The Lenzing Group, Lenzing, Austria, has announced the completion of its key lyocell expansion project in Thailand.
“We are very proud of this achievement,” says Cord Prinzhorn, CEO of Lenzing Group. “Our sincere thanks go to the entire Lenzing team and especially to our staff in Thailand but also to many external stakeholders, who joined forces in times of a global pandemic to make this key project reality. To deliver such a huge project in time and at budget is an outstanding achievement given the challenges of the global pandemic.”
The new plant, the largest of its kind in the world with a nameplate capacity of 100,000 tons per year, started production on schedule and will help to meet the increasing customer demand even better for TENCEL branded lyocell fibers, according to the company.
“The demand for our wood-based, biodegradable specialty fibers under the TENCEL, LENZING ECOVERO and VEOCEL brands is growing very well,” says Robert van de Kerkhof, Lenzing Managing Board member. “In Asia in particular, we see huge growth potential for our brands based on sustainable innovation. With the production start of the lyocell plant in Thailand, Lenzing reached an important milestone in its growth journey, supporting our ambitious goal to make the textile and nonwoven industries more sustainable.”
The lyocell production process is the most modern method for producing fibers from wood, according to the company. The underlying idea of the lyocell process is to dissolve and process the pulp in a closed loop without any chemical derivatization.
“Investments in Thailand and other Lenzing sites around the world support us not only along our transformation towards becoming a supplier of eco-friendly specialty fibers but also in implementing our ambitious climate targets, thus further increasing our company value,” Prinzhorn says. — D.S.
