue.com
THE NEXT BENTOFIX® GENERATION
The most recent Bentofix® GCL development is a firmly attached polyolefin polymer coating – which exemplifies how modifications to GCL product design can be made to anticipate the special challenges of a particular site. Bentofix® X is the new needle-punched GCL type, to which the extruded polymer coating is attached to the woven side of the Bentofix® GCL, creating an additional low-permeability barrier prior to hydration. Bentofix® X is an advance for GCLs in some specific applications.
For media: Event photographs and NAUE logo images are available upon request. Contact NAUE’s Marketing Director Kent von Maubeuge, kvmaubeuge@naue.com, tel. +49 5743 41 228.
