Spinnnova is ramping up production.
The Finnish textile fiber company said the ramp-up of its first Woodspin factory, which opened in May, is progressing—so much so that the Adidas collaborator may start delivering fiber to its customers in the next few months.
Spinnova opened the Jyväskylä, Finland, smart factory with Suzano in a 50/50 joint venture to produce Spinnova’s multi-patented wood-based fiber. And the raw materials provider has been working on the eucalyptus-based micro-fibrillated cellulose (MFC) specifications, with recent tests coming back successful.
“We are pleased that Suzano has passed some important milestones related to the MFC raw material development,” said Spinnova’s CEO, Tuomas Oijala. “Spinnova continues to finalize the fiber and textile material development work so that fiber deliveries from Woodspin to customers, made from Suzano MFC, can begin in the coming months.”
The duo will continue to work together to improve upon the efficiency of the production process and on the operating expense and capital expenditure usage of both Spinnova’s process and Suzano’s raw material process, which will allow Woodspin to move into commercial-scale production in future plants.
The production volumes of Woodspin’s first factory are anticipated to be limited at first, considering the factory is mainly being used for testing MFC batches and optimization at the moment.
“The market opportunity and ambition level with Suzano to scale Woodspin’s production capacity with future plants remains unchanged,” Spinnova said.
Spinnova’s technology makes chemical-free textile fiber out of waste from leather, textiles or food, and has been used by brands like Marimekko and Bestseller. The company also has joint ventures with H&M Group and The North Face as well as a deal with footwear brand Ecco to commercialize a fiber from leather waste.