6 minute read
Performance-driven technology Lenzing Group
PERFORMANCE-DRIVEN
TECHNOLOGY
The Lenzing Group is a global leader in the development and manufacture of advanced, man-made cellulose fibres. Philip Yorke talked to Herbert Hummer, the managing director of Lenzing Technik, about its ground-breaking reactor for anaerobic wastewater cleansing, its viscose and fibre technology and its tailor-made engineering services.
Lenzing was founded in Austria over 70 years ago and has grown to become the world market leader in man-made cellulose fibres. The company has its headquarters in Austria with production facilities in all major markets and a global network of distributors, agents and sales offices. Lenzing provides the global textile industry and nonwovens industry with high quality, man-made cellulose fibres, and is the premier supplier to most of the world’s business-to-business markets. Today the Lenzing Group is the only manufacturer in the world to produce all three generations of man-made cellulose fibres globally in six locations in Europe, Asia and North America.
While the core business of the Lenzing Group, man-made cellulose fibers, accounts for 90 per cent of the group sales, Lenzing Technik with €115m output or about 5 per cent of the group, is a small but fine business unit of the group representing the innovative, technical heart of the company. It is responsible for the development and implementation of
a wide range of technological competences. These include the development of new treatments and technologies, as well as the manufacture of state-of-the-art machinery, processing plant and robotic equipment. These products are designed equally for use in its own modern cellulose fibre processing plants and for its external multinational customers.
The Lenzing Group is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange and currently employs more than 6500 people worldwide. In 2011 the group recorded consolidated sales of over €2.1 billion.
Lenzing Technik’s diverse portfolio of products and services include viscose and fibre technology, environmental technology, pulp technology and filtration and separation technology. For all these areas the in-house automation group provides the know-how and installation of electrical power supply, instrumentation and auomatic control systems. In addition, Lenzing Technik operates a comprehensive ‘Industrial Plant, Construction and Mechanical Engineering Division including a workshop for industrial services’. However, some of the company’s most exciting and ground-breaking innovations relate to its research in the environmental technology sector where it has been responsible for a number of major technological ‘firsts’. This is particularly true in the area of anaerobic cleaning of organically burdened wastewater. This unique system achieves unsurpassed chemical reduction and offers extremely low-energy consumption costs. Lenzing Technik’s IM-MS process was introduced to the public for the first time at the ACHEMA trade fair, the world’s largest exhibition of environmental technologies, which was held in Frankfurt in May 2012. This revolutionary, patented process can be used in almost every conceivable industry and has underscored Lenzing Technic’s reputation as the world’s most innovative one-stop shop for environmental technologies.
Hummer said, “About 20 years ago after a major restructuring programme, Lenzing Technik was established as a separate entity that was able to not only develop innovative technologies for our own cellulose fibre businesses, but also for our external customers worldwide. Today over 40 per cent of our product development and manufac-
Pressure vessels and Rubber linings
ASME Certificate of Authorisation U The National Board Certificate of Authorisation R and NB AD2000, PED97/23/EC, EN13445, CODAP Fachbetrieb nach WHG §19l
Dr. Eugen Mohr KG
Braendleweg 20, 78183 Huefingen, Germany Tel: +49 7707 993-0 Fax: +49 7707 1643 E-mail: info@drmohr.eu www.drmohr.eu
turing is produced for our external clients. All our R&D is conducted in-house here in Austria. Out of all the products currently being developed, it is the environmental treatment and filtration sector which is currently the main focus of our attention. This is an area for us where we can bring to bear our considerable experience as a one-stop shop provider. For example, if you have a technical problem we can do everything from analysing the problem and resolving it, to doing the engineering required, building the equipment and installing it and then providing full, life cycle technical support. This makes us unique in the industry.
“To be more specific, in the fibre industry you have to deal with waste composed of many different compounds. We have biological technologies capable of dealing with volatile organic compounds. And when you talk about wastewater, our anaerobic wastewater treatment technology is the most advanced and efficient in the world. Our wastewater treatment technology is suited perfectly for the pulp and paper and food and beverage industry sectors. Our latest anaerobic reactor for wastewater treatment offers a range of significant advantages for customers over current, more traditional anaerobic water treatment processes.
“When we talk about environmental wastewater treatments in the western world, we recognise that it has been a priority here for over 20 years. However, we find a different situation when we look at the Asian markets. Here you notice that environmental protection has not been implemented as quickly as it has been in the west. Indications are that this will change significantly over the next few years. In another major technological advance, in filtration processes for example, we have developed a range of equipment that can be washed, cleaned and prepared whilst it is still in productive operation – therefore there is no expensive and disruptive ‘down time’ involved during the cleaning cycle.
“This cutting-edge technology has been developed by Lenzing Technik for our fibre processing divisions, but it is also possible to customise it for other industrial applications. These unique benefits can be utilised for a vast range of industrial applications where process water needs recovery technology for reuse in production. These include industries such as the automotive, pulp and paper, food and beverage industries, as well as those involved in surface coating and corrosion protection.”
Looking ahead
Hummer concluded, “What is our plan for strategic development? Our key direction is that we want to continue to serve the growth of the Lenzing Group in cellulose fibre production and a big part of this growth is coming from Asia and in particular China, where we have set up a subsidiary in the Nanjing province in the south-east of the country. We are going to follow the same business model as that of our European operations where we serve our nearby cellulose fibre plants as well as a wide range of external customers. There are many customers on our doorstep in China as we are located close to a major chemical plant and heavy industrial business area.
“In terms of how we will grow our business I believe that we will continue to see strong organic growth, but we are also looking at acquisitions, mainly from our traditional European markets where we can identify with companies that share similar aspirations and synergies to us.”
Lenzing Technik is committed to a programme of optimisation for its diverse range of production processes and for the protection of the environment at all levels. The company’s remarkable catalogue of innovative processes and products are too many to include in this article; however, for further information concerning the Lenzing Group and about Lenzing Technik in particular visit: www.lenzing.com n
