Environment protection and cleanliness is the need of the hour for all manufacturing industries like cement, steel, aluminium, coal and thermal power stations which let out a lot of harmful exhaust gases and acidic pollutants into the air. With the sole aim of serving the 
people in this regard, Andrew Industries was founded by Edward Worsley Andrew in 1896 and was officially incorporated in 1924. The company began its business in North Lancashire town of Bury by supplying woven blankets and carpets to the laundries in the UK.
During the 1970s, the company’s current Chairman, Edward Andrew, led the group’s diversification into the textile division to manufacture highly engineered needle punch felts for the industrial dry filtration market. The textile division is a leading supplier, worldwide, of dust filters used predominantly for pollution control installations. With latest equipments and technology, the company manufactures a wide variety of high quality and reliable dust collector bags, filter bags and air filters that have found application in different industries like cement, coal, metals, minerals, etc.
At present, Andrew Industries has production units in 22 different locations across the globe to support the huge base of clientele. The dust collector, air filter and various other filter bags are manufactured keeping in mind the nature of the industries they serve and their waste. These bags are extremely tolerable to harsh wear and tear, temperature tolerant and are high on strength. 
A second phase of diversification took place in the late 1970s with the establishment of the Business Machine Parts (BMP) Division which was involved in the supply of engineered textile components for use in the digital print and office automation market (copiers, fax machines, laser printers and ink jet printers and other screen printing equipments).
Indian operations
Talking about the MNC’s Indian operations, Mr. Lakshmipathy, CEO – Indian Operations, says: “In order to expand our company’s global functions and to cater to Indian and SAARC markets, Andrew Industries purchased 9.15 acres of land in Sri City Industrial Park, Tada, Andhra Pradesh, in 2009 with an initial investment of Rs. 25 crores. The phase 1 unit of the factory, which is a bag making plant for the textile filter media, constructed over an area of 30,000 sq.ft., and with a production capacity of 2,00,000 filter bags per year in a single shift, has started in full swing.
Phase II will be backward integration where the company has planned to manufacture the basic raw material rather than importing it. It will be carried out with substantial investment. At present, the company is importing raw materials such as polyester, aramid, acrylic, mixed felts, PTFE blend, P84, etc., from China and the UK, resulting in direct increase in the cost of their products compared to that of its competitors.
Andrew Industries has expanded the product portfolio by manufacturing e-PTFE laminated products. These products typically employ impregnated woven glass fabric and other types of fabrics as the support for e-PTFE membranes. In these systems, the filtration is performed by the membrane which is mechanically supported by a woven fibreglass substrate.
US market
A pioneer in non-woven fabrics, the company has its operations in almost all continents (except Africa) and a strong clientele across the globe. “We have one of the largest fabric manufacturing units in South Carolina, US, which is fully automated. We have more than 40% per cent market share in the US for our non-woven fabrics,” says Mr. Lakshmipathy.
Having rich experience in the manufacture of filter bags, the management of Andrew Industries has been doing a lot of acquisitions across the globe in order to strengthen the company’s manufacturing quality and capabilities. In 2010, the company acquired a plant in China to manufacture different types of felts. In March 2013, it acquired a plant in the UK for manufacturing filter bags.
“With our new Chennai facility, we are targeting a turnover of Rs. 50 crores by 2016-17, and by 2020, with the completion of phase II, we aim to reach a turnover of Rs. 100 crores”, adds Mr. Lakshmipathy.