EANS-News: Lenzing AG Lenzing Site: Construction Start of the New TENCEL®
Production Facility
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Company Information
Lenzing (euro adhoc) - - Investments of EUR 130 mn in Upper Austria
- Expected completion in about 24 months
- 110 new jobs
Following the successful completion of the environmental impact assessment
process for the new TENCEL® production plant in Lenzing/Upper Austria nine
months after the formal filing of the project, Lenzing AG was formally granted a
legally binding building permit by the Office of the Provincial Government of
Upper Austria. Construction work has now commenced on the new production
facility which will manufacture 67,000 tons p.a. of the specialty fiber TENCEL®
in Upper Austria in the future. Construction time has been calculated at 24
months.
Lenzing AG will invest approximately EUR 130 mn in the new factory, making it
one of the largest individual industrial investments in Austria at the present
time. This project will be accompanied by considerable infrastructure
investments. Moreover, once it is put into operation the TENCEL® production
plant will generate 110 additional highly qualified jobs in Lenzing in the long
term, as well as a large number of other jobs in the region. The planning and
construction of the facility also leads to a corresponding value creation.
Specialty fiber site in Lenzing
"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. 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",
says a pleased Friedrich Weninger, Member of the Management Board of the Lenzing
Group and Chief Operating Officer responsible for the fiber business.
The new TENCEL® facility is of major strategic importance to the Lenzing site
due to the fact that TENCEL® will also be produced on the premises in addition
to the specialty fibers Lenzing Modal® and Lenzing FR®. Thus the facility in
Lenzing will further expand its position as the main specialty fiber production
site for the Lenzing Group. The geographical proximity to the European growth
market for TENCEL®, the attractive energy costs as a consequence of the
company's own on-site power generation capabilities as well as the availability
of a sufficient pool of qualified personnel and the closeness to the TENCEL®
pilot plant were the main reasons underlying the decision to locate the new
plant in Upper Austria.
TENCEL®: The fiber of the future
TENCEL® fibers are used in the textile industry and for nonwovens. The
production process is particularly environmentally compatible, and is
characterized by the practically complete closed cycle of the solvent in use.
Lenzing continues to be the only industrial-scale supplier of TENCEL®. The
fibers are already being manufactured at the plants in Heiligenkreuz/Burgenland,
Grimsby/U.K. and in Mobile/Alabama/USA. However, up to the present time
production lines with an annual capacity of not more than 20,000 tons have been
used. The current nominal production capacity of TENCEL® in the Lenzing Group
totals approximately 140,000 tons p.a., which will be increased to 150,000 tons
p.a. thanks to the expansion program now being implemented at the Mobile/Alabama
site.
New applications are continually being developed. The optimal moisture
management of the TENCEL® fibers makes it attractive for use in high quality
home textiles such as quilts and bed linen, but also in ladies' outerwear and
activewear. TENCEL® is also designed for sensitive segments such as cosmetics,
hygiene and medicine, for example in wound dressings and baby wipes. TENCEL® is
even used in the technical segment, for example to enhance the strength of
plastics or to manufacture electro-technical components. The latest technical
application is TENCEL® powder. It is deployed as a moisture regulator in foam
mattresses and as additives to building materials, amongst other uses.
Further inquiry note:
Lenzing AG
Mag. Angelika Guldt
Tel.: +43 (0) 7672-701-2713
Fax: +43 (0) 7672-918-2713
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