From newbie to expert: 10 years of dissolving pulp
What a difference a decade makes. In 2012 Södra entered the dissolving pulp market for the first time. Now 10 years on, we are an established player on the global market with a ground-breaking new product helping to push the fashion industry towards a more sustainable future.
In early 2012, Södra entered the dissolving pulp market for the first time. We made a promise not to swing between paper pulp and dissolving pulp, regardless of market conditions, and we focused on becoming a supplier of choice. Ten years later, we are an established player in the global market, with a pioneering new product that is helping to drive the fashion industry towards a more sustainable future.
"The key to our success is that we have taken our previous experience as a world player in pulp production and now applied it to a completely new segment," says Johannes Bogren, VP Södra Cell Bioproducts.
"We are not the biggest, but our quality is among the best. I am particularly pleased that we can now offer a premium grade for the filament market, which is used to produce to fine yarn similar to silk. It shows how far we have come in a relatively short period of time. Filament producers are demanding and need dissolving pulp of the highest quality. We can now deliver that. The quality of our lyocell, too, has been approved as one of the best. In just a decade, we have made fantastic progress," says Dag Benestad, Sales Manager for Dissolving Pulp.
Since 2000, the production of wood-based textile fibres has increased by as much as four million tonnes with an average annual growth rate of 4.6%, according to the latest report by market consultants Hawkins Wright. Between 2022-2026, Hawkins Wright predicts that wood-based textile fibres will increase by an additional 1.8 million tonnes, primarily driven by innovation and sustainability.
"Hawkins Wright points to the two biggest drivers for us at Södra," Benestad continues. “Innovation and sustainability also motivate us. The direct result of our work is the pioneering new material OnceMore® which combines dissolving pulp with used cotton fibres. We expect this addition to our portfolio to go from strength to strength. We are already working with some of the leading players in the market.“
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Subjects: Pulp