According to Franz Kogler, director of sales and world marketing for Lenzing, the largest viscose fibers producer in the world, international demand for textile fibers should increase by 25 percent during the next ten years. Although cotton will remain the most important textile fiber in the world, limited increases in cotton production manmade fibers, such as rayon. Rayon now accounts for 7 percent of world textile consumption; during the 1980s demand for rayon from fabric manufacturers grew approximately 2 percent per year. In anticipation of rayon's more prominent role, Lenzing has boosted its viscose fiber producing capacity in both Asia and the United States. The company recently completed the first phase of modernization and expansion of its United States subsidiary, Lenzing Fibers. Lenzing recently reported overall losses of approximately $17 million because of the weak performance of its European manufacturing operations, and Kogler indicated that Lenzing will sell off its European rayon filament production line by the end of 1994.