EANS-News: Lenzing AG / Successful Start-up of World's Largest TENCEL® Production Plant in Lenzing (1)

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Company Information

- First sales volumes already successfully marketed - Technological
milestone for TENCEL® , the fiber of the future - The TENCEL®
production plant secures 140 jobs at the Lenzing site - Investment
costs of EUR 150 mn and construction time of 24 months fully on
schedule

The Lenzing Group has successfully initiated production at its new
TENCEL® jumbo production facility, the largest in the world, at the
Lenzing site in Upper Austria. The plant is in the midst of a stable
ramp-up phase. The feedback on the part of the market is very
positive.

"We are more than satisfied with the progression of the start-up
curve. Based on the production process in the past days and weeks, we
have reasonable grounds to believe that this latest generation of
TENCEL® technology will completely fulfill our expectations", says a
confident Lenzing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Untersperger.
"The successful start-up of production operations is a technological
milestone for TENCEL® the fiber of the future and for the entire
Lenzing Group. We are optimistic that we will be able to achieve the
planned production target of 30,000 tons by the end of 2014. This new
TENCEL® facility is decisive to ensure the long-term viability of
fiber production at the Lenzing site and the basis for future
investments in all markets", adds Lenzing's Chief Operating Officer
(COO) Friedrich Weninger.

This factory comprises the first time in which a single production
line with an annual nominal capacity of 67,000 tons was installed.
Previous TENCEL® production lines were usually only one-quarter as
large. The new plant design incorporates lessons learned from the
longstanding experience of three existing Lenzing Group TENCEL®
production plants located in Austria, USA and Great Britain. As a
consequence, the new TENCEL® plant in Lenzing represents the world's
leading generation of TENCEL® technology. The new design of the jumbo
production line also enables investment costs to be maintained at a
very competitive level of approximately EUR 150 mn (about EUR 2,200
per ton of capacity). This comprises the decisive approach to the
further competitive scaling of TENCEL® fibers as a universally
deployable textile and nonwoven fiber. The new, broader product
portfolio on the basis of the TENCEL® technology successfully
complements Lenzing's specialty strategy.

With a construction time of 24 months, Lenzing completely adhered to
both the budgeted investment costs as well as all timetables. The
TENCEL® production in Lenzing secures 140 jobs at the Lenzing site.

Thanks to the new plant, annual nominal TENCEL® production capacity
of the Lenzing Group will rise from 155,000 tons p.a. to about
220,000 tons. In this way Lenzing will further expand upon its global
market leadership for TENCEL® fibers and offer its global customers
new expansion opportunities in both the textile and nonwovens
segments as well as new and innovative applications. "The related
market development activities have already been in full swing for
quite a few months", states Robert van de Kerkhof, the Chief
Commercial Officer (CCO) of Lenzing responsible for the fiber
business. Moreover, new technical applications will be opened up and
massively expanded in the years to come.

TENCEL® - the fiber of the future TENCEL® is the latest generation of
man-made cellulose fibers, and is manufactured in a particularly
environmentally-compatible production process awarded the "European
Award for the Environment" by the European Union. Lenzing is the only
industrial-scale supplier of TENCEL® in the world. TENCEL® fibers are
used by the textile industry as well as for nonwovens. Typical
applications of the high-tech fiber TENCEL® include sportswear, soft
denim applications, home textiles as well as baby wipes and cosmetic
wipes. However, TENCEL® is also being increasingly deployed for
technical applications. For example, as a powder added to
construction materials, TENCEL® ensures a pleasant indoor climate.

(1) TENCEL® is a registered trademark of Lenzing Aktiengesellschaft

Further inquiry note:
Lenzing AG
Mag. Angelika Guldt
Tel.: +43 (0) 7672-701-2713
Fax: +43 (0) 07672-918-2713
mailto:a.guldt@lenzing.com

end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: Lenzing AG

A-A-4860 Lenzing
phone: +43 7672-701-0
FAX: +43 7672-96301
mail: a.guldt@lenzing.com
WWW: http://www.lenzing.com
sector: Chemicals
ISIN: AT0000644505
indexes: WBI, ATX, Prime Market
stockmarkets: free trade: Berlin, official market: Wien
language: English