Austrian fabric giant Lenzing recently stated that it plans to invest more than 1 billion euros in the next few years to expand the production of Lyocell (commonly known as "Tense") fibers. The first step will be to invest 400 million Euros in Thailand to build an advanced Lyocell fiber production plant.
Lenzing said the plant has been approved for construction and construction will begin this fall at the Industrial Park 304 industrial park in Prachinburi, 150 kilometers east of Bangkok. The project is fully supported by the Board of Investment (BOI) of Thailand. It is expected to be put into production by the end of 2021, with an annual output of about 100,000 tons.
Lenzing stopped its expansion plan in the United States last September, and a $ 322 million project in Alabama was shelved, focusing instead on building a new production base in Thailand.
Lenzing said that Thailand has good trade relations with major Asian economies, and Industrial Park 304 has a good overall infrastructure and sustainable bioenergy supply, which is in line with Lenzing's mission to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and protect the climate. Lenzing will further expand its production base in Thailand in the next few years. The first phase of this investment has laid the foundation for future expansion in Thailand. Lenzing will also continue to identify other possible Lyocell fiber production sites in other parts of the world.
Lenzing takes sustainability seriously, and its fiber products are made from cellulose, a natural ingredient in wood. Lenzing said that by 2030, it is planned to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to half of 2017 and achieve zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
In March this year, Lenzing and the Belgian chemical company Solvay jointly launched an environmentally friendly fabric. In January, the company also launched a sustainable clothing line called "Planet REhab" with Guatemalan designer Juan Carlos Gordillo and Spanish textile producer Tejidos Royo.