Exhibit 99.1

               Albany International Announces Planned Reduction in
                        Manufacturing Capacity in Europe

      Albany, New York, January 15, 2009 - Albany International Oy, an affiliate
of Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN), announced today its plan to
discontinue operations at its dryer fabric manufacturing facility in Konala,
Finland. Over the last several years, similar steps have been taken in North
America and Europe to match capacity to the global demand for paper machine
clothing, as the global paper industry has continued to consolidate and
eliminate capacity.

      The proposal, if implemented, is estimated to affect up to 133 employees
and is subject to review under local law and would be implemented in accordance
with such law and in consultation with the Works Council.

      The planned action at Konala in no way reflects on the performance of the
affected employees; it is a business necessity, driven by the existing and
anticipated market conditions.

      The company remains committed to the dryer fabric business and will
continue to provide customers with strong expertise in Product Application,
Sales and Marketing, Service, and Research and Development to ensure outstanding
product quality. It is planned that dryer fabric sourcing will continue to be
available from manufacturing operations in Germany, China, France, and Mexico.

      Albany International is a global advanced textiles and materials
processing company. Its core business is the world's leading producer of
custom-designed fabrics and belts essential to the production of paper and
paperboard. Albany's family of emerging businesses extends its advanced textiles
and materials capabilities into a variety of other industries, most notably
aerospace composites, nonwovens, building products, and high-performance
industrial doors.

Additional information about the Company and its businesses and products is
available at www.albint.com.

Contacts:
Investors:
John Cozzolino
Vice President of Strategic Planning
518-445-2281
john.cozzolino@albint.com

Media:
Susan Siegel
Director of Corporate Communications
518-445-2284
susan.siegel@albint.com