Lenzing Plans New Tencel Production Facility
Austrian fiber maker Lenzing AG has begun construction on a new Tencel production facility in upper Austria.
The new facility is expected to be completed in two years and when finished will employ an additional 110 people and will produce 67,000 tons of Tencel fiber per year.
The project represents a 130 million euro investment for Lenzing, which is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Tencel this year.
“With the Tencel plant, the fiber technology of the future and the latest generation of man-made cellulose fibers is returning to our corporate headquarters in Lenzing,” said Friedrich Weninger, a member of Lenzing Group’s management board and chief operating officer for the company’s fiber business. “The Lenzing pilot plant was the place where 20 years ago the first marketable lyocell fibers in the history of the Lenzing Group were produced. They are now marketed around the world under the Tencel brand name.”
Lenzing currently produces Tencel at plants in Heiligenkreuz, Austria; Grimsby, United Kingdom; and Mobile, Ala. Currently, annual production at the existing facilities is 140,000 tons of fiber. Expansion plans at the Mobile facility will bring the current annual production of fiber to 150,000 tons.
The Lenzing Group has been producing fiber for more than 70 years. In addition to Tencel, the company’s branded cellulosic fibers include Lenzing Modal and Lenzing Viscose.—Alison A. Nieder
