Displaying items by tag: Avilon

Avilon Ltd, part of Neo Industrial's Viscose Fibers business, has today been accepted by its local district court for a corporate restructuring program.

Avilon submitted the application on 7 September, 2011 due to its critical liquidity situation. Exceptionally volatile raw material as well as viscose fiber markets have lead to the company's difficulties.

- We have faith in our long-term prospects, and trust that we will get back to profitable business in reasonable time. Being accepted for the restructuring shows that others too have trust in us, says Avilon's Managing Director Heikki Hassi.

Neo Industrial Plc

Avilon Ltd, part of Neo Industrial's Viscose Fibers business, has today signed a letter of intent with Finnish SilverPhasE, concerning the product development, marketing and manufacture of antimicrobial and antiviral viscose fiber. This concerns a new technology, more cost-effective and efficient technology than existing ones, enabling a vast new product family.

Carbatec Ltd, also part of Neo Industrial's Viscose Fibers business, and SilverPhasE are planning to start a joint venture, to which the relevant patent rights will be given.

Antimicrobial fibers are used in the manufacture of textiles, wipes, filters and other fiber product that are bacteria, fungus, alga and virus resistant.  They are used in, for example, sports and military clothing and various healthcare applications. The best and user-friendliest way of making fiber antimicrobial is adding silver that kills microbes.

The use of silver in antimicrobial fibers has long traditions. What makes the silver polymer technology, developed by SilverPhasE, revolutionary, is the extremely cost-effective use of silver. In turn, viscose fiber is an ideal fiber for applying this technology to different uses.
- Avilon's antimicrobial viscose fiber will be significantly more cost-effective and of higher performance than any antimicrobial fiber on the market. The cost benefit extends from us all the way to the end-user of the textile, says Avilon's Managing Director Heikki Hassi.

Antimicrobial fiber is currently manufactured by an estimated 100,000 tonnes per year, and its market grows by some 15 percent per annum. There is demand for antimicrobial viscose fiber within Avilon's clientele, where antimicrobial textiles are already being manufactured.
- Our customers welcome cost-effectiveness adding innovations with great interest. Also, new applications and customers will surely start emerging once we revolutionize the cost-structure of the market, adds Hassi.

The need for bacteria and virus resistant textiles is greatest in the medical and healthcare industry. The largest demand growing factor is the prevention of MRSA. Tests run by external research institutes have shown, that Avilon's new product is capable of destroying, for example, the MRSA bacteria by 99.99 percent.
- In the fight against MRSA, it is important to transform a maximum amount of surfaces into pathogenic inhibiting. A hospital cannot, for example, use sheets starched with antibiotics or dress patients and staff in antibiotic clothing, characterizes Jyri Nieminen, Development Director of SilverPhasE.

The technology developed together by SilverPhasE and Avilonin, has been laboratory tested and samples have already been delivered to customers. Avilon's Valkeakoski factory is capable of manufacturing antimicrobial viscose fiber as soon as it is restarted after the current shutdown.
- Despite Avilon's current difficulties that derive from the basic viscose fiber markets, significant ventures are underway in the company's technology
sales and product development, reminds Neo Industrial plc's Managing Director Markku E. Rentto.

Avilon's technology and specialty product portfolio is managed and developed by the technology company Carbated Ltd, a part of Neo Industrial's Viscose Fibers business.

Avilon Ltd, part of Neo Industrial's Viscose Fibers business has today submitted an application in its local district court for a corporate restructuring. Behind the arrangement is Avilon's currently critical liquidity situation. The restructuring's objective is to secure the company's promising long-term development by ensuring its short-term operating conditions.

Despite facing short term market induced difficulties, Avilon's long-term prospects are promising. Avilon's market situation has changed almost monthly. However, Avilon still has confidence in its long-term outlook. Corporate restructuring is a necessary protective measure against any single creditor's actions endangering the continuation of Avilon's mid-term operations and production.

Avilon's tight liquidity situation is due to the overheating of the viscose fiber market that started last spring and led to an unprecedented, short-term weakening of the fiber market and price. Avilon's Valkeakoski-based factory has been in a temporary shutdown since the end of July, and sales of the existing stock have been less than Avilon hoped.

The United States, main market of Avilon's strategically important product, fire-retardant fiber, suffers from a stagnated construction market. Hence, Avilon's customers' stock levels are currently high. The basic viscose fiber market is, however, already recovering.

- We are now working towards the moment when profitable production can be restarted and we can utilize our achievements thus far: successful startup of the factory, our innovation enabling the use of paper pulp, attaining a good market position on the US fire-retardant fiber market, as well as new product innovations now very close to commercializing, comments Avilon's Managing Director Heikki Hassi.

Avilon's recently launched technology business related negotiations have proceeded well. Possible license sales will have a significant immediate as well as a long-term effect on Avilon's financial situation.

Avilon Ltd, part of Neo Industrial's Viscose Fibers business, is temporarily shutting down production in its Valkeakoski-based factory. The shutdown is due to viscose fiber's globally poor market situation.

Viscose fiber market's weakening that started late spring is not only normal seasonal fluctuation, but also consequence of overheating. The market suffers from a surplus, and stock levels are high especially on the largest market, China, while factory utilization is low. Due to the surplus, the price of fiber has sunk nearly 30 percent in two months.

- It is difficult to estimate when the standard fiber market will make a turn to positive. We have better visibility with fire retardant fiber, but the market is also sluggish. According to its strategy, Avilon has however reached its previous, good market position in the United States fire retardant fiber market, which is important in the long-term, reminds Neo Industrial's Managing Director Markku Rentto.

Commercializing of the pulp converting technology that Avilon has developed is also proceeding according to plan.

Avilon will now postpone the startup of a second main production line, planned for August, but continues to prepare for it.

During the shutdown, Avilon will generate revenues from its current stock, including both standard and fire retardant fiber. The shutdown will not compromise the delivery accuracy of fire retardant fiber. Avilon maintains its good service availability with a fire retardant fiber stock estimated to last through the third quarter.

Due to the shutdown, Avilon has today given its entire staff notice of temporary layoffs of less than 90 days. There will be no redundancies.

Neo Industrial's Viscose Fibers business, namely Avilon Ltd, has turned profitable in May. In its interim report for the first quarter of 2011 on 5 May, 2011, Neo Industrial said it expected the Viscose Fibers business' operating profit to be positive on the second half of the year.

Avilon's operations, started in January 2011, turned profitable as the company introduced its in-house developed technology for converting paper grade pulp into a suitable material for viscose production. Having previously suffered from availability problems and high price of dissolving pulp, Avilon has in this way significantly lowered its production costs.

- I am sure that the business continues challenging due to the turbulent textile market and the slow fire retardant fiber market in the United States. However, Avilon's raw material management and delivery accuracy are now in place, and the business has all the prerequisites for profitability, comments Neo Industrial's Managing Director Markku E. Rentto.

Neo Industrial announces its second quarter earnings on 4 August, 2011.

Avilon Ltd, part of Neo Industrial's Viscose Fiber business, has made a revolutionary innovation of converting paper grade pulp into dissolving pulp. The technology was developed on Avilon's R&D and Technology laboratory, and it has already been taken into production use on the company's Valkeakoski-based factory. The method is not used anywhere else in the world.

The technology enables high-quality products and excellent service availability, while solving the company's main raw material, dissolving pulp management in a competitive way, in both short and long term.

- I am very proud of the innovativeness of Avilon's team. Avilon is not merely a high-class viscose fiber producer, but also a globally significant bio economy player and a technological forerunner of its industry, comments Managing Director of Neo Industrial, Markku E. Rentto.

Avilon has now secured its short and long term pulp management with its own technology. Until now, Avilon's production has been dependent on market dissolving pulp, availability of which has been very limited and price exceptionally high. Avilon has recently entered long-term contracts regarding paper grade pulp deliveries with selected suppliers.

The patenting of this technology is underway. In the future, Avilon intends to also commercialise the method by licensing it.