Austria’s Lenzing upgrades its Chinese production line

The Lenzing Group, a world-leading provider of specialty fibers for the textile and nonwoven industries, has successfully completed the conversion of a production line from generic viscose to TENCEL branded modal fibers for textiles and clothing.

Lenzing is thus in a position to more swiftly satisfy the structural surge in demand by making domestically manufactured TENCEL fibers available to its Chinese customers for the first time. The fiber portfolio of the Chinese production site now only consists of eco-friendly specialty fibers as a result of the conversion of the production line with a nameplate capacity of 35,000 tonnes per year. Additionally, Lenzing provides viscose eco fibers for nonwoven applications as well as fibers under the LENZING ECOVERO brand in China.

On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, there were celebrations celebrating the opening of the new production line as part of a customer event. Lenzing is spending EUR 100 million upgrading its product line and reducing carbon emissions at its Chinese facility. At its Chinese manufacturing facility, the company is in the process of making a progressive transition to green energy; starting in 2023, all of the electricity there will come from renewable sources. Lenzing set a goal for itself in 2019 to cut its particular carbon emissions in half by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The Science Based Targets Initiative has approved its carbon reduction goal.

Lenzing CEO Stephan Sielaff, said that as a result, Lenzing is the first manufacturer of cellulosic fibers in the world to have a climate target that is acknowledged by science. Their environmentally friendly speciality fibers are in high demand. They anticipate tremendous growth, particularly in Asia. They are even better equipped to meet this expanding demand as a result of their investments in China and other Asian countries. At the same time, they are continuing to make significant progress toward realizing a carbon-neutral future and emerging as a champion of circularity.

The most urgent issue of our time is man-made climate change. Due to its rapid fashion business model and rising use of fossil fuels in the production of textiles, the fashion industry still has a very detrimental influence on the environment. TENCEL specialty fibers that are sustainably produced are assisting Lenzing’s clients, particularly brands and retailers, in achieving their environmental and sustainability goals.