Viscose staple fiber producer Sateri has confirmed it has ordered machinery to boost its capacity by one million tons, which will position the Chinese company as the largest producer of viscose fibers in the world. The cost of its investment will exceed $1.5 billion.

With 550,000 tons of capacity, Sateri is already the largest viscose staple fiber manufacturer in China with an annual capacity of 550,00 tons made at three mills in Fujian and Jiangxi provinces. The company supplies permium VSF to textile yarn spinners and spunlace nonwovens producers worldwide.

“We believe in the future of VSF as a superior fiber for both textile and nonwovens. In the past one year, we have been making preparations for this expansion,” says Tey Wei Lin, CEO.

The additional capacity will be achieved through brownfield projects at the company’s existing locations. The new capacity will come onstream in phases from 2018-20, subject to market conditions.