Dr. Marina Crnoja-Cosic
Director New Business Development Kelheim Fibres
Last 10 years, we have increased capacity for short-cut fibres
Kelheim Fibres GmbH is the world’s leading manufacturer of viscose speciality fibres which are used in diverse applications from fashion, hygiene and medical products to nonwovens and speciality papers. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion,Dr. Marina Crnoja-Cosic, Director New Business Development, Kelheim Fibres, shares her views on how bio-economy is gaining more importance in the current pandemic situation, its new product Celliant Viscose with Hologenix, and current focus areas.
How has the fibre market been affected in the last 1 year since the pandemic gripped the world? What were the major hardships faced? What steps did you take to weather the crisis?
The pandemic has made our daily life unpredictable. We felt the "panic" of consumers who stopped buying (textile) products due to other priorities.
Once again, we realised the crucial role that flexibility, reliability and trust play between us and our customers - in times like these even more than usual.
On the one hand, we have relied on creativity by offering individual solutions, on the other hand, we have used the time to put even more emphasis on innovation and new business developments.
Bioeconomy with its focus on bio-based (biodegradable) materials, circular economy and environmental tasks in general are perhaps accelerated by the pandemic--gaining more and more importance. That is an important guiding principle for us.
You recently introduced Celliant Viscose, the first in-fibre infrared sustainable solution to the market. Can you tell us what are the responses like? Which major brands/or your clients have already or are planning to switch to Celliant Viscose?
Celliant Viscose is a great example for how innovation between two companies can lead to an exceptional product that meets the pulse of time.
Consumers place more value on wellbeing and healthy products. They no longer want just clothes, but clothes that enhance their physical and emotional well-being. Celliant Viscose serves this consumer need. Celliant Viscose differentiates the brand with natural minerals embedded into plant-based fibres to create infrared products that promote local circulation and cell oxygenation while helping keep the body at the right temperature. Among the many applications, it is ideal for performance wear, luxury loungewear, casualwear and bedding.
Kelheim’s flexible technology that allows targeted interventions in the viscose fibre process enables this unique fibre that provides full functionality without the need for any additional processing steps while impressing with a softer feel, cost and time savings compared to coated fabrics.
Kelheim Fibres and Hologenix introduced the product this year and some promising contacts and projects along the value chain have already emerged. We are quite busy!
What are the new innovations that your company is working on? Any new fibre varieties in the offing?
It is our vision to be the driving force behind the best individual solutions that enable a healthy and sustainable lifestyle while protecting the environment and preserve resources for future generations.
This drives us to continuously check in which areas our fibres can replace synthetic solutions "on a par" or which new solutions are needed to sustainably advance the change in the industry. Of course, we also check which technological innovations are possible in the manufacturing processes and screen innovative solutions for the use of alternative raw materials. Topics here include the use of raw materials from circular approaches such as post-consumer or agricultural or food waste.
We also want to strengthen strategic cooperation along the value chain and provide our extensive expertise in the field of functionalised fibres to be able to open up new areas of application together with partners.
Viscose is an eco-friendly fibre. Has its demand increased in the post-pandemic world as people shift their attention towards more sustainable products?
I don’t know if the pandemic is the cause or just an accelerator – people have been making more and more eco-conscious choices before Covid and they continue to do so. Developments like the latest decision of the European Commission on single use plastics certainly reinforce the role of viscose fibres as an alternative to fossil materials. Our functionalised speciality fibres play a key part here – they combine renewable sourcing and biodegradability with the performance levels of synthetics.
What is the competitive edge Kelheim has on its competitors?
The competition is there and that is good, but there is a big difference between volume and value in terms of performance. At the end of the day, the customer makes the final decision on what is good and what is not so good. In doing so, he should not be in the situation of having to choose between performance, comfort, and sustainability.
That is why it is important to offer solutions that are no longer just about a fibre, but a combination of the best products and services, such as flexibility in innovation and delivery, that the current manufacturer and market can offer.
And that is exactly what we at Kelheim Fibres do every day a little bit better than yesterday.
How is the demand like for your products in Germany vs overseas?
We see that the vertical integration of many products in Germany and Europe is increasing again – maybe the pandemic has been playing a role here, with a new emphasis on regional and transparent value chains.
Through our manufacturing in Germany, we want to contribute to that.
But any region that focuses on innovation, specialisation and sustainability is still very important and crucial for our economic success.
What will be your focus area for the current year?
We have a strong focus on accelerating innovation based on our speciality fibres. We follow the three-way criteria here:
We will collaborate even more with stakeholders throughout the supply chain and beyond by following our open innovation approach.
Secondly, by discovering more about global trends and unmet consumer needs, we will be able to produce/offer tailor-made solutions for very complex applications such as hygiene or wellness areas.
And on top of everything, sustainability without compromising on performance is a key point.
You offer a range of fibre varieties in viscose. Which of the varieties are the most popular across the world? Can you give us a break-up of the annual production capacity of your viscose fibres?
Our annual production capacity is around 90,000 tonnes of viscose fibres. Most of these (around 80 per cent) are speciality fibres for hygiene, textile, and technical applications.
Our range of speciality fibres for hygiene applications excel in liquid management. They include Galaxy with great wicking capacity, the first hydrophobic viscose fibre Olea or our hollow Bramante fibre with extraordinary absorption capacity--to name just a few examples.
Examples for our textile specialities are our flat Viloft fibre that can store body heat in air chambers in the fabric for optimal thermoregulation; our Viseta fibre that is finer than silk creates gently flowing textiles that offer exceptional comfort and a brilliant shine; our Danufil spun-dyed fibre that has colour pigments durably incorporated into the fibre’s matrix and makes subsequent dyeing steps superfluous.
For the last 10 years, we have increased our capacity for short-cut fibres (e.g for flushable wipes) and in general the proportion of nonwovens fibres. Apart from that, enhancing our technology and products is a continuous process for us.
Published on: 09/08/2021
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
