wot 36pgs magazin - technical textiles finder · development at the dbl group. the dbl group, one...

world of textiles

References Worldwide issue fourteen www.monforts.com

2014

WOT 36pgs_Magazin 03.02.14 09:05 Seite 1

Competence in Technical Textiles

Our Product Range� Stretching Ranges

� Flow Through Dryers

� Belt Dryers

� High Temperature Stenters

� Vertical Dryers

� Finishing Ranges

� Universal Dryers

� TwinTherm Dryers

� Thermobonding Ranges

� Coating Lines

Suitable for� Glas Fibre Fabrics

� Light Protection

� Tarpaulins

� Billboards

� Artificial Leather

� Floor Coverings

� Artificial Grass

� Nonwovens

� Spacers

� Membranes

SMARTPROGRESS


3

ContentsFranceArticleBrazil

BelguimTunisiaTurkeyTurkeyChinaArticle

The NetherlandsTurkey

Italy

Issued byA. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG

BlumenbergerStrasse 143 - 145, D-41061 Mönchengladbach,

[email protected]

Editors: Klaus A Heinrichs, John Hooper, Peter TolksdorfPhotography: Joem Promotions

Layout & Design: Alan Humphrey

AUSTRIAA ”very healthy” order book for Montex Austria 4

BANGLADESHDBL Group to double capacity with three new Montex stenters 7BTE celebrates its 20th anniversary with Monforts 10

COLOMBIAPermoda saves costs while expanding production 11Sanforising line completes major investment for Fabricato 12Leading commission dyer orders second Montex 16

FEATURENew possibilities with the ECO Applicator 17

ITALYHi spec preparation for digital silk printing 18Como - a silk city of excellence 20Significant energy savings for specialist silk commission dyer 21

PAKISTANFive million metres and 100% Monforts finishing 22A powerhouse in Pakistan 23

PERUTextil Only Star invests in Toptex 24

PORTUGALGas & steam heated stenter chambers - a 1st for Monforts 26

FEATUREAdvanced Technology Center opens its doors 30Strong footing for floor coverings 32

THAILANDLuckytex invests in Monforts technology as part of strategic move into value-added 33

Double celebrationThe recent opening of the Advanced Technology Center (ATC)

offers a facility second to none; providing existing and possible

new customers alike with a unique opportunity to undertake ex-

tensive fabric trials, under real production conditions for knitted

fabrics, woven fabrics and technical textiles.

With, for example, a coating line for technical textiles and a

continuous dyeing line for woven fabrics, a wide variety of trials

can be undertaken.

Once again, Monforts, with

an investment of €2.5 mil-

lion , is seen to be leading the

way, helping its customers to

ensure value added benefits

to the highest quality and

maximum economy.

My congratulations to every-

one involved.

I must also offer my congratu-

lations to everyone at Montex

Austria on celebrating its

30th anniversary with a full

order book for its high quality

production of stenters, sanforisers, continuous dyeing ranges,

padders and purpose-made lines for technical textiles.

Roland Hampel,Managing Director

Contents


4 world of textiles | issue fourteen

The Austrian subsidiary, MontexMaschinenfabrik Ges.m.b.H, man-ufacturer of Montex stenters, San-forising lines, Thermex continuousdyeing ranges, Padders and purposemade lines for Technical Textiles hasannounced a ”very healthy orderbook” and speedier spare parts de-livery as it celebrates its 30th an-niversary.

It has been the ability of MontexMaschinenfabrik to tailor makeMonforts machine models accord-ing to specific customer require-

ments - and also to build ranges fortechnical textiles units - that hasearned it such a high reputationworldwide.

Located in the picturesquefoothills of the Koralpes, in the vil-lage of Sankt Stefan near Graz, thecompany’s plant has been in exis-tence since the 1960s.

Several businesses later saw aconnection with Monforts with thefacility changing its name to Mon-tex Maschinenfabrik in the early1980’s. It now covers an area of

Austria |

A ”very healthy” order book for Montex Austria A ”healthy” order book and speedier spare parts delivery service are announced by Monforts Austrian manufacturing facility as it gets ready to celebrate its 30th anniversary.


5

12,000 m², with around 50% dedi-cated to production.

The machine shop is equippedwith the latest Trumpf CNC lasercutting and bending presses.

Customers are also always wel-come to visit and see their machinesbeing built.

Spare parts deliveryUntil recently mechanical spareparts had been shipped from Mon-forts Germany. Today this is handledby Montex Austria.

”This change has allowed us toshorten delivery times by at least aweek,” said Assembly Manager Karl’Charly’ Krammer adding, ”We arenow handling more than 40 ordersweekly ensuring fast turnaroundtimes. Orders are converted fromthe Monforts SAP system to theMontex Production Planning System(PPS) overnight for dispatch.”

The key strength of MontexMaschinenfabik, however remainsits close-knit and highly-skilledworkforce - with over 50% of em-

ployees having been with the com-pany for over 20 years.

”The workforce are all trained tomulti-task, since we can’t afford theluxury of one man, one job,” saysGert, ”but this flexibility is ourmajor strength and at the sametime very satisfying, in that everyweek offers a variety of tasks forthe workforce. They might, for ex-ample, start the week in laser cut-ting, move over to sheet metalworking and then on to the weld-ing shop”.

Gert Hanzl, Plant Manager

Karl ’Charly’ Krammer, Assembly Manager


6

”They are involved in all stagesof production, from the flat sheet tothe complete unit,” confirms Karl’Charly’ Krammer, who’s been withthe company for 35 years and isnow in charge of pre-assembly.

During a recent visit by severalforeign managers, one looked mysti-fied. ”Relatively few people but somuch output and everyone is smil-ing, where is the miracle?” he asked.

”This gave us all a great deal ofpride and satisfaction,” said Charly.

Among special builds currentlyunderway in Austria are three ma-chines for the American Market, allfor technical textile applications.

In November, the company alsosaw a record-breaking three san-forisers ready for shipment whilst,at the same time, a further threewere under construction - all

world of textiles | issue fourteen

bound for customers inBangladesh, Pakistan, Spain andTurkey.

”With such a healthy orderbook, we have seen a definite in-crease in production numbers andhave had to take on labour in pack-aging and dispatch to meet the de-mand,” said Charly. ”But we willstill stick to one of our golden rules- everything leaves on time!”


7

Its performance resulted in the in-vestment in the three new units.

All the Montex stenters havebeen supplied by the local repre-sentative Bengal TechnologicalCorporation Ltd.

”We decided to purchase Mon-forts equipment because of the goodreputation of the brand and its serv-ice support,” says Anwar ul Azim, di-rector in charge of planning anddevelopment at the DBL Group.

The DBL Group, one of the largestcomposite knit garments and textilescompanies in Bangladesh, is in theprocess of becoming the country’slargest vertically integrated producerby 2016; currently erecting new fac-tory buildings and installing newequipment that includes three Mon-tex 8000 stenters.

The company, which had earlierbeen using a competitive stenter,installed a Montex 6500 in 2012.

”The initial installation providedthe results we wanted. It alsohelped us to set new standards inour conservation programmes.”

DBL is a conglomerate that alsohas divisions in telecoms, leatherand ceramics. The textiles divisionwas founded in 1991 with justseven knitting machines and abouta hundred workers.

The dyeing and finishing divi-sions were established in 2001.

A massive expansion plan that will double the textiles finishing capacity of the DBL Group has seen the installation of a Montex 6500 and three Montex 8000 stenters.

Bangladesh |

DBL Group to double capacity withthree new Montex stenters There are now 14 divisions de-

voted to various elements of thetextiles and garments industry, withfacilities for spinning, fabric knit-ting, dyeing and finishing, gar-ments, washing, packaging andprinting.

Fabrics include single jersey,piqué, fleece, terry, rib, interlock andvariegated fabrics. The fibres usedare cotton, viscose, polyester, zayonand elastan.

Color CityThe three dyeing and washing divi-sions are Hamza Textiles Ltd,Mymun Textiles Ltd, and Color CityLtd, the latter company being hometo the Montex stenters.

Production capacity for apparelsis 6.4 million pieces per month,with the major markets being Eu-rope, USA and Canada. Focusing onquality production, DBL exports100% of its production and has astrong client list that includes H&M,Walmart, George, Espirit, andPuma.

”We have always placed qualityas our priority and continually expanded and developed,” said Mr Anwar.

”Currently our dyeing and fin-ishing divisions are handling 50


8

In 2011 the company, along witha number of other Bangladeshi tex-tile makers, upgraded their equip-ment and practices as part of aprogramme backed by aid agenciesin Britain and Norway, and the In-ternational Finance Corp, the WorldBank unit serving the private sector.

A number of apparel buyingcompanies also supplied help, andSolidaridad, a Dutch non-govern-mental organisation, provided tech-nical advice and funding.

Energy efficient”The group is now using energy

efficient machinery with less envi-ronmental impacts in all of its proj-ects,” said Arif Hossain, DeputyGeneral Manager for Planning andDevelopment.

”This was a key factor in select-ing Monforts,” he explained,adding ”the technology sets thehighest of standards in protectionand conservation.”

Each of the new Montex 8000units is equipped with an EcoBooster HRC, completely integratedwith the eight-chamber design.

Handling the standard 200cm,150g/m² woven fabrics, and work-ing on a seven-day-per-week basis,the Eco Booster is an intelligentheat recovery module with auto-

mated cleaner that can save up to35% in energy costs.

An Energy Management Centremonitors DBL’s textiles and dyeingfactories to optimise energy usage,is responsible for reducing carbondioxide emissions by 15% in thenext three years, and has success-fully reduced diesel consumption by10%. Mr Arif said that DBL nowhas a biological effluent treatment

tonnes per day, but with a new dye-ing line being installed and thethree new stenters in operation, theprojection is that this will rise to100 tonnes per day by 2016.”The increase in capacity will placeDBL at the top of Bangladesh’s tex-tiles and garments producers.

Total exports of the groupreached US$ 252 million in 2011

and are projected to rise to US$ 600million by 2016. The total number ofworkers is about 16,000, a figurethat is due to rise to 30,000 people.

Along with the expansion is avery strong policy towards environ-mental protection, energy andwater saving.

DBL is located in Gazipur, on theoutskirts of Dhaka.

Bangladesh |

Anwar ul Azim



9

Anwar ul Azim said that the de-sign of the new factory buildingsand the land usage at the site re-flects the high quality that is centralto DBL policy. ”The site, with itsriverside setting, is notable for itsgreenery, and its spacious factoriesthat make full use of natural light.”

”We made an investment at thebeginning in a large area of land,and we have the room to expandour facilities, which are built to in-ternational standards, with strict en-vironmental and energy savingcontrols,” he said.

”Greenery and landscaping arevery much a feature of our new de-velopments, and a symbol of whatwe intend to achieve in terms ofconservation.“

”We like to think we are theleader in Bangladesh in more waysthan one.”

plant (ETP) that has a capacity of4,000m³ and is the largest ETP inthe country.

Moreover, the group is in theprocess of installing another ETPwith a capacity of 7,500m³.

The scale and efficiency of thegroup’s ETP facilities has led to thembeing used as a benchmark by theDepartment of the Environment toset up other ETPs in the country.

Arif Hossain



couple of years after this that we be-came associated with Monforts, astheir exclusive representative forBangladesh.“

”We recently celebrated our 20thanniversary with the company. Wework very closely together, and to-gether we have made Monforts aleading brand name in the industryhere for this type of technology.”

Manufacture and marketing ofMonforts equipment remains Ger-many-based.

With both Monforts and Mong-fongs now under the same owner-ship, and in Bangladesh active in the

same market, BTE is undertaking themarketing for both.

”The Chinese-made Monfongsmachines are engineered in Ger-many,” says Mr Farhad.

”The situation we have as a rep-resentative is that we have twotypes of customer.“

”Some companies in Bangladeshwill insist on German equipment.They will probably have relied onMonforts for several years, and pro-mote themselves as using only ad-vanced European technology.“

”On the other hand, a large partof the textiles and garments marketis price-competitive, and there areother stenter manufacturers outthere who can offer prices signifi-cantly below those of Monforts.“

”So now we are offering thissector of the market the Monfongsmachines, which of course arebacked by the usual Monforts styleof service and guarantee the kindof quality finish that is necessary forthe international markets.“

”For everyone we believe thisnew arrangement in which we areoffering both brands offers great at-tractions.”

”We are confident of the futurehere for Monforts and Monfongs,”he says. ”The Bangladesh textilemarket has been a stable one forthe past 20 years, and it keeps ongrowing.

”Bangladesh’s textile industryhas now reached an export volumeof 20 to 25 billion US dollars a year.The success behind the growth isthe competency of the garmentworkers, the willingness of the pri-vate sector to invest, and last butnot least, modern technology.”

Bengal Technology and EngineeringAssociates (BTE) have long provedto be the ideal business partner forMonforts; who have been enjoyingoutstanding success in Bangladeshfor many years, and who are seeingtheir business increase dramaticallyin line with industry growth.

The family-owned business hadbeen started in the mid-1970s, ex-plains director Muhammad FarhadHossain, and originally specialised inwater resources and pumping equip-ment.

”In 1990 we began to diversifyinto the textiles sector and it was a

BTE celebrates its 20th anniversary with MonfortsBangladesh’s textiles and garments industry is the biggest engine of growth in thecountry’s economy, with exporters being the largest source of foreign exchangeearnings and the industry employing an estimated three million people.Further, this enormous sector is still growing. Demand from Western brand namesis increasing as Bangladeshi producers invest in new technology to drive up qualityand to keep the already famously labour costs low.

Bangladesh |

Muhammad Farhad Hossain


Leading Colombian garments pro-ducer Permoda Ltda has installed aMontex 6500 in its Bogota plant toensure maximum competitivenessin the quality of its own-brandproducts.

Permoda manufactures for theLatin American markets, with brandnames such as Armi, Pronto, B-Kul,Koaj and Love; catering mainly forthe young fashion sectors.

”This is a completely new addi-tion to our production line," saysPermoda’s Maintenance Director,William Garzon Alarcon. ”The plantwas opened just seven years ago,and until now we have been usingconventional stretching frames forour fabrics.“

”It is now our strategy to im-prove the quality of our output tobecome more competitive, and alsoto increase production. We believethat quality drives sales and henceproduction, in our market sectorscertainly, and this is why we haveinstalled the Montex. Monfortstechnology enables us to do both."

The new stenter is handling awide range of knitted fabrics in-cluding 100% cotton, combinedpolyester and cotton, and Lycra.

”We can now process any kindof knitted fabric here, and the sten-ter is helping us to increase our fab-rics mix," says Mr Garzon.

The Montex handles material toa width of 2.60 m. Mr Garzon saysthat the average weight of the ma-terial is 180g/m2, with a maximumweight of 350g/m2.

”We are handling between 5 and 6 tonnes per day," he says.”Our factory works 25 days permonth, so we are looking at an out-put through the stenter of morethan 125 tonnes per month.“

”That is far more than we wereable to handle with our previousline, and consequently we are able

to not only increase our output, butto make available a greater rangeof fashion garments.“

”Combined with the quality wecan offer, this is making us verycompetitive in the market segmentsin which we specialise."

The drive towards better qualityin materials, design and productionhas been particularly acute inColombia in recent times becauseof a flood of cheaper imports fromAsia; a substantial part of the vol-ume being contrabrand or brandcopyright infringements that oftensell at a fraction of the price of com-parable Colombian goods.

”We also have to be very muchaware of our costs, which of courseare reflected in our retail prices,"says Mr Garzon. ”We cannot beatcheap imports, and we don’t intendto even try, but we have to be com-petitive as well as being better."

The energy efficiency of theMontex, which is fitted with a heatrecovery module, is helping Per-moda to closely control costs.

”When we were discussing thespecifications of our needs and themachine with Monforts and Servim-texa before installation, we were

told that at our projected outputthe machine would use a maximumof 90m³ of gas per hour,“ says MrGarzon.

”In the event we are using only40-45m3, so that is about half whatwe had envisaged.“

”At the same time we were toldto expect to use a maximum of200kW of electrical power and sofar we have been using only about95kW.“

”So we are very happy with ourconsumption rates. We are savingour own costs and also easily meet-ing the local environmental laws."

The heat recovery module is in-tegrated in the roof construction of

the stenter and uses exhaust air toheat the fresh combustion air.Heated fresh air enters at the inletsof the stenter via integrated freshair ducts.

Up to 60% of the fresh air re-quired by the stenter can be pre-heated in this way, providing aconservatively estimated energysaving of between 10% and 30%,depending on the productionprocess.

Mr Garzon says that Permoda ismonitoring the costs extremelyclosely, and it seems likely that thelarge percentage of actual savingsas against estimated savings is dueto a combination of relatively longproduction runs, well-trained oper-ators, and regular and thoroughmaintenance.

Permoda saves costs while expanding production Leading garment producer combats cheap imports by investing in a Montexstenter to improve quality and control costs.

”We are very happywith our lowconsumptionrates”

William Garzon Alarcon

Colombia |

11



Fabricato SA is today recognised asColombia’s largest textile companyproducing more than 8 millionm/month of finished fabric; and cantrace its origins back to 1920.

Three years ago, with the ap-pointment of a new President, it ini-tiated new philosophy to meetmarket trends and demands; aimedat increasing production whilstbringing down production costs tomake the company more competitive.

According to Fabricato’s Headof New Projects, Carlos AlbertoRueda, the company recognisesthat it may be unable to competewith its Asian competitors on price.”However,” he added, ”we cancertainly beat them on quality, di-rectly attributed to our many years’experience, particularly withdenim.”

The aim of the new philosophyis exemplified by a major two year

project valued at $30 million andintended to modernise productionlines to increase production, furtherimprove quality and reduce pro-duction costs.

The project, included the instal-lation of 105 additional air jet

looms, a sizing unit, an 8-colour ro-tary printing unit, a bleachingrange, a pad-steam line, laboratoryequipment plus a 10-chamberMontex stenter, a Thermosol rangeand a sanforising line.

The commissioning of the san-forising line marked the completionof the major project and new phi-losophy.

”A principal change in the phi-losophy is that before 2009 pro-duction regardless of cost had beena key objective,” said Carlosadding,“Today it has become moreorientated towards the customer,with a reduced production cost.”

“50 years friendship”With its first Monforts installed morethan 50 years ago, Fabricato todayhas a total of eight Montex stenters,six Sanforisers and a Thermex.

Fabricato has nine business linesproviding a wide range of textiles in-cluding yarns; flat-woven fabricssuch as denim, twilled, poplin andwool; knitted fabrics and non-wo-vens. Home textile products includebedsheet sets, mattress and pillar

covers, towels, table clothes andkitchen wear.

Knitted fabrics for fashion wearinclude 100% cotton, polyester/cot-ton, cotton/viscose, nylon/cotton,100% viscose polyester//viscos andcotton/linen.

Colombia |

Sanforising line completes major investment for Fabricato A US$30 million investment programme in a modernisation project over the pasttwo years comes to a close with the installation of a sixth Monforts sanforisingline. The project also included a Montex stenter and Thermosol line plus 105 airjet looms, a sizing unit, an 8-colour rotary printing line, a bleaching line, a pad-steam line and laboratory equipment.


13

Monforts machines feature in allthe woven fabric lines.

Denim productionRecent months has seen more em-phasis by Fabricato on denim pro-duction making it a key product;

together with military and policeuniforms. Up to 60% of productiontoday is devoted to denim workingwith 250-420g/m² denim weights -although the norm is 300g/m².

Currently, the latest Montex sten-ter line is finishing both denim and

military uniform fabrics. However oncompletion of the new sanforisingline installation - supervised by HeinzWengert, Servimtexa - the stenterand sanforiser will be used exclu-sively for denim finishing; anticipat-ing almost 2.6 million m/month.

Uniforms will then be trans-ferred to a second line usingpoly/cotton, 100% cotton and cot-ton/polyamide with a 250g/m²weight. A very thin 100%polyamide is also used for uni-forms.


In another line, a 2-chamberMontex is used in a coating rangein front of a pre-dryer to apply wa-terproofing and ’breathability’coatings to uniform fabics.

The new Montex has replacedtwo older lines which had previ-ously operated at 20m/min - toprovide increased 30-50m/min op-eration depending on the fabricweight and process.

New sanforiserThe recently introduced Monfortex8000 sanforiser - the second inColombia - offers a 750mm diadrum compared with the previous500mm ensures increased capac-ity. The new Sanforiser also allowsfaster rubber belt changes takingjust a single shift compared withthe industry two days standard.

Belt grinding is also consider-ably improved to ensure that a

Colombia |

Carlos Alberto Rueda (left) and Heinz Wengert, Servimtexa

world of textiles | issue fourteen14


15

minimum of rubber is groundthereby increasing the efficiencyand life of the belt.

Thermosol lineThe Thermex 6500 has been in-stalled in combination with a Fong’spad dry/steam range and offers aproduction speed of 40-50m/min.Featuring three chambers with thethird heating up to 190º-200ºC forheatsetting, the Thermex ensuresshrinkage treatment.

The Thermosol line is used for100% cotton and reactive dyeingwhilst the pad steam unit is usedwith the line for poly/cotton blendfabrics.

Boilers Two boilers, also supplied by Mon-forts for the Fabricato installations,supply 2.5 million K calories for thenew Montex and a smaller 1 mil-

lion K calories for the Thermex.Both boilers are configured for gasor oil power.

ExportsFabricato currently exports 25% ofits fabrics and following the recentFTA (Free Trade Agreement) sign-ings with the USA and EU, will belooking to increase this figure inthe near future.

”For the future we will certainlybe looking to increase our exportsales following the new trade

agreements. But, particularly forthe USA, they require finished gar-ments,” said Carlos, elaborating,”Whilst we produce a limitedamount, it will be necessary to seekgarment making partners.“

”However, for the immediatefuture we are concentrating onconsolidating production to reduceproduction costs and meet the de-mands of our existing customers -which l am certain will be achievedvery quickly, led by the new Mon-forts lines.”

“...eight Montex stenters, six sanforisorsplus a Thermex.”



Since its formation in 2005, Colom-bia’s leading commission dye house,Tintatex SA has increased its pro-duction capacity from 80t to morethan 460t in less than eight years; re-lying on the latest technology in-cluding Montex stenters.

The company had been formedwhen four independent fabric pro-ducers in Medellin, previously rely-ing on commission dyers, recog-nised the need for more direct con-trol over dyeing schedules and pro-duction quality; and invited JairoErnesto Correa Sanchez to headthe new commission dyer.

Over the next eight years thecompany expanded its capacity to

Medellin’sfavourite sonMedellin, once known as themost violent city in the world -a result of the urban war set offby the drug cartels in the1980’s - has long been famousfor its textile and fashion indus-try, particularly knit and wovenfabrics.

It is also the birthplace ofFernando Botero, one of thebest and perhaps the mostpopular contemporary artists inthe world today; with his in-stantly recognizable styles.

In addition to producingmore than 1000 paintings overthe past four decades, he has,since the mid-70’s, producednumerous distinctive sculpturebodies in bronze and polyesterresin.

More than 23 can be seenin Medellin’s downtown PlazaBotero.

more than 460t/month but, whilstconcentrating on the latest Europeandyeing technology, had relied on twoolder German-marque stenters forfinishing duties.

According to Jairo Correa thecompany purchased a third stenter,a 4-chamber Montex to meet the in-creased production demands.

”The improved quality perform-ance compared with the two olderstenters was immediately recog-nised. We had also seen that tech-nology in the dyehouse was contin-uing to change; particularly with fin-ishing techniques.”

”In the past, for example, we hadrelied on three and four chamber

stenters as being sufficient to meetour requirements. However, with somany customers today specifyingspecial finishing techniques, it wasnecessary to order not only a morehi-spec stenter but also one with anincreased number of chambers,” hesaid.

An eight chamber Montex wasordered through local representativeServimtexa with the subsequent in-stallation being headed by the rep-resentative’s Heinz Wengert.

”Not only will the latest Montexallow Tintatex to operate at fasterspeeds of 30-50m/min, dependingon the fabric and weight, but willalso allow a variety of finishing andcoating techniques to be offered;thereby creating further opportuni-ties for the company’s continued ex-pansion,” exalted Heinz.

Tintatex provides dyed fabrics forfashion wear in high quality viscose,lycra and cotton blends as circularknits and weights between 120-300g/m².

Since those early days in 2005,Tintatex has continued to supplysome 20% of its production to itsoriginal four associate companies buthas also grown as a commission dyerwith a customer base of almost 50customers; with several growing atthe same rate as Tintatex - to matchColombia’s textile boom.

Colombia |

Leading commission dyer orders second MontexTintatex, Colombia’s leading commission dyer has taken delivery of its secondMontex stenter to offer advanced finishing techniques and increased productioncapacity; as it increases production from 80t to more than 460t in less than eight years.

Jairo Ernesto Correa Sanchez

”not only will itallow fasterspeeds but alsothe opportunity to offer a varietyof finishing and coating techniques”


17

It’s the flexibility and precision of thisnew technology which is opening upso many possibilities, since manu-facturers have the option of treatingeither side of a material at any stagein the manufacturing run, or both -allowing two treatments to beadded simultaneously and all othervariants.

”The obvious example of what’simmediately possible is the combina-tion of a hydrophobic, water re-pelling surface with hydrophilic,moisture absorbing reverse side, in asingle material,” explains Peter Tolks-dorf, Head of Technology Department.

”These materials are proving ex-tremely popular in sportswear, forexample, and the ECO Applicator al-lows tremendous savings to bemade in respect of the energy in thesubsequent drying process.”

In addition, textiles for sports-wear are often subsequently lami-nated to other materials such asperformance films, he adds, but iffully coated with fluorcarbons canprove difficult for processors.

”If you’re able to just treat oneside of the material, the subsequentlamination is much more effective, oras an alternative, the already-lami-nated material can be treated, de-pending on requirements.”

The ECO Applicator found initialsuccess in the denim industry,where it is positioned in front of thestenter to work in combination withthe traditional padder, or even as analternative to it, in wet on wet ap-plications for applying chemicals suchas functional softeners, fluorcarbonsto provide water and oil resistanceand also in some applications pig-ments, for one-side dyeing.

Another popular application Is anEco Applicator in front of a Monfortex

shrinkage machine,where it makes the ap-plication of low viscoseliquors possible. Such aconfiguration avoidsproblems with pre-cipitations andblocked tubes and pipesdue to insufficientcleaning.

Another interesting area in wet-in-wet applications is in the produc-tion of terry towels where anadditional liquor treatment can beapplied to the fabric in very low

quantities in order to eliminate anentire drying stage, with subsequentsavings in energy.

”This additional add-on is veryreproducible, with the precise

amount electronically controlled,”Mr Tolksdorf explained.

In a further example of added ef-ficiency, a mattress manufacturer inPortugal is now employing the ECOApplicator to apply, for example, an-timicrobial products instead of aconventional padder.

”The ECO Applicator requiresjust 50% of the pick-up previouslyneeded, with a resulting 50% sav-ings in energy in the subsequent dry-ing process, while doubling treatedthroughput capacity,” said Peter,”and it’s even been possible to veryeconomically apply flame retardanttreatments in this way.”

Many other applications in tech-nical textiles are currently beingfound for this new technology.

A patent has meanwhile beensecured on a further adaptation ofthe technology for indirect liquor ap-plication.

Two ECO Applicator units arenow in place at the company’s newAdvaced Technology Center in variousline configurations, enabling cus-tomers to conduct full trials.

New possibilities with theECO ApplicatorTextile manufacturers continue to find newapplications for the ECO Applicator as ahighly economic alternative for preciselyadding a wide range of functional finishingchemicals and treatments to their products, according to Peter Tolksdorf.

Peter Tolksdorf



atmosphere long before it becamethe norm requirement,” continuedAmbrogio, adding, ”today we arefirmly committed to all EU stan-dards particularly those relating tothe environment.”

Printing technologyWith the introduction of rotaryprinter technology in 2000, thecompany subsequently installed 12-colour and 10-colour printingpresses together with its 12 colourflat bed printer.

Following the introduction of inkjet digital printing techniques Ala-tex had purchased its first units by2006.

Founder director AmbrogioBrenna, explained his feelings atthe time recognising the necessityto purchase the digital technology.

”At first l was very sceptical, un-able to find pleasure for the digi-tally printed fabric compared withthe traditionally produced printedfabric - l felt that computers werekilling the creative aspect of ourproduction.”

He continued, ”Today l mustadmit however that l have revisedmy fears, recognising that with dig-ital printing you still require experi-ence and knowledge to achievegreat results.”

”The key is sensibility in choos-ing the best colour for the rightcombination of colours and sensi-tivity of feel.”

StentersCurrently, with its third generationof digital printers, Alatex recognisedthe importance of a state-of-the-artstenter offering hi-performance andprecision for ink jet preparation -preparing the silk fabric with chem-icals before printing; to achieve thespecified high quality required forthe digital printer.

In the past, the company had re-lied on old second-hand stenters -”our first unit was a very old castiron stenter purchased in 1976 and

Como-based, silk printing special-ist, Alatex Printing Ltd, has takendelivery of its second stenter, a newMontex for exclusive preparationand finishing duties for the com-pany’s inkjet digital printing appli-cations.

The family-owned company wasfounded in 1970 as a commissiondyer by brothers Ambrogio and LinoBrenna and cousin, Andrea Trezzi. Itwas later strengthened by a thirdbrother, Ezio Brenna and LucianoTrezzi.

In those early days Ambrogioreminisces how the company wasawarded its operating licence bythe local municipality but, with noinfrastructure on the site, needed tobore for essential water supplies.

This meant drilling a bore holedown to 100m in to a prehistoricriver bed providing ’pure’ water.

”It proved so ’pure’ that wewere approached by a mineralwater bottling company to providewater instead of fabric printing on a50:50 basis. Needless to say weopted for printing.” he added.

”We initially started with eightprinting tables - four 150cm andfour 90cm wide - producing handprinted narrow silk scarves; produc-ing around 480,000m/year.

Green issues”As a point of interest, proving thatwe were very much aware of thelocal environment and ’greenminded’ as long ago as the 1970’s,we joined a consortium of regionaltextile companies to ’pool’ our’dirty’ water and, after cleaning,reuse it in our various facilities.”

Initially the ratio was 70% bythe consortium and 30% by localresidents. Today, following expan-sion of residential housing in thearea, the ratio has changed to 30%by the consortium and 70% by res-idential.

”We had also installed cleanersto all our exhaust ducting to ensureonly clean air was emitted into the

Italy |

Hi spec preparation for digital silk printing Alatex Printing Ltd, a leading Italian silk printing specialist, purpose-ordered a new Montex stenter for exclusive inkjet digital preparation and finishing in its facility close to Lake Como.

Ambrogio & Lino Brenna


19

”We are extremelyhappy with its performance”



replaced 10 years later by anothersecond hand unit,” said Ambrogio.

As a result, the company or-dered a new Montex from local rep-resentative Sacconaghi-Monaco Srlfor exclusive operation with the dig-ital printing process. The new sten-ter is housed in a purpose-builtextension.

Digital preparationIn a first pass through the Montex,the opportunity is taken to join the30m, 40m or 50m rolls of silk fab-ric into larger batches up to several100’s of metres as well as addingchemicals for digital preparation.

Following printing, the fabric iswashed and steamed before pass-ing through the Montex in a secondpass for finishing.

Fabrics for digital printing rangefrom 20-300g/m² with around 80%of production featuring weights upto 70g/m². A typical blend features88% silk and 12% lycra elastane.

Following its recent installation,more than 120,000m of silk pro-duction has been processed by theMontex ensuring the superior hi-spec, quality finish. Digitally pro-duced production is expected to

exceed 5,000,000m by the end ofthe year confirmed Ambrogio.

Although ordered specifically tohandle fabrics for the digital print-ing process, the Montex, is alsoused for finishing duties on the ro-tary and flat bed printed fabrics.

”We are extremely happy withits performance,” said AmbrogioBrenna.

Total production by Alatex in2012 was almost 5 million metres;supplying fabric for many of the re-gion’s leading fashion houses in-cluding such exalted names asMaxmara, Louis Vuitton, Prada andGiorgio Armani.

The future, as a family-run com-pany, is secure as the second gen-eration - Laura, Mauro Brenna and

Marco Trezzi - step in to take over inthe future.

But it could still be a while awaylistening to Ambrogio, ”I have notlearnt enough, even after 40 yearsin the industry, and with the new hispec Montex l am still learning - wedo it with love and passion,” en-thused Ambrogio.

Italy |

Italy’s Como, sitting at the southernend of Lake Como, has a centuriesold tradition and heritage of beinga worldwide leading producer of silkproducts.

Como - a silk city of excellenceThe silk industry in the region

dates back to pre 10th Century. Bythe early 17th Century Como boast-ed more than 100 silk mills. By the 18th Century, and with a newrenaissance of silk design and man-ufacturing with the introduction of

mechanical equipment, Como ledthe way with innovations in

production and design.

The region thrived as Italy’s silkcapital thanks to its abundance of wa-ter from the lake and alpine streamsplus the widespread mulberry farm-ing in the nearby Po River Valley.

Despite global competition, Italycontinued to supply more than 90%of Europe’s silk production a decadeago, with the majority being producedin Como.

By 2004 Como’s textile indus-try produced 4,400 t of silk forclothing, decorative fabrics, scarves,shawls, ties and upholstery.


21

Whether dyeing 100% crepe chinesilk or silk/polyamide/lycra blends, Ital-ian commission dying specialist Lar-iana SRL is using 25% less gas con-sumption with its recently installedMontex; compared with the compa-ny’s previous stenter installed along-side the Montex.

Como-based Lariana ordered theMontex from local representative, Sac-conaghi-Monaco Srl, to replace an old-er multi-layered stenter and specificallyfor its thermofixing processes. It wasneeded to meet increasing production

demands and faster fabric turnaroundto meet improved deliveries.

In addition to the energy con-sumption savings, the Montex isalso operating at 30% faster speedsthan the competitive stenter.

The reduced gas consumption is, ac-cording to a spokesman for Lariana, di-rectly attributed to the roof-mounted,heat recovery system - which is part ofMonforts on-going efforts to reduce en-ergy consumption for the textile in-dustry and is fitted as standard to allMontex 6500’s.

Although founded in 1938 as acommission dyer, the company saw achange of ownership in 2001. Today,Lariana continues to successfully op-erate as a high quality dyeing spe-cialist for the ’high end’ market.

Since the change of ownership,finished production has virtually dou-bled to almost two million me-tres/month.

In addition to silk, the companydyes a variety of fabric blends incor-porating cotton, nylon, polyamide andlycra. A typical high quality fabric fea-

Significant energy savings for specialist silk commission dyerLeading Italian silk commission dyeing specialist, Lariana SRL, is achieving gasconsumption savings of at least 25% with a recently delivered Montex stenter;compared with the company’s previous stenter.

tures a 17% polyamide/53%wool/30% lycra blend in a weight of198g/m² for luxury ladies fashionwear.

Weights for 100% silk fabrics canvary between 80-230g/m².

The new Montex is used for alldyeing, thermofixing and finishingprocesses including ’soft hand feel’with fixing once the greige fabric hasbeen washed before dyeing. All fab-rics are subsequently passed throughthe stenter in a second finishingpass.



Its customer list reads like a ’who’swho’ of European and US HighStreet fashion retailers, includingAmerican Eagle, C&A, Gap, H&M,Lee, Mango, Old Navy, TJ Max,Tommy Hilfiger and Zara.

As a result of forward integra-tion, ongoing expansion and agrowing reputation for quality, theLahore-headquartered group hasmanaged to double its turnover inthe past five years and sales in2012 were around US$600 million.

Some 14,000 people are em-ployed at the Sapphire complex ofmanufacturing plants, with dedi-cated business units for cotton,spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing

and finishing, home textiles andgarments.

And since its foundation elevenyears ago, Sapphire Finishing Millshas relied on Monforts technology.

Following the delivery of its lat-est Monfortex, the plant now has

four Monforts dyeing ranges, fiveMontex stenters and three san-forizing units.

”We are very satisfied with thequality of Monforts equipment andits ease of operation and mainte-nance, for our staff. The Monfortsmachines also provide value addedfeatures for all our products,” saidDirector Production, Tariq Jamil.

He added,“The first machineshave now been running extremelysmoothly for over a decade, butMonforts doesn’t stand still and isconstantly developing new fea-tures.”

He cited, as an example, the lat-est Monfortex sanforiser that hasrecently been installed.

”A key feature is the automaticgrinding, which eliminates theneed to remove and re-install thegrinding rollers. This has greatly re-duced grinding time which is verysignificant for a productive plantlike ours,” he said.

”We did consider options fromother European machinery builders,but in the end we decided to staywith Monforts for a number of rea-sons,” added CEO, Yousuf Abdul-lah. ”Not only did we want tomaintain consistency in the plant inrespect of operating parameters, aswell as common spare parts andservices, but our operators are alsovery happy with the machines. Thedesigns are robust and simple from

an operational point of view, andwe don’t want complicated ma-chines, just the best results. Theyhave always performed accordingto our expectations.”

The latest machines, he adds,are designed very much with en-ergy savings in mind, in respect ofthe high efficiency motors, heat re-covery systems and E-control.

Sapphire specialises in bottomwear fabrics for fashion apparel. Inaddition to capitalising on Pakistan’shigh grade cotton, it also works withdifferent weaves, including plain,canvas, twills, satin, rip-stop, Ot-toman and stretch fabrics.

It carries out reactive, vat anddisperse dyeing to cater to the de-

mands of the market in respect ofquality, performance and end-useapplication. The range of value-adding finishes it is able to impartas a result of the Monforts technol-ogy include easy care, wrinkle free,water repellent, soil release anti-mi-crobial and flame retardant treat-ments, in addition to silicone andpeachskin finishing.

”With the increased productioncapacity these latest Monforts ma-chines will provide, we’ll be able toreduce the average cost of our fab-rics while reaching a larger numberof customers,” said Mr Abdullah.”By March 2014, we anticipatebeing able to achieve a productioncapacity of around five million me-tres every month.”

Five million metres and 100%Monforts finishing

Pakistan |

With a monthly production of 4.0 million metres of high quality dyed and finished fabric in Sapphire Finishing Mills, the Sapphire Group is one of thelargest manufacturers and exporters of textiles in Pakistan.

Tariq Jamil

Yousuf Abdullah

22


23

The installation will be operationalbefore the end of the year putting thecompany on course to finish some4.5 million metres of fabric month-ly. This will allow it to service im-portant new contracts such as sup-plying the camouflage fabrics for thePakistan Army.

The company’s fabric dyeingplant in Lahore is already equippedwith Monforts stentering, sanforiz-ing and other equipment, whichwill be complemented by the newThermex and Econtrol systems.

”Our decision to acquire theThermex system was not only in or-der to increase production, but alsoto enhance quality and repro-ducibility,” says Managing DirectorAhmed Jahangir. ”We have full con-fidence in Monforts and the benefitof future quality dyeing. Even beforewe buy Monforts machinery we areconfident about the quality.”

Current finishing output at theplant is 3.5 million metres and the

target is to reach up to 4.5 millionmetres.

”We have also bought the Econ-trol system which will help us to re-duce the cost of production by re-ducing water consumption and con-trolling pollution as well,” said Tech-nical Director Rehman Siddique.

With two spinning units and anexisting yarn dyeing operation inFaisalabad, a weaving unit inSheikhupura and weaving, fabricdyeing and finishing, stitching andgarment making-up operations in La-hore, Nishat has grown over the yearsto become one of the biggest verti-cally-integrated textile operations inthe country.

In total, it has some 198,120 spin-dles and 655 air jet looms, while itstwo separate stitching units are ded-icated to home textiles and garmentsrespectively.

The company is now achieving ex-port sales of over US$400 million ayear. The fabric processing plant has

the capacity to process over 10 mil-lion m of fabric monthly and hasbeen purpose designed to handleheavy weight fabrics such as twills,canvas and poplins, in addition tostretch fabrics in all high densityweaves.

Around 70% of this output is innarrow width. The Nishat apparel di-vision is equipped with a total of1,627 modern sewing machinesand completes around 7.2 milliongarments annually.

The success of Nishat Linen - thecompany’s textile and home fashionretail chain - has been achieved asa result of the close is attention itpays to quality, design and afford-ability.

Nishat’s operations are alsoequipped with extremely efficient,captive co-generation, power plantsto meet in-house energy require-ments at all of its spinning, weaving,processing, stitching and apparelunits.

A powerhouse in PakistanPakistan’s Nishat Mills has been a satisfied Monforts customer since it started in house dyeing operations in 1989; following its formation in 1951. Currently, it is installing a new Thermex 5500 continuous dyeing system along with an Econtrol unit at its fabric plant in Lahore; ordered through the local representative Al Ameen Trading.

Faisal Hafeez (left), Hafeez Ur Rehman Siddique

Ahmed Jahangir



Textil Only Star, one of Peru’s topknitting producers, has installed aToptex 8000 at its factory in Limaas part of a strategy to turn thecompany into a vertically inte-grated producer.

The Toptex was orderedthrough the Peruvian representa-tive who, along with an engineerfrom Germany commissioned themachine and supervised training.

Textil Only Star, along with its sis-ter company Precotex, has been one

of the fastest developing companiesin the Peruvian textiles and garmentsindustry.

The company was launched asPrecotex in 1996 by Dante VillalvaMunive, who was then a student inhis early 20’s. Initially it focused onsimple textile printing work, using acarousel print system, but soongrew to become Peru’s largest printspecialist.

In 2005 Precotex moved into themanufacture of garments, establish-

ing Textil Only Star with knittingand sewing facilities to manufactureand export collections for brands thatinclude Armani Exchange, John Var-vatos, Donna Claire, and '47 Brand.

”Once we had established OnlyStar, we realised that we needed toprogress yet further and become anintegrated vertical producer," saysMr Villalva, ”We opened our dye-house production in the first half of2012 with five dyeing units, and arenow adding a further six.

Peru |

Textil Only Star invests in ToptexTextil Only Star SAC, which has added a major dyeshop to its production line, invests in a Toptex 8000 as it becomes a vertical producer.


25

”At the same time we investedin the Toptex. The machine adds val-ue to our production. The finish itgives to our cotton produce is finer,softer and better looking than anyshrinking machine that we haveseen.

”There is also the environmen-tal aspect. The Toptex is thorough-ly designed to more than meet allenvironmental regulations, and inthe export markets that is what isbeing looked for. It is also a highlyefficient user of energy."

Mr Villalva says that Peru is notone of the world’s leading gar-ment makers in terms of volume orlow cost, and could never competewith China or other Far East pro-ducers, or even the Central Ameri-can producers.

”Peru does however have anoutstanding reputation for quality,"he says. ”We can compete on equalterms, and better, with the world’sleading quality producers. This iswhat drives Only Star, and this iswhere our future lies.

”We have become a verticalproducer from the ground up, alwaystesting ourselves before movingonto the next stage, and all the timeinvesting in the best technology."

The Toptex is achieving a resid-ual shrinkage of 5% and in the firstcouple of months of operation washandling 4t per day, working on a24-hour, three-shift basis. The factory,which employs 1200 people, worksseven days a week.

Mr Villalva says that the projec-tion is the Toptex will be processing14 tonnes a day in 2013.

Average width of the material is1.8m, and weights range from 110to 135gsm.

There are plans to move furtherinto blended fabrics, and Mr Villal-va says this was an important con-sideration when negotiating withMonforts.

”The Toptex changes everythingfor us," he says. ”We can go out tothe export markets with even greaterconfidence."

”The machine adds value to our production”

Dante Villalva Munive



”Today, energy costs in Portugalare perhaps the highest in Europeand savings are essential,” hestated, adding, ”Our previous sten-ter was thermo oil - heated whichwas proving to be too expensive;the new Montex is gas-heated andis much more beneficial.”

”Although it has only been op-erational for two months, we are al-ready noticing significant differences- for example, running at twice thespeed of the old unit means we areable to double our finished produc-tion.”

He also announced that thecompany was looking at ’shuttingdown’ one of its three daily shiftsas a direct result of the stentersperformance, whilst still increasingproduction with the resulting en-ergy savings and reduced labourcosts.

Vertical operation Although founded in 1971 byArmando da Silva Antunes - produc-ing handkerchiefs - the April 1974revolution in Portugal and the periodof instability that followed, combinedwith an adverse economic situation,meant that it was not until 1980that he was able to follow his dream,establishing a fully vertical operation.

Portugal’s fully vertical ’terry’ pro-ducer, Lasa, has configured the firsttwo chambers of its newly installedMonforts Montex 6500 stenter tobe heated by steam produced bythe company’ co-generation plant.

Supplied at 150°C at virtuallyno cost and a pressure of 13 bar,the technique is providing signifi-cant energy savings for the nor-mally gas-heated chambers.

Should a terry fabric require atemperature above 150°C, a simplechangeover switch to gas heats thetwo chambers to 180°C.

Thought to be one of the first in-stallations to capitalise on this tech-nique, it is certainly the first forMonforts in Portugal.

The roof mounted heat recoverysystem recycles hot air back intothe Montex chambers, heating theinlet air and providing further en-ergy savings.

Modernisation programme The new 5-chamber Montex hasbeen installed to replace a 30-yearsold stenter in an on-going mod-ernisation programme.

In electing to order the Montexfrom local representative, Maquicon-trolo, Lasa director José Antunes, con-firmed that energy savings were top ofhis ’shopping list.’

Portugal |

Gas & steam heated stenter chambers -a 1st for MonfortsIn a first for Monforts, a newly installed Montex stenter is able to capitalise on steam from a co-generationplant to heat the first two chambers ensuring significant energy savings and improved finishing.

José Antunes


27

”gas and steam heated chambers ensures significant savings”



Over the next 30 years the com-pany consolidated its structure suchthat today Lasa is recognised as oneof Europe’s leading terry towel pro-ducers, and the Group is one of themost important textile groups in Por-tugal.

As a fully vertical operation withspinning, weaving, dyeing, finishingand confectionery, Lasa produces awide range of terry towels, bathrobes, bath mats and baby articles.

A key to its success is the com-pany’s quality control procedureswith complete control of everyprocess and results and proceduresregistered to ensure a high andcontinuous standard.

The company offers ’six neverout of stock’ plain dyed ranges indifferent colours, weights and yarnquantities. These plain dyed rangesare complemented with bath robes,bath mats and slippers.

Lasa also presents two collectionsa year based on its r & d departmentstrend scouting. Additionally some newdesigns are launched every month as a’refreshment’ of the main collection.

Export productionMore than 90% of the ’terry’ pro-duction is jacquard in weights ofbetween 240g/m²-1,500g/m² (tow-els 240-700g/m²; bath robes at480g/m²; and bath mats at1,500g/m²).

Featuring widths of 0.6-2.4m,the Montex operates at speeds of15-35m/min.

According to José Antunes, thespeed factor was an importantconsideration. ”Even allowing forthe age of the old stenter, the Mon-tex is able to operate at twice thespeed offering increased produc-tion.”

He also appreciates the Mon-forts horizontal chain system overcompeting brands, offering ex-tended lifetime operation.

With 90% of production boundfor the European markets - prima-rily Germany, France and Spain, plusthe United States of America, lead-ing customer brands include ElCorte Inglês, Guy Larouche, ZaraHome, Auchon, Diesel, Debenhams,Conran Shop and La Perla.

Portugal |


MONFORTS ATC

Welcome to the newAdvanced Technology Centerin Mönchengladbach / GermanyWith an all-embracing range of machines,

the Monforts Advanced Technology Center offers the

possibility of carrying out extensive fabric trials under real

production conditions.

For absolute reliability in the finishing result and tailored

machine engineering.

Services rendered at the new MONFORTS ATC> Trials with customer fabric> Training of operators

and service personnel

Range of application> I. Continuous dyeing> II. Finishing of knitted fabrics> III. Finishing of woven fabrics > IV. Finishing of Technical Textiles


30

Occupying a massive 1500m2 area,the new ATC is located in a com-plete hall at the company’s head-quarters in Blumenberger Strasse,Mönchengladbach. It will allowcustomers in-house opportunitiesto undertake trials on Monfortsdyeing and finishing machinesunder fully confidential, real pro-duction conditions.

The new ATC includes compre-hensive test facilities; where dyeingand finishing trials can be per-formed with the customers ownwoven, knitted or non-woven fab-rics or technical textiles, under fullworking conditions.

Using the results from these tri-als, recommendations will be madefor improving fabric finishes.

The hall includes a full Thermexcontinuous dyeing range suitablefor the Econtrol® process; a Montex6500 stenter with a vertical chainreturn and equipped with Eco Ap-plicator; and a Montex 8000 sten-ter for technical textiles -incorporating Eco Applicator, hightemperature and an explosion-proof execution for treating fabricswith solvents.

The new facility represents a€2.5 million investment, including

the installation of a steam genera-tor and complete utilities includinga colour kitchen and fabric labora-tory testing equipment.

Monforts technologists areavailable for comprehensive cus-tomer’s advice on all aspects ofdyeing and finishing for classicaland technical textiles providing fullassistance for economic and eco-logic processes.

Training courses are also avail-able for machine operators to runthe machines under minimum useof dyestuff and energy input forbest value added finishing results.

The new hi tech, world class fa-cility is another example of Mon-forts policy to fully support itscustomers in achieving the bestpossible solutions in finishing itsfabrics efficiently under ecologicaland economical conditions.

Advanced Technology Center opens its doors

Peter Tolksdorf, Chief Technologist (left); Jürgen Hanel,Head of Technical Textiles Division (centre); Fred Vohsdahl, Manager of ATC (right).



31


32

Customised, high performanceMonforts stenters are available asa central feature of the latestdrying and coating installations forfloor coverings.

“Monforts has produced a num-ber of stenter installations for dryingand backing systems for modular car-pet tiles, rugs, mats, textiles and otherfloor covering applications,” says Jür-gen Hanel, Head of Monforts Tech-nical Textiles Division.

“The latest Monforts stenter,the Montex 8000 Series, is themost advanced carpet tile pre-coating stenter in the world - it’s amasterpiece,” said Jürgen Hanel.

With a maximum width of 2.2 mthe Series 8000 TwinTherm has sixchambers with 12 burners.

“Each chamber has a separateburner for top and bottom to

obtain a temperature differential,”Jürgen explained. “The webpassing through the chambers arequite different on each side“.

“One side is the surface younormally see and walk on and is afibre that has a lower meltingpoint. The other side has anadhesive latex that is applied to fixthe fibres into a primary cloth.“

“This is the reason for buildingthe oven/dryer chambers withseparate temperature control inthe top and bottom of eachchamber.“

“It should be remembered thatevery structure in the world has tohave floor covering and this will notchange. The economy may take timeto recover but floor coverings willstill be in demand. There may wellbe fewer dealers selling it but there

should be a lot of customers,”added Jürgen.

The floor covering industry hascertainly gone through significantchanges in the past few decades,and Jürgen confirms that carpettiles - also known as modularcarpet - have now become themost used floor covering abovewood, broadloom and other alter-native surfaces in the commercialsector.

The global carpet tile market isnow worth an annual $2.7 billion.The USA is currently the biggestmarket with a 32% share, followedby Japan with 13%.

Modular flooring is particularlypopular in US corporate and gov-ernmental offices, as well as ininstitutions such as schools andhospitals, as a result of its durabil-

ity, along with ease of installation,maintenance and replacement.

While carpet tiles still have wellunder a 50% market share almosteverywhere but Japan, substantialfuture growth is particularly antici-pated in developing economies.

It has been estimated thatbetween 1.6 and 1.8 billion m² ofnew floor space will be neededeach year between now and 2025to accommodate China’s urbanmigration; this yearly increase is thesize of the current US market. Inaddition, India is expected to addbetween 700 and 900 million m² ayear.

Russia and Brazil have alsobecome significant markets forgrowth, while a number of Asiancountries are following behindChina as low-cost manufacturers.

USA |

Strong footing for floor coverings with customised Monforts stenters



33

Long-time Monforts user Luckytex(Thailand) Plc has installed a Ther-mex 6500 hotflue system for con-tinuous dyeing as part of itsstrategy to move more strongly intovalue-added production andthereby fend off competition fromthe high-volume, lower-cost pro-ducers in other parts of Asia.

The company has also invested ina MXL moist cross-linking process,and a Montex 6500 stenter.

All the equipment has been sup-plied through the Thai representative,United Engineering Overseas Ltd.

”Thailand is no longer a low-cost textile producer,” says Lucky-tex Deputy Managing Director, LiKin Shing. ”We must innovate. In-novation means survival. This is

why we have been investing in thistechnology.”

Luckytex produces polyester andcotton blended fabrics, 100 % cot-ton fabrics, 100 % polyester spunfabrics, polyester filament, taffeta,and denim. The company also pro-duces industrial materials, such asdipped cord for air-conditioner,brake and power-steering hoses,and nylon airbag fabric.

Ranking within Thailand’s top10 textiles producers, Luckytex wasestablished in 1960 as a venturebetween Hong Kong and Thai-Chi-nese interests. Its first mill was forspinning and weaving, and the sec-ond, which opened shortly after,was for dyeing and finishing. Athird mill was added in 1976.

Thailand |

Luckytex invests in Monforts technology as part of strategic move into value-addedThailand’s Luckytex aims to beat competition from Asia by investing in Monforts technology and movingstrongly into the innovation and quality sectors.

Li Kin Shing



The company is now partiallyowned by Toray Industries of Japan,and is listed on Thailand’s Stock Ex-change.

Beating competitionAlthough Thailand was until recenttimes considered a low-cost pro-ducer, the country’s labour costshave been steadily rising. It alsofaces intense competition fromother nearby producers in Vietnam,Laos, Cambodia, Bangladesh andChina. The predicted rise of produc-tion in Myanmar is going to in-crease competition even further.

The three Luckytex mills are lo-cated in Samut Prakarn, a neigh-boring province of Bangkok, at themouth of the Chao Phraya River. The factories are linked throughflow of production, especially in themanufacturing of spun fabrics andtaffeta.

Mill No 1 operates spinning andweaving for production of spun fab-rics and transfers this to Mill No 2for bleaching, dyeing and finishing.

Mill No 3 produces taffeta fab-rics and transfers this produce toMill No 2 for dyeing and finishing.

Apart from taffeta fabrics, prod-ucts of Mill No 3 also include denimand the industrial materials.

The machines are installed inMill No 2, which employs about700 people. The first unit to be in-stalled was a Monfortex in 1992. Asecond was installed in 1997, and athird in 2003.

Mr Li, who is also manager ofMill No 2, says that the company is

manufacturing for both the exportand the domestic markets.

Spun fabrics, mainly polyester,blended polyester and cotton, and100 % cotton, form the largest ex-port produce, amounting to about70 % in total with only 30 % goingto the domestic markets.

The largest export market for100 % spun produce is the MiddleEast. Filaments for linings, outer-wear, twill and satin are also sub-stantially exported, while denim ismainly for the local market. Taffetacurrently accounts for 20 % of ex-ports.

Taffeta production totals about4,600 yards/month, of which thebulk is 62cm wide. Approximately87% of production is for plaintaffeta, with the remaining 13%being dobby and cam.

Altogether, Asia forms thelargest export market with 85%,followed by Europe at 11% andAmerica with 4%.

Thailand |


35

Installation of the three-chamberThermex 6500 continuous dyeingline, will allow Luckytex to developnew high-density fabrics and specialfinishes. And being a loop-dryer witha fabric capacity of up to 51m, it willensure drying times of only a fewminutes for woven fabrics.

The new Thermex is currently pro-cessing materials of 120g/m², but thisis expected to increase to 200g/m².The width is usually 160cm.

MXL processEarlier this year the company in-stalled a Monforts MXL 7000 con-tinuous moist cross-linking unitwhich allows, for example, non-iron, laundry fresh and wrinkle-freeproperties, particularly on cottonfabrics at a reaction of the time re-quired by batch methods.

It also ensures greater flexibilityand increased process safety.

The MXL process line comprisesa padder, a stretching field and aThermex hotflue treatment cham-ber. It is being used principally for100 % cotton woven fabrics alongwith some cotton blended withpolyester woven fabrics.

The recently installed Montex6500 stenter is being used almostexclusively for taffeta, which Lucky-tex believes offers more potentialas a market.

”The past two years has been atime of heavy investment for us,”says Mr Li. ”We believe we havereached the strategic point we areaiming for, in order to increase ourvalue-added revenue.

”This is essential for us, and asa long-time user of Monforts, whowe regard as a valuable businesspartner, we have every confidencein achieving our targets.”

Left to right: Suchao Leelawatanasuk, Director, United Engineering Overseas Ltd; Ryuichi Hayashi, General Manager of Engineering Department; Li Kin Shing, Deputy Managing Director; Irisa Tsuyoshi, Executive Advisor.


Competence in Denim Finishing

A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KGGermany | A Member of Fong’s Industries Group

www.monforts.com


wot 36pgs magazin - technical textiles finder · development at the dbl group. the dbl group, one...

Documents