The Lenzing Group announced it completed the conversion of a production line from generic viscose to Tencel branded modal fibers at its facility in Nanjing, China. The conversion allows Lenzing to offer Chinese customers locally produced Tencel for the first time and meet demand more quickly.
The production site, which operates under the Chinese subsidiary called Lenzing (Nanjing) Fibers Co., Ltd., now solely consists of eco-friendly speciality fibers, the company said.
The facility can produce up to 35,000 tons per year. It also produces Lenzing Ecovero branded fibers and viscose eco fibers for nonwoven applications in China. It is Lenzing’s sole production facility in China.
“Demand for our eco-friendly specialty fibers is constantly rising. We see enormous growth potential, especially in Asia,” said Stephan Sielaff, Lenzing CEO. “Thanks to our investments in China and other Asian locations, we are even better positioned to meet this growing demand.”
Lenzing celebrated the launch of the new production line April 18 with a customer event. The conversion is part of Lenzing’s $1 million investment in its Chinese site to reduce carbon emissions and upgrade the product portfolio. The site is gradually converting to green energy. Electricity will be solely derived from renewable sources from this year onward.
Lenzing is also working to convert existing standard viscose capacities into environmentally responsible specialty fibers in Purwakarta, Indonesia. There, Lenzing is creating additional capacity for Ecovero branded fibers. The Indonesian site will become a pure specialty viscose supplier later this year.
In 2019, Lenzing set itself the target of halving its carbon emissions by 2030 and becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. Its carbon reduction target has been confirmed by the Science Based Targets Initiative.
Sielaff added the company is “continuing to make considerable progress towards achieving a carbon-neutral future and becoming a champion of circularity.”
