PURWAKARTA – Lenzing has received accreditation to the EU Ecolabel standard for the production of Veocel fibres at its manufacturing facility in Purwakarta, Indonesia, a move that will see it ramp up production to service the growing demand from across the region.
The site, which recently underwent a series of technical upgrades, will now produce Veocel branded fibres for nonwovens applications as well as Lenzing Ecovero branded fibres for textiles.
With a switch to renewable energy sources also complete, the plant is expected to contribute to Lenzing's goal of reducing carbon emissions per ton of product by 50% by 2030 and achieving carbon-neutral production by 2050. The converted production site has now successfully reduced CO2 emissions by approximately 130,000 tons annually.
For further information on this and and other recent Lenzing initiatives, tune in to the new Ecotextile Talks podcast with Caroline Ledl, head of product and application management at the Lenzing Group, where we delve further into the company’s future plans in the region.
Stephan Sielaff, chief executive officer of the Lenzing Group noted that by switching its previous production capacities to specialty viscose, Lenzing was now in a better position to serve the strongly growing demand for environmentally friendly fibres.
"We are working tirelessly to make the industries in which we operate even more sustainable and to drive the transformation of the textile business model from a linear to circular," he said.
"I am therefore very pleased that we have now received the EU Ecolabel, which once again confirms our sustainability performance.
"Our investments in Indonesia, as well as in other Lenzing sites around the world, put us in an even better position to meet the growing demand for speciality fibres with low environmental impact.”
As well as Ecovero viscose and Veocel viscose for nonwovens, Lenzing said that going forward, it also plans to produce its Ecovero Black fibre at the Purwakarta plant.
The successful conversion of site will allow the expanded production of responsible viscose in Asia-Pacific with a nameplate capacity of 303,000 tonnes per year
Catering to brands and retailers who serve environmentally-conscious Asian consumers, the converted Purwakarta site’s close proximity to value chain partners in Asia-Pacific enables the transportation of a larger quantity of responsible viscose fibers within a much shorter distance and lead time, thereby reducing the overall carbon footprint of the textile supply chain.
