Lenzing Nanjing Fibers, the Chinese subsidiary of Austria’s Lenzing AG, has started up a new viscose production line as part of a worldwide expansion of its production capacity.
The new line will offer a nominal capacity of 60,000 tons annually and will produce viscose fibers for textile applications and the nonwoven industry mainly for the Asian market. Lenzing has been producing viscose, the first generation cellulose fiber, for almost 70 years.
Construction took about a year, and important key components were provided by the Lenzing Group’s subsidiary, Lenzing Technik GmbH. The start up of the new line almost doubled the annual production capacity of Lenzing Nanjing Fibers to about 140,000 tons of viscose fibers. The company said it is already expected to reach the plant’s full nominal capacity at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Nanjing plant is Lenzing Group’s third-largest production location and began manufacturing in 2007.
Lenzing is in the process of expanding the capacities of nearly all of its locations worldwide. Lenzing Group said it plans to increase its total capacity from 710,000 tons at the beginning of 2010 to over 1.1 million tons by 2015. This step by Lenzing comes in reaction to the growing demand for high-quality fibers due to population growth and increased global needs, as well as the trend toward sustainable fabrics. With sales last year of 1.77 billion euros, or $2.55 billion at current exchange, Lenzing manufactures cellulosic fibers such as viscose, Tencel and modal, as well as high-tech plastics polymers.