Untitled - Smartfiber AG

new products
Lenzing’s Modal fibre with
Edelweiss effect
Lenzing, the world’s leading
manufacturer of innovative cellulose fibers, presented the botanic towel featuring the Edelweiss effect at Heimtextil in
Frankfurt held during January
11-14. Thanks to the natural
origin of the fiber, Lenzing Modal is made from beech wood,
and the botanic feeling can be
incorporated into remarkable
terry goods. Beech wood proliferates by rejuvenation. So no
reforestation or plantations
are necessary. More than half
of the wood used at Lenzing
comes from Austria and the
remainder from the neighboring countries.
Dr. Susanne Jary, Head of Marketing for Home Textiles, Lenzing
30 | The Textile Magazine jANUARY 2012
The botanic origin of Lenzing Modal
provides critical sustainability benefits
for terry goods, benefits that are becoming increasingly important. However, it
is not only the fiber’s eco-friendliness
that makes it so compelling. Its performance properties such as color brilliance, absorbency and softness make
terry goods of Lenzing Modal particularly appealing to consumers. In fact,
89 per cent of consumers in a recent
survey stated that towels with Lenzing
Modal stay softer than 100 per cent cotton towels even after repeated washing.
Plus, colors are richer and more intense
new products
with Lenzing Modal.
Gradual fading or graying is no longer an issue with
Lenzing Modal terry goods. Finally, these towels deliver
a higher absorption rate than 100 per cent cotton towels,
thanks to the fiber’s unique structure.
With Edelweiss, Lenzing is setting new technological
and environmental standards for the entire cellulose fiber
industry. Lenzing’s innovative Modal production process
involves oxygen-based chemistry. It is more environmentally friendly than conventional production procedures.
Thus Lenzing Modal Edelweiss is the only Modal fiber to
satisfy the highest environmental standards. Environmental
benefits such as the replenishable and natural raw material,
CO2-neutrality and the highest production yield make the
new Lenzing Modal Edelweiss the eco-fiber of choice.
Lenzing Modal Edelweiss is produced differently from
the conventional Lenzing Modal, but the fibers’ main properties such as softness and color brilliance are the same. The
fibers process identically at all points in the textile chain.
Susanne Jary, Lenzing’s head of marketing for home textiles, explains how unique Edelweiss is. “The fiber plant in
Lenzing Austria is the only one in the world which is fully
integrated and has all production steps, from the pulp to the
fiber, perfectly under control. Throughout the entire process, attention is paid to environmental protection”.
Lenzing is a pioneer in the field of wood-organic refineries. The integrated, CO2-neutral process at the company
site, in combination
with other innovative
processes, results in
excess energy generation and the production of high quality
chemicals from the
Intense and brilliant colors with Lenzing wood. The pulp facModal terry good (left) compared to 100%
tory serves as a net
cotton terry (right).
supplier of power for
the entire Lenzing
site. These special
processes were developed by Lenzing
and are not commercially available.
Lenzing Modal terry (left) immediately soaks
up water. Water droplets remain on the surface of 100% cotton terry (right).
32 | The Textile Magazine jANUARY 2012
w
new products
Lenzing AG, the world market leader for man-made cellulose fibers, and
the German company smartfiber AG/
Rudolstadt are expanding their mutual
co-operation. In the future Lenzing will
exclusively produce the lyocell specialty
fibers smartcel and SeaCell developed by
smartfiber at the Lenzing site in Upper
Austria.
In 2007, Lenzing already granted
smartfiber a licence for pilot production
of the new type of lyocell specialty fibers. Moreover, smartfiber and Lenzing
have been co-operating for several years
to develop fabrics and on various research projects.
For reasons of profitability, the pilot
plant of smartfiber is being relocated
from Rudolstadt to Lenzing in order to
be able to rapidly move ahead with the
commercial exploitation of smartcel and
SeaCell fibers in spite of rising energy
and raw material prices. The integration
of the facility in Lenzing, the world’s
largest cellulose fiber production site,
will facilitate a significantly better cost
structure. Moreover, the smartfiber pilot
plant had recently reached its capacity
limits due to the continually increasing
order volume, which no longer made it
possible to optimally co-ordinate the incoming orders and accept large orders.
smartfiber will continue to be responsible
for the sales and marketing of smartcel
and SeaCell.
The smartcel and SeaCell fibers are
primarily used in home textiles as well
as in the fashion and medicine segments.
The SeaCell fibers contain valuable active substances from seaweed which
promotes health, nurtures the skin and
protects against free radicals. smartcel
sensitive is the first anti-bacterial, natural fiber available on the market to which
the essential trace element zinc is added,
thus enabling regenerative skin care and
hygiene in textiles.
The management of smartfiber considers the intensified co-operation with
Lenzing to be an important and futureoriented step for the benefit of customers
– a win-win situation for the two companies involved. Thus the high level of
competence on the part of Lenzing with
respect to the production and processing
of lyocell fibers under the brand TENCEL will be combined with the original
and innovative patented technology of
the function-oriented fiber products developed by smartfiber. The objective of
smartfiber is to be able to offer the best
possible quality, service-oriented order
processing and intensified sales-driven
marketing support to customers in the
future. For Lenzing the launch of pilot
production for smartfiber at the Lenzing
site is a consistent continuation of the
research and development partnership
which smartfiber and Lenzing have pursued for years.
w
The Textile Magazine jANUARY 2012 | 33