In a virtual broadcast this morning (March 3^rd), Lenzing Group, announced the opening of its new €400 million lyocell plant in Thailand.

The new plant – the largest of its kind in the world with a nameplate capacity of 100,000 tons per year – has started production on schedule and will help to better meet the increasing customer demand for Tencel branded lyocell fibres.

The construction of the plant at Industrial Park 304 in Prachinburi, around 150 kilometres northeast of Bangkok, started in the second half of 2019 and proceeded largely according to plan, despite the challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, with the recruiting and onboarding of new employees now complete.

“We are very proud of this achievement,” said CEO Cord Prinzhorn. “Our sincere thanks go to the entire Lenzing team and especially to our staff in Thailand, but also to many external stakeholders who joined forces during the global pandemic to make this key project reality.”

“The demand for our wood-based, biodegradable speciality fibres under the Tencel, Ecovero and Veocel brands
is growing and we see huge further potential, in Asia in particular,” added Robert van de Kerkhof, member of Lenzing’s managing board.

The lyocell production process is the most modern and environmentally responsible method for producing fibres from wood and has been successfully applied on an industrial scale for about 30 years.

The Thai investment already includes general infrastructure that would benefit future expansion and Lenzing will also continue to look for opportunities to expand lyocell production in other parts of the world.

“Investments in Thailand and other Lenzing sites around the world support us not only along our transformation towards becoming a supplier of eco-friendly specialty fibres, but also in implementing our ambitious climate targets, thus further increasing our company value,” said Prinzhorn.

In 2019, Lenzing made a strategic commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions per ton of product by 50% by 2030 and the target is to be climate-neutral by 2050. The site in Thailand can be supplied with sustainable biogenic energy and contribute significantly to climate protection.

Together with a key project in Brazil and the substantial investments at existing sites in Asia, Lenzing is currently implementing the largest expansion programme in its corporate history with investments of more than €1.5 billion.

www.lenzing.com