EANS-News: Lenzing AG Successful Start-up of World's Largest TENCEL®
Production Plant in Lenzing (1)
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Company Information
- First sales volumes already successfully marketed
- Technological milestone for TENCEL® , the fiber of the future
- The TENCEL® production plant secures 140 jobs at the Lenzing site
- Investment costs of EUR 150 mn and construction time of 24 months fully on
schedule
The Lenzing Group has successfully initiated production at its new TENCEL® jumbo
production facility, the largest in the world, at the Lenzing site in Upper
Austria. The plant is in the midst of a stable ramp-up phase. The feedback on
the part of the market is very positive.
"We are more than satisfied with the progression of the start-up curve. Based on
the production process in the past days and weeks, we have reasonable grounds to
believe that this latest generation of TENCEL® technology will completely
fulfill our expectations", says a confident Lenzing Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) Peter Untersperger. "The successful start-up of production operations is a
technological milestone for TENCEL® the fiber of the future and for the entire
Lenzing Group. We are optimistic that we will be able to achieve the planned
production target of 30,000 tons by the end of 2014. 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", adds Lenzing's Chief
Operating Officer (COO) Friedrich Weninger.
This factory comprises the first time in which a single production line with an
annual nominal capacity of 67,000 tons was installed. Previous TENCEL®
production lines were usually only one-quarter as large. The new plant design
incorporates lessons learned from the longstanding experience of three existing
Lenzing Group TENCEL® production plants located in Austria, USA and Great
Britain. As a consequence, the new TENCEL® plant in Lenzing represents the
world's leading generation of TENCEL® technology. The new design of the jumbo
production line also enables investment costs to be maintained at a very
competitive level of approximately EUR 150 mn (about EUR 2,200 per ton of
capacity). This comprises the decisive approach to the further competitive
scaling of TENCEL® fibers as a universally deployable textile and nonwoven
fiber. The new, broader product portfolio on the basis of the TENCEL® technology
successfully complements Lenzing's specialty strategy.
With a construction time of 24 months, Lenzing completely adhered to both the
budgeted investment costs as well as all timetables. The TENCEL® production in
Lenzing secures 140 jobs at the Lenzing site.
Thanks to the new plant, annual nominal TENCEL® production capacity of the
Lenzing Group will rise from 155,000 tons p.a. to about 220,000 tons. In this
way Lenzing will further expand upon its global market leadership for TENCEL®
fibers and offer its global customers new expansion opportunities in both the
textile and nonwovens segments as well as new and innovative applications. "The
related market development activities have already been in full swing for quite
a few months", states Robert van de Kerkhof, the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)
of Lenzing responsible for the fiber business. Moreover, new technical
applications will be opened up and massively expanded in the years to come.
TENCEL® - the fiber of the future
TENCEL® is the latest generation of man-made cellulose fibers, and is
manufactured in a particularly environmentally-compatible production process
awarded the "European Award for the Environment" by the European Union. Lenzing
is the only industrial-scale supplier of TENCEL® in the world. TENCEL® fibers
are used by the textile industry as well as for nonwovens. Typical applications
of the high-tech fiber TENCEL® include sportswear, soft denim applications, home
textiles as well as baby wipes and cosmetic wipes. However, TENCEL® is also
being increasingly deployed for technical applications. For example, as a powder
added to construction materials, TENCEL® ensures a pleasant indoor climate.
(1) TENCEL® is a registered trademark of Lenzing Aktiengesellschaft
Further inquiry note:
Lenzing AG
Mag. Angelika Guldt
Tel.: +43 (0) 7672-701-2713
Fax: +43 (0) 07672-918-2713
mailto:a.guldt@lenzing.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: Lenzing AG
A-A-4860 Lenzing
phone: +43 7672-701-0
FAX: +43 7672-96301
mail: a.guldt@lenzing.com
WWW: http://www.lenzing.com
sector: Chemicals
ISIN: AT0000644505
indexes: WBI, ATX, Prime Market
stockmarkets: free trade: Berlin, official market: Wien
language: English