Kelheim Fibres, Kelheim, Germany, a producer of viscose specialty fibers, continues to implement its innovation strategy with the expansion of production line 1 for the production of wet tow and wet short cut fibers in addition to the current capability of dry tow and therefore dry short cut fibers. With the new investment announced this week, Kelheim Fibres is extending its short cut capacity by an additional 2,000 metric tpy and says that it will be in a position to deliver even more flexibility when it comes to a rapid reaction to specific customer demands.

 

"In the currently difficult market environment, this investment in our plant is a clear statement," said Sebastian Basel, Kelheim Fibres’ business manager for short cut fibers. "Today, we are the only European manufacturer of short-cut viscose fibers for paper applications, of dry tow for stretch-breaking, and of wet tow—and in the future, the name Kelheim Fibres will stand even more for innovative specialty fibers. The conversion of our line 1 is a major step towards our goal of increasing the share of specialty fibers in our portfolio to more than 80%. And we remain fully focused on that goal."

With this investment and the expanded capacity for the production of short cut fibers, Kelheim Fibres intends to meet the rapidly growing demand for modern, tailor-made filtration products, and score points in the hygiene Industry, particularly when it comes to flushability. In this regard, Kelheim Fibres notes that the company further benefits from its long-standing position as world market leader for hygiene fibers for tampons.