Lenzing offering continuous filament Tencel

At an exclusive event in Paris, the Lenzing Group launched a new product: TENCEL™ Luxe. The TENCEL™ Luxe randed lyocell filament is another key milestone in the implementation of the company’s sCore TEN strategy and the first time that Lenzing enters the filament market. It will further support Lenzing’s shift to become a true speciality player in the botanic materials market derived from sustainable wood sources. TENCEL™ Luxe: The new player of eco-couture fabrics TENCEL™ Luxe branded filaments are the new player for sustainable high-end cellulose textiles by offering superior aesthetics, performance and comfort level that allow them to be the perfect partner with other noble fibers such as silk, cashmere or wool. The smooth surface of the TENCEL™ branded Luxe filament gives fabrics a silky smooth feel and liquid-like drape for the most sensual silhouettes. Moreover, TENCEL™ Luxe branded filaments are naturally breathable due to their wood-based origin and offer outstanding color fastness, enabling designers to express bold color palettes where creativity knows no boundaries. 

TENCEL™ Luxe  eco-botanic lyocell filaments are made from wood pulp, which is sourced from sustainable wood in line with Lenzing’s strict Wood and Pulp Policy. They are produced using Lenzing’s pioneering closed-loop lyocell production process, which has received the “European Award for the Environment” from the European Union. This process ensures minimal environmental impact due to low process water and energy use and raw materials consumption.

“We are committed to setting industry standards in order to enhance the protection of our environment while making filaments for fabrics that are TENCEL™ Luxe is a further sign of our ongoing commitment towards innovation and sustainability”, explains Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of the Lenzing Group. “The expansion plan represents the next consistent step in the implementation of our sCore TEN strategy and is a commitment of Lenzing as a hub for research & development and engineering.” TENCEL™ Luxe is another proof of Lenzing’s innovation strength*. It will open new markets for the

Capacity Expansion in Heiligenkreuz

 Expansion of capacities for premium specialty fibers by 25,000 tons
 Investments of about EUR 70 mn over the next twelve months
 Project highlights strategic importance of Heiligenkreuz for TENCEL® premium fibers

Heiligenkreuz – The Lenzing Group is expanding production capacities for its specialty fiber TENCEL® at its site in Heiligenkreuz, Burgenland. After obtaining all required approvals and permits, the expansion project was initiated today, Tuesday, March 21, 2017. The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Lenzing CEO Stefan Doboczky, along with Bernd Zauner and Dieter Eichinger, the two managing directors of Lenzing Fibers, Burgenland’s Provincial Governor Hans Niessl and Alexander Petschnig, the Regional Minister for Economic Affairs.
“We will invest about EUR 70 mn over the coming twelve-month period to expand production capacities for our high-quality botanic specialty fibers”, Doboczky says. “With this investment we are responding to strong global demand for new types of TENCEL® premium fibers such as the RefibraTM fiber, using cotton scraps from the manufacturing of cotton garments and wood as raw materials. This fiber makes a widely-recognized contribution to the circular economy in the textile industry. The fiber was very successfully launched on the market in February by our strategic partner Inditex in its Zara stores”, he adds.

Annual production capacities for fibers will be increased by about 25,000 tons as a result of the investment. The fibers will be available to customers starting at the end of the first quarter of 2018.

“We launched the production of lyocell fibers in Heiligenkreuz 20 years ago, and have expanded the site to make it to one of the largest industrial employer in Southern Burgenland. The new investments comprise a further important milestone in our success story, and will provide added impetus to growth in a structurally weak region”, states Zauner.

Lenzing put its first industrial-scale lyocell fiber production facility into operation 20 years ago. Today the fibers are sold under the TENCEL® brand name. A recent study carried out under the scientific supervision of Friedrich Schneider, Professor at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, concluded that the Lenzing plant in Heiligenkreuz generates considerable regional economic effects. In addition to the approximately 230 jobs at Lenzing Fibers itself, around 940 additional jobs are secured on a long-term basis thanks to the company’s economic activities in the region. The additional value creation equals about EUR 102 mn per year.

In its 20-year history, the Heiligenkreuz plant has sold close to 700,000 tons of fibers and exported the majority across the globe, as far away as China, Korea and Japan. The factory in Heiligenkreuz has been continuously expanded due to rapidly growing demand. Up until now, Lenzing has invested a total of roughly EUR 750 mn to build and extend production capacities for TENCEL® fibers. In addition to the Heiligenkreuz facility, these specialty fibers are also manufactured at the Lenzing site, in Mobile (USA) and Grimsby (Great Britain) (where the original Tencel process developed by Courtaulds first went into production in the 1990's. Ed.)

The lyocell technology applied in Heiligenkreuz is characterized by a very good environmental performance. The cellulose fibers are derived from the renewable raw material wood in a closed-loop process, resulting in a minimal amount of environmentally harmful emissions. Due to their outstanding properties, TENCEL® fibers boast a particularly broad range of applications, both in the world of fashion as well as technical areas and nonwovens. Lenzing is the leading producer of lyocell fibers by far, and is continually upgrading and refining this technology.

Source: Lenzing PR