World's’ acetate tow and yarn market

Acetate tow market:

Celanese is also one of the world's largest producers of acetate tow. Eastman is the second largest acetate tow manufacturer in the world. 

Competitors in the fibers market for acetate tow include Celanese Corporation ("Celanese"), Eastman,  Daicel Chemical Industries Ltd ("Daicel"), Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. ("Mitsubishi Rayon"), and Rhodia S.A..  In the acetate tow market, two major competitors, Celanese and Daicel, have joint venture capacity in China.

Acetate yarn  market:

Eastman is the world leader in acetate yarn production and the only acetate yarn producer in the U.S. and Canada.

For acetate yarn, major competitors besides  Eastman include three companies that target multi-regional markets, BembergCell, INACSA and UAB Korelita, and two regional producers, SK and Mitsubishi Rayon.

The physical properties of acetate yarn make it desirable for use in textile products such as suit linings, women's apparel, medical tape, drapery, ribbons and other specialty fabrics.  However, over the past 20 years, demand for acetate yarn has been adversely affected by the substitution of lower cost polyester and rayon yarns.  Accordingly, worldwide demand for acetate yarn is expected to continue to decrease as mills substitute these cheaper yarns for acetate yarn.  Eastman, however, remains uniquely positioned because it is the only integrated producer of acetate yarn.