Lenzing plans $293 mn plant in US

Lenzing Group, a leader in high-quality, botanic cellulose fibres and dissolving pulp to standard and speciality cellulose fibres, will be investing in a new Tencel fibre plant in the US, with the aim to increase the share of speciality fibres as a percentage of revenue to 50 per cent by 2020.

Lenzing plans to construct a state-of-the-art plant with a production capacity of 90,000 tonne per year at its site in Mobile, Alabama. The new facility, which will be the largest Tencel fibre plant in the world, will set a new milestone in the history of lyocell fibres. The investment volume will total $293 million. The new plant, which will utilise the latest technological standards, is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2019.

The Lenzing Group currently has a worldwide production capacity of 2,22,000 tonnes per year of Tencel fibres. The decision to build this plant in the US was supported by the good infrastructure at the company’s mobile site and attractive energy costs.