Lycra Opens Second, Now Largest, Spandex Plant in China
The Lycra Company is gaining ground on the Chinese market as the global fiber manufacturer has opened its largest spandex production plant worldwide in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China.
Backed by an investment of 800 million Chinese renminbi ($112 million) and located in the eponymous prefecture-level city, the Yinchuan plant was collaboratively created with the Yinchuan Financial Capital Investment Group, a state-owned investment and financing company focused on urban development and capital operations.
The Ningxia Province plant has an initial output capacity of 30,000 tons of spandex production capacity—what Lycra said will create some 500 jobs and generate over 1 billion Chinese renminbi ($140.7 million) a year—for now. The plant’s capacity is expected to expand to over 120,000 tons per year as The Lycra Company works to keep pace while equally enabling faster and suppler supply chain solutions, the sustainable fiber firm said.
The additional plant both bolsters The Lycra Company’s continued investment into the Chinese market while also underscoring its anticipated demand in the Asia Pacific region at large, the Wilmington, Del.-headquartered company said.
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“China is strategically important, representing over 50 percent of the global apparel production market,” said Gary Smith, CEO of The Lycra Company, expressing gratitude to the local authorities and internal partners for the endeavor. “This partnership enables us to optimize our product mix more broadly while meeting the increase in demand for quality spandex.”
The plant also coagulates the company’s “expert management teams and global R&D capabilities” to establish a “highly automated, intelligent production ecosystem,” the company said in a statement. “Production at the Yinchuan facility will align with the company’s sustainability framework, driving energy savings, reducing emissions and advancing manufacturing processes, ensuring that business growth and environmental responsibility remain inextricably linked.”
For context, the Yinchuan plant is Lycra’s second site in China—the first being Foshan.
Located in the Guangdong province, the Foshan facility was inaugurated in 2005 and employs some 500 people to produce Lycra fiber (for apparel) and Lycra’s HyFit fiber (for personal care products). In 2022, Foshan earned a score in the upper quartile for its third-party audited Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM).
Previously operating as a stand-alone subsidiary of the Ruyi Group, the Lycra Company has been owned by a group of financial institutions—including Chinese investment banks Everbright and Tor Management as well as private equity firm Lindeman Partners and its subsidiary Lindeman Asia—since early 2022, following Ruyi’s default on loans relating to its 2019 purchase.
Owners aside, The Lycra Company serves some 300 international apparel brands, producing fibers under brand names like Coolmax and Thermolite, among others. While the privately-held company doesn’t disclose details on its market share of the global spandex sector at large, its branded Lycra offering is a leading stretch fiber in the activewear segment—according to Shenzhen-based Szoneier’s estimates, Lycra holds over 60 percent of the market share in performance and athleisure.
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