Russia is investing heavily in technical textiles and nonwovens. The plan is to take the share of domestically made technical textiles to 80 per cent of the local market by 2020. Balashov textile mill (Baltex) is one of Russia’s leading producers of technical textiles and nonwovens. At present the Russian technical textile market is estimated at $2 billion, of which the share of domestic production does not exceed 15 to 17 per cent. The same situation is currently observed with the raw materials base, which is reflected by the fact that the share of imports of synthetic fibers and yarns in the domestic market is estimated at about 71 per cent.

Currently, foreign companies are still dominating the Russian market for technical textiles and nonwovens and many are considering further expansion. US headquartered DuPont plans to build several facilities for the production of technical textiles and nonwovens in some cities in Siberia.

So far, Russia has had only two projects which have involved large-scale production of technical textiles. The National Investment and Finance Corporation, one of Russia’s largest investment corporations, is establishing a large cluster for the production of textile and technical textile products in the Russian Ryazan region.