German yarn maker Sudwolle launches $50 mln Vietnam factory

Leading German yarn maker Sudwolle has inaugurated a $50 million sheep wool yarn spinning factory in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

The 3.2-hectare factory, or Dalat Worsted Spinning Ltd. Co. in Dalat town, is a joint venture between Sudwolle and Ho Chi Minh City-based Lien Phuong Textiles Industry Co. The plant has a designed capacity of 4,000 tons of yarn a year, for the Vietnamese and overseas markets.

According to the German firm, this is the first worsted yarn spinning factory in Vietnam using clean energy.

The plant features a rooftop solar power system of 2,040 kWp, which can meet 20% of the factory’s demand and help reduce 2,100 tons of emissions a year, according to Vu Phong Energy Group, which installed the system.

At the factory launching event, Sudwolle introduced its yarn-dying plant project in Ninh Thuan province bordering Lam Dong. The project, with a daily capacity of seven tons of sheep wool yarn or dyed yarn, would use renewable energy from Ninh Thuan sources.

Sudwolle is a leading global business in yarn, with over 10 plants in the world and an annual capacity of 25,750 tons.

Apparel-textile products are Vietnamese export staples. The country earned $108.57 billion from exporting goods in the first four months of this year, down 11.8% year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.

Of this, apparel-textile products accounted for $9.57 billion, the fourth-largest portion, only after electronics and components with $16.13 billion, smartphones and components with $17.43 billion, and machinery and equipment with $13.05 billion.

Rapidly shifting to green production to ensure green exports and achieve sustainable development is extremely important for Vietnam’s apparel sector as the whole world is demanding sustainability from the industry, the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) said at Vietnam Sustainable Textile Day 2023 in March.

Greening textile and garment production chains is a global trend compulsory for all businesses to achieve sustainability, VITAS vice general secretary Nguyen Tuyet Mai said.