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Fibres/​Yarns

Tencel capacity expansion completed at Heiligenkreuz

Lenzing has announced it has successfully completed its capacity expansion drive initiated three years ago at its fibre production facility located in Heiligenkreuz in the Burgenland region of Austria. Production capacity of the cellulose fibre Tencel has been increased incrementally by 25,000 tons to today's 60,000 tons. A total of Euros 60 million has been invested at the Heiligenkreuz site and the total number of e

7th September 2011

Knitting Industry
 | 

Knitwear, Knitted Outerwear, Intimate Apparel, Sports/​Activewear

Lenzing has announced it has successfully completed its capacity expansion drive initiated three years ago at its fibre production facility located in Heiligenkreuz in the Burgenland region of Austria.

Lenzing has announced it has successfully completed its capacity expansion drive initiated three years ago at its fibre production facility located in Heiligenkreuz in the Burgenland region of Austria.

Production capacity of the cellulose fibre Tencel has been increased incrementally by 25,000 tons to today's 60,000 tons. A total of Euros 60 million has been invested at the Heiligenkreuz site and the total number of employees has risen to more than 200.

The conclusion of the capacity expansion project was appropriately celebrated at a press conference in the presence of Burgenland's Provincial Governor Hans Niessl.

"The Lenzing Group has proven to be a reliable partner to Burgenland. In the past 15 years, since the construction decision was initially made, Lenzing Heiligenkreuz has become one of the most important industrial firms in the federal province of Burgenland. Lenzing is a decisive driving force for the entire economic area of South Burgenland", said Provincial Governor Niessl.

Lenzing board member Friedrich Weninger, who is responsible for the global fibre business underlined the significance of Heiligenkreuz for the Lenzing Group: "The Heiligenkreuz plant is an indispensable part of the Lenzing Group today."

"Here we produce Tencel fibres, which are supplied to the entire world, particularly Asia, from Burgenland. This is proof of the quality and competitiveness of the products manufactured in Heiligenkreuz," Mr Weninger added.

Tencel fibres produced in Heiligenkreuz are third generation cellulose fibres which are manufactured from pulp derived from wood. In the production process, cellulose is physically converted into a solution by means of a special chemical and subsequently the fibres are spun, dried and pressed into bales for shipment.

 "The production process for Tencel fibres (lyocell process) is an extremely environmentally-friendly process. The closed solvent cycle, the high level of energy efficiency and the low water consumption were the reasons for the European Union to bestow its environmental prize on Tencel," Lenzing said in a statement yesterday.

"Water consumption per kilogram of fibre is only one-twentieth the comparable water consumption of irrigation-intensive cotton. The greenhouse gas emissions of the Tencel production process are also very low," the company added.

From a knitting perspective Tencel is used in applications such sportswear including in seamless garments. Properties cited which make Tencel highly suited to seamless sportswear production are a strong and consistent fibre, good moisture management, a pure fibre from nature and good skin sensory properties. Lenzing says the combination of optimum moisture management and seamless technology make Tencel sports clothing unique.

In addition to the Heiligenkreuz plant, Lenzing also manufactures Tencel fibres at two other sites in Grimsby, UK for textiles and in the Mobile, Alabama, USA for nonwovens.

Lenzing intends to almost double its Tencel production capacity from 140,000 tons at present to about 275,000 tons in the year 2015.

 

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