Lenzing to invest EUR 70 mn to expand Tencel production capacities

The Lenzing Group to invest about EUR 70 million over the coming twelve-month period to expand production capacities for its high-quality botanic specialty fibres,. With this investment they are responding to strong global demand for new types of Tencel premium fibres such as the Refibra fibre, using cotton scraps from the manufacturing of cotton garments and wood as raw materials said Lenzing CEO Stefan Doboczky.

The ground breaking ceremony took place at its site in Heiligenkreuz, Burgenland for expanding production capacities for its specialty fibre Tencel. The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Lenzing CEO Stefan Doboczky, along with Bernd Zauner and Dieter Eichinger, the two managing directors of Lenzing Fibers, Burgenland’s Provincial Governor Hans Niessl and Alexander Petschnig, the Regional Minister for Economic Affairs.

Annual production capacities for fibres will be increased by about 25,000 tonnes as a result of the investment. The fibres will be available to customers starting at the end of the first quarter of 2018.

They launched its first production of lyocell fibres in Heiligenkreuz 20 years ago, and have expanded the site to make it to one of the largest industrial employer in Southern Burgenland. Today, the fibres are sold under the Tencel brand name

In its 20-year history, the Heiligenkreuz plant has sold close to 700,000 tonnes of fibres and exported the majority across the globe, as far away as China, Korea and Japan. The factory in Heiligenkreuz has been continuously expanded due to rapidly growing demand.

Up until now, Lenzing has invested a total of roughly EUR 750 million to build and extend production capacities for Tencel fibres. In addition to the Heiligenkreuz facility, these specialty fibres are also manufactured at the Lenzing site, in Mobile, US, and Grimsby, UK.

The new investments comprise a further important milestone in their success story, and will provide added impetus to growth in a structurally weak region, said Zauner.

The lyocell technology applied in Heiligenkreuz is characterised by a very good environmental performance. The cellulose fibres are derived from the renewable raw material wood in a closed-loop process, resulting in a minimal amount of environmentally harmful emissions. Due to their outstanding properties, Tencel fibres boast a particularly broad range of applications, both in the world of fashion, as well as technical areas and nonwovens.

This fibre makes a widely-recognized contribution to the circular economy in the textile industry. The fibre was very successfully launched on the market in February by their strategic partner Inditex in its Zara stores.