Tencel factory, world’s largest production facility for Lyocell fibre opens its doors in Austria

Lenzing Group a world leader in marketing and manufacturing of high-quality man made cellulose fibres, has finished the construction of the new Tencel factory, the world’s largest production facility for Lyocell fibres in Lenzing, Austria.

The construction of the most modern fibre plant in Lenzing, Austria went according to plan both financially, and in terms of the time. The plant is fully operational and running at full capacity. The investment costs totaled up to EUR 150 million.

This new factory in Lenzing is the first in the industry to feature a single production line with an annual nominal capacity of 67,000 tons. Previous Tencel production lines were usually only one quarter as large.

With TENCEL, Lenzing offers the industry a fiber material for the future. In terms of ecology and innovative strength, the fiber represents a milestone.

The new plant design incorporates lessons learned from the longstanding experience of the three existing Lenzing Group Tencel production plants located in Austria, USA and Great Britain. As a result, the new Tencel plant in Lenzing represents the world’s leading generation of Tencel technology, the company believes.

The company’s search for a cellulose fibre with an ecological and economic production process led researchers to Lyocell

Lenzing and the former fibre producers, Courtaulds, nurtured Lyocell to market maturity as a result of intensive research work. The first production facility was started in Mobile in 1992

In 2004 Lenzing was able to pool all of its resources as a result of buying the Tencel brand and capitalise on this expertise in textile processing and fibre production.

As a result of purchasing the Tencel brand name, Lenzing was able to market the entire Lyocell business under this fibre name.

The brand name programme is linked to an origin check and gives consumers assurances concerning the origin of the material. A global marketing and service team performs random sampling of the textile products at retail to check both the quality and the production chain. The Tencel brand name is protected and stands for more than 20 years of commercial expertise in Lyocell fibre technology.

TENCEL has demonstrated that the fiber holds great potential and will set a new standard in this sector.