Lenzing was delighted to receive the first prize for the introduction of blockchain technology for fibre identification along the textile value chain. © Lenzing.

Cellulosic fibre producer Lenzing AG won the new ‘Digital Corona in Gold’ award, a coveted business prize awarded to companies that have dynamically advanced the digitization of business processes, products, services and business models in recent years. At the premiere on 4 November 2019, Lenzing was delighted to receive the first prize for the introduction of blockchain technology for fibre identification along the textile value chain.

“Consumers increasingly want to understand the ingredients and suppliers of the products they buy, requesting a new level of transparency and traceability. With the introduction of blockchain technology, Lenzing is pursuing the ambitious goal of creating full transparency across the value chain, driving change in an industry where less than five percent of the top 250 apparel brands can track their garments back to the fibre origin,” Stefan Doboczky, CEO of the Lenzing Group, said.

Lenzing enables its customers and partners to identify Tencel branded fibers across each production and distribution step from fibre-to-retail. The technology also allows consumers to verify the garment composition and the underlying textile supply chain at the point of sale, simply by scanning the barcode with a mobile device. As a result, Lenzing also directly supports the business with its sustainably produced Tencel lyocell fibers.

With Lenzing Ecovero branded fibers Lenzing was the frontrunner in physical traceability and is now entering the age of digital traceability. After joining the platform of the technology company TextileGenesis earlier this year, Lenzing presented the first pilot at this year’s Fashion Summit in Hong Kong. This pioneering pilot project was conducted in close cooperation with TextileGenesis, WWF and Hong Kong based brand Chicks. This was a significant milestone in the introduction of blockchain technology. Over the coming months, Lenzing is carrying out further pilot tests involving partners along the entire value chain and expects the platform to be fully operational as of 2020.

Strong signal for Upper Austria

In addition, Lenzing received Bronze for the “Standort-Corona” for its achievements as a leading Upper Austrian company and major economic engine in the region. With its continuously high investment activity at the Lenzing site, the company is constantly contributing to the strengthening of the economic area.

© Lenzing.

In 2019, Lenzing successfully completed its expansion and modernization drive at the pulp plant at the Lenzing site, increasing production capacity to 320,000 tons per year. As part of its ambitious climate goals, Lenzing also decided to invest EUR 40 million to expand the production of the raw material sulfuric acid at the Lenzing site. This comprises an important milestone on the path towards climate neutrality. In the future, a new air purification and sulphur recovery plant will not only optimize the company’s self-sufficiency for this raw material and enhance process reliability but improve environmental protection within the context of a clear forward-looking strategy.

With approx. 3100 employees at the Lenzing site, including more than 130 apprentices, the Lenzing Group is one of the leading companies in the industrial location of Upper Austria and, as such, also an important employer and driver of growth and innovation. The research and development activities are bundled in the central area ‘Global Research & Development’ at the Lenzing site; at the end of June 2019, approximately 200 employees were involved in the field of new and further development of technologies, processes, products and applications in the field of wood-based cellulosic fibers.

www.lenzing.com