Lenzing plans to construct a state-of-the-art plant with a production capacity of 90,000 tons per year at its site in Mobile, Alabama. The new facility will be the largest Tencel fibre plant in the world with an investment of total US$293 million (EUR275 million) and will utilize the latest technological standards. The Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG has approved the investment in a new Tencel fibre plant in the USA.

The new plant is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2019 and it will set a new milestone in the history of lyocell fibres. The decision to build this plant in the US was supported by the good infrastructure at our Mobile site and attractive energy costs.

The Lenzing Group currently has a worldwide production capacity of 222,000 tons per year of Tencel fibres. The new plant in Mobile, in addition to the already announced debottlenecking projects at the other Tencel fibre sites will increase the total Tencel fibre capacity by more than 50 percent by 2019.

This investment represents another major milestone in the implementation of their corporate strategy sCore TEN. It will bring them a big step further to reach their target of 50 percent revenue from specialty fibres by 2020, said Lenzing CEO Stefan Doboczky.

This expansion also underscores their commitment to all their Tencel fibre customers, who continue to make their products even more sustainable using Tencel fibre, the world’s most sustainable botanic fibre.

According to the manufacturer, the implementation of the Lenzing’s expansion programme is essential for driving the Lenzing Group’s organic growth agenda. Therefore, it was decided to create a new Management Board role, pooling together the key technical, operational and engineering responsibilities.

The Supervisory Board of the company appointed Heiko Arnold as the new Chief Technology Officer. In addition to a strong scientific and technical education, Arnold has gained many years of experience with BASF in the realization of major investment projects and continuous operational improvements as well as extensive know-how in Research & Development. He will be responsible for all technical departments in the Lenzing Group.