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                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                 ------------

                                   FORM 8-K

                                CURRENT REPORT
                    PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
                        SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934



Date of report (Date of earliest event reported)  October 8, 2001
                                                 -----------------


                     APPLIED EXTRUSION TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
 _____________________________________________________________________________

              (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)



         Delaware                      0-19188                51-0295865
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(State or Other Jurisdiction         (Commission             (IRS Employer
     of Incorporation)               File Number)          Identification No.)



            3 Centennial Drive, Peabody, MA                     01960
 ______________________________________________________________________________
        (Address of Principal Executive Offices)              (Zip Code)


Registrant's telephone number, including area code       (978) 538-1500
                                                     -----------------------



                                      N/A
 ______________________________________________________________________________
         (Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

                                       1
<PAGE>

ITEM 5.   OTHER EVENTS.

     On October 8, 2001, Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc. (the "Company")
issued a press release regarding the sale of its netting and nonwovens business
to DelStar Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation. A copy of the press
release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and is incorporated herein by
reference.

ITEM 7.   EXHIBITS

(c)  Exhibits.

     EXHIBIT INDEX

     Listed below are all Exhibits filed as part of this Report.

     99.1      Press Release of the Company, dated October 8, 2001.

                                       2
<PAGE>

                                  SIGNATURES


     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                             APPLIED EXTRUSION TECHNOLOGIES, INC.


                             By: /s/ Anthony J. Allott
                                 --------------------------------
                                 Name:  Anthony J. Allott
                                 Title: Senior Vice President and
                                        Chief Financial Officer


Date:  October 10, 2001

                                       3
<PAGE>

                                 EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
Number    Title of Exhibit
------    ----------------

 99.1     Press Release of the Company, dated October 8, 2001.

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<FILENAME>dex991.txt
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<TEXT>
<PAGE>

                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1
                                                                    ------------

[COMPANY LOGO APPEARS HERE]
                                             Contact:  Anthony J. Allott
Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc.                   Senior Vice President and
3 Centennial Drive, Peabody, MA 01960                  Chief Financial Officer
976-538-1500   .   Fax 978-538-1557                    (978) 538-1516

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
---------------------

                     APPLIED EXTRUSION TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
                 SELLS SPECIALTY NETS AND NONWOVENS BUSINESS;
                BOLSTERS BALANCE SHEET FOR FUTURE ACQUISITIONS

BOSTON, MA, October 8, 2001 -- Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ
NMS: AETC) today announced that it has sold its Specialty Nets and Nonwovens
business to DelStar Technologies, Inc., a company formed by RFE Investment
Partners of New Canaan, Connecticut. The business, located in Middletown,
Delaware, generated annual sales in the most recent fiscal year of approximately
$20,000,000 through the manufacture and sale of nets and nonwoven media. The
gross proceeds of the transaction were approximately $23,000,000, and the
Company will record a non-cash loss in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2001 of
approximately $6,900,000.

"The sale of the Specialty Nets and Nonwovens business represents the
divestiture of our only non-core business," commented Thomas E. Williams,
President and Chief Executive Officer, "and will allow us to focus exclusively
on our OPP films business. Given our leadership position in the strengthening
OPP films market, we believe now is the time to sharpen our focus on this market
and build a strong balance sheet to support aggressive growth opportunities.
Including the proceeds from the sale, the Company has over $45,000,000 of cash
and cash equivalents, approximately $70,000,000 of availability under a line of
credit with nominal debt maturities for the next ten years and is currently
generating significant free cash flow from operations. These financial
resources, combined with our market leadership, innovative product development
capabilities and highly efficient manufacturing operations, strongly position us
to strengthen our industry leadership position both through additional
acquisitions and internal growth."

Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc. is a leading developer and manufacturer of
highly specialized plastic films used primarily in consumer products labeling
and flexible packaging applications. Through its technological innovations, AET
is a leader in the North American oriented polypropylene films market.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in
this report are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties
which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-
looking statements, including those risks related to the timely development and
acceptance of new products, fluctuations in raw materials and other production
costs, the ability to satisfy our debt service requirements, the loss of one or
more significant customers, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the
timely completion of capital projects, the success of the Company's efforts to
access capital markets on satisfactory terms, and to acquire, integrate, and
operate new businesses and expand into new markets, as well as other risks
detailed in Exhibit 99 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2000 and from time to time in the Company's
other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


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