5911.31.00.20 - Dryer felts and dryer fabrics

This HTS category, 5911.31.00.20, specifically covers dryer felts and dryer fabrics used in industrial processes, particularly within papermaking and similar machinery. These are textile fabrics and felts designed for continuous operation, often supplied as endless belts or with integrated linking devices. The defining characteristic for this subcategory is their weight, which is less than 650 grams per square meter (g/m²). This specification distinguishes them from heavier industrial textile articles within Chapter 59.

Within the broader category of textile fabrics and felts for papermaking or similar machines, this particular classification is distinct from its siblings. While 5911.31.00.10 covers "Press felts," which are designed to remove water under pressure during the papermaking process, and 5911.31.00.30 covers "Paper-forming fabrics" used in the initial stages of sheet formation, this code is for the fabrics used in the drying section of the machine. These dryer fabrics facilitate the evaporation of moisture from the paper web using heated air or cylinders.

As a leaf node within the HTS, 5911.31.00.20 does not have further subcategories. Therefore, classification within this code relies heavily on the precise physical characteristics, particularly the weight specification of under 650 g/m², and the intended industrial application as dryer felts or fabrics within papermaking or asbestos-cement production machinery. This ensures accurate differentiation from other types of industrial textile articles and related felts used in different stages of these manufacturing processes.