The Lenzing Group, a supplier of cellulosic fibers with headquarters in Lenzing, Austria, completed construction of a new Tencel manufacturing facility in Upper Austria, on budget and on time, and is ramping up production there. The company invested $200.4 million in the 24-month building project. The new plant adds 140 jobs to the local economy.
The facility increases the company’s Tencel production by 42%, to 220,000 tons per year. The expanded product pipeline benefits current and future customers in the textile and nonwoven segments, Lenzing said. It is working to expand the market for Tencel, as well as exploring new applications for it.
“We are more than satisfied with the progression of the (plant) start-up curve,” said Peter Untersperger, Lenzing chief executive officer. “The successful start-up of production operations is a technological milestone for Tencel, the fiber of the future, and for the entire Lenzing Group.”
The plant’s design incorporated lessons learned from the company’s other Tencel plants, in Austria, Great Britain and the United States. The new factory incorporates economies of scale to make Tencel a more universally affordable fiber. For instance, a single, jumbo production line can produce 67,000 tons of fiber per year, four times that of the smaller lines at other Lenzing plants.
“We are optimistic that we will be able to achieve the planned production target of 30,000 tons by the end of 2014,” said Friedrich Weninger, Lenzing chief operating offcer. “This new Tencel facility is decisive to ensure the long-term viability of fiber production at the Lenzing site and the basis for future investments in all markets.”
