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“Positioning Excellence Award” for Lenzing AG

On July 1, 2013, Lenzing AG was given the Positioning Excellence Award from Trout & Partners, a globally leading consulting company for strategic positioning and differentiation.

“Lenzing is receiving this award for resolutely pursuing a clear positioning as the world market leader in the production of man-made cellulose fibers. About 15 years ago Lenzing AG started to increasingly focus on marketing. Subsequently the company has been able to achieve growth of more than 300% since the year 2000, and massively expand its global presence”, according to Trout & Partners, justifying the selection of Lenzing AG.

Peter Untersperger, Chief Executive Officer of Lenzing AG, accepted the prize on Lenzing’s behalf together with his management and marketing team. “We are particularly pleased to get this prize, in light of the fact that we have been relying for years on an integrated business logic, from the fiber to the end consumer, in our approach to dealing with the downstream value chain. Thanks to our activities designed to position our products, we are capable of consistently launching innovations on the marketplace, and thus successfully differentiating ourselves from the cheap providers. This award confirms that we are on the right path.”

Dieter Eichinger, Head of the Business Unit Textile Fibers at Lenzing, adds: “With the acquisition of the TENCEL® fiber activities in the last decade, Lenzing has succeeded in further securing its leading technological position in the field of man-made cellulose fibers. Moreover, Lenzing acquired a brand which is being transported all the way until the end consumer”. Today Lenzing generates about one-third of its sales from the two specialty fibers TENCEL® and Lenzing Modal®, which confirms the correctness of Lenzing’s strategy. This strategy has enabled the company to partially decouple itself from the high cyclicality of the clothing market.

Lenzing’s positioning efforts have also borne fruit for its nonwovens business. By identifying market opportunities in the hygiene and cosmetics segment at an early stage, Lenzing has a global market share of close to 50% for wipes and is thus the clear market leader today in this growing segment.

“We will continue moving full steam ahead to implement our marketing activities“, says Wolfgang Plasser, Head of the Business Unit Nonwoven Fibers. “This is because for us as a raw material producer, our positioning work is a unique selling proposition which gives us competitive advantages on the market.” Elisabeth Stanger, Global Marketing Director Nonwoven Fibers, adds: “As a partner to the full supply chain, our positioning work includes activities at various levels from the direct customer to the end consumer. With the increasing relevance of the digital world, we see opportunities to further expand the reach of our communication strategy by applying new channels.”