At ITMA 2015, sustainability resonated across booths of garment finishing machine manufacturers, who came up with various technologies that save water, energy, and use less chemicals. For most finishing technology manufacturers, denim is the major focus for development being a product highly dependent on washing for value addition; other categories like knits too were in focus for the finishing industry. Team AOB had a tête-à-tête with the leading players at the fair who had showcased their ‘green’ technologies. In the next issue of AOB , we will carry innovations in Knitting and Digital Printing.
Taking pride on being the leader in sustainable solutions in denim washes and finishes, Jeanologia has increased its focus on R&D in order to surpass its own benchmarks. While many associate the company with denim, Manuj Kanchan, General Manager for South Asia, Jeanologia shared that since 2014, the largest segment of the company for development today is knits, with two garment collections being created every year using Jeanologia’s technology. “As an industry, knits are bigger than denim so we have increased our focus in that segment,” said Manuj. Taking a global approach to business, the company is not specifically focusing on any country in particular but is rather setting up application teams in most of the apparel manufacturing countries who can understand and communicate the needs of those countries and help Jeanologia in developing better technologies or ‘complete technological solutions’. “We are not just machine manufacturers, but have a very strong technical know-how on washing with strong collaborations in Turkey, Italy and Japan, the countries that are leading innovators. This edge is what we share, backed by technology and application,” avers Manuj.
Jeanologia Twin HS Laser was the latest offering showcased at ITMA, which has been specially conceived for five-pocket jeans. A highly efficient machine, enabling just a single operator to process 4,000 jeans in a day, the Twin HS Laser machine has dual marking system which speeds up the whole process. “We are working with laser, as it has got better efficiency. But it cannot be applied to brands, so we are trying to find alternates. These new solutions have better application strength,” explained Manuj. The company received a tremendous response from the visitors. “All major customers from India and Bangladesh who already have our technologies visited us. Now, we are looking for like-minded people with whom we can partner up to implement energy, water, and chemical saving projects. Imagine a plant in Bangladesh where we have 100 people making 10,000 pieces! That’s our aim,” said Manuj emphatically.
Italian finishing machines manufacturer Tonello, which delightfully boasts of having sustainability as its core value, made its mark among competitors by grabbing the Launch of the Year Award at the ITMA Future Materials Awards 2015 for its Water Brush process. The Water Brush uses a chemical-free approach to achieve an authentic vintage look on jeans. The technology not only takes care of the environment but also of the operators as they need no protection while working with it. “Tonello has always had its focus on producing machines which consume less water, energy, and chemicals but only now have the manufacturers across the world realized that saving water is necessary, due to the rising cost of water,” expressed Alice Tonello, Marketing and R&D Manager, Tonello. The company is not only looking at sustainability from the manufacturing point of view, but also from the workers’ safety perspective, which according to Alice should be the foremost concern for the manufacturers across the globe. Tonello also has a unique aim of making the consumer feel safe about what he or she is wearing by ensuring him or her about the right treatment of neutralizing the pair of jeans. A strong R&D team of 6 technicians collaborate with other companies, brands and technology providers to approach washing needs from fresh viewpoint. Labs and PD workshops at Arvind, Stoll and Santoni are few examples of successful collaborations.
Even the latest offering by the company – NoStone technology has been developed in collaboration with Levi Strauss & Co. The technology which eliminates the use of pumice stone in giving the stone-wash look was a great crowd puller at the ITMA show. It is a system based on a stainless-steel abrasive drum which is fastened to the washing machine cylinder. The patented technology gives exactly the same look as achieved by pumice stone without the hassles, cost, environment implications and health hazards associated with traditional stone washing. Tonello is offering three levels of abrasion in this technology – high, medium and low which depends on the user’s need. Alice is very confident that the only way forward for any company today is to follow a sustainable path for growth.
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Another Italian company which came up with innovative sustainable technology solutions was Mactec. The company displayed its latest offering, Sec o Matic, a conveyor dryer with automatic loader for trousers, and heat recovery system. Claimed to be better than the rotary dyers, Sec o Matic by Mactec does not allow rubbing between trousers and hence enable the trousers pass the colour fastness tests to meet the buyer’s demand. The machine saves more than 80 per cent of energy as compared to normal rotary dyers, and does not use any chemicals as fixing agents. Using the machine, a single person can produce up to 800 pieces per hour.
Along with Mactec, two other Italian companies represented by Eastman Technocrafts in Bangladesh were also a focus of attention – Brongo and Avantec. “These machines are products of advanced technology that is today being demanded by the manufacturers in Bangladesh. With these brands we will be able to offer a whole new range of eco-friendly machines to the finishing industry,” said Manik Chowdhury, MD, Eastman Technocrafts. Brongo, which has a strong presence in the Bangladesh market, featured its L models range, which is a washing machine with open pocket drum. These machines, which offer low spinning speed are suitable for treatments like stone wash (enzymes and stones), rinsing, and softening on readymade garments. The machine has stainless steel panels and offers a low liquor ratio due to minimum space between its drum and the shell. Brongo offers a range of models with different drum volumes under this series. With the company having made its mark in the denim hub, Bangladesh, it now plans to conquer other readymade garment manufacturing countries.
Avantec, the Italian producer of washing, dyeing, and drying machines along with its partner Maino International, which is a washing machine and dryer manufacturer, presented its range of machines under the production and finishing lines. Under its production line of products, the company presented Thor, a washer-extractor for washing and dyeing treatments of readymade garments. The machine featured the company’s “jetdyeing” technology which is an innovative system of bath injection through the centre of the door by a jet, which permits the machine to work with a liquor ratio as low as 1:2 to 1:3. Under its finishing line of machines, Avantec presented Flexi Denim, an integrated and highly automated system of laser marking on denims and other fabrics. The system comes with a working cabin featuring two loading tables which work alternatively, and also a three-axes, high-speed scanner head.
