Lenzing buys Swedish fiber manufacturer

Die transaction will through the issue of new shares was implemented. No further details were given. The previous partners H&M, Inter Ikea and Stora Enso remained on board as minority shareholders.

Production is to be boosted in Sweden

According to Lenzing, the TreeToTextile process offers cost advantages and a better sustainability profile than conventional methods. It is the next big technological step after the development of viscose and lyocell.

“We are clearly behind the joint scale-up and commercialization,” said Lenzing board member Georg Kasperkovitz. The plan is now to significantly increase production in the existing demonstration plant in Nymölla, Sweden, and to prepare the first large-scale industrial plant.

Jobs are being cut in Austria

The fiber manufacturer was recently in the headlines because of announced job cuts. At the end of September it became known that the fiber manufacturer plans to cut 300 administrative jobs at its location in Upper Austria – 250 of which will be cut by the end of the year. In the following two years, another 300 more jobs will be eliminated.

Lenzing has had turbulent years behind it. In the 2023 financial year, Lenzing posted a net loss of almost 600 million euros. There were losses in the previous year too. In addition, there was the FFP2 mask scandal involving the corona mask manufacturer Hygiene Austria – a joint venture between Lenzing and the underwear manufacturer Palmers. Hygiene Austria filed for bankruptcy at the beginning of 2024.

Lenzing processes wood into pulp and uses it to produce fibers for the fashion, retail, industrial, cosmetics and hygiene sectors. The main shareholder of Lenzing AG is the local industrial holding company B&C, which still holds 37.25 percent. In 2024, the Brazilian pulp company Suzano took over a 15 percent stake in the fiber manufacturer.