Kicking off the partnership in the second half of the year, Monforts, BW Converting, and Archroma will begin their collaboration to enhance productivity and resource utilisation in the textile finishing processes.
Monforts will install BW Converting’s Baldwin TexCoat digital spray unit on a stenter frame at its Advanced Technology Center (ATC) which is headquartered in Mönchengladbach, Germany.
The TexCoat G4 has been described as a revolutionary in traditional water- and energy-intensive pad-dry-cure finishing processes by precisely applying chemicals such as softeners, antimicrobials, and water repellents only where needed on the fabric. This method results in reduced water, chemical, and energy consumption by up to 50% compared to traditional pad application processes.
The partnership said it brings together Monforts' fabric transport and thermal processing technology, Baldwin’s contactless precision application via TexCoat, and Archroma’s speciality chemicals. This combination is expected to deliver superior performance and absorption, exceeding the results of traditional pad applications.
Beyond textile finishing, the three companies aim to further develop a versatile offering that will include colouration concepts, with future plans to expand their collaboration to continuous spray dye applications developed by Baldwin.
"Our ATC already houses two full Montex stenter finishing lines engineered to accommodate an extremely diverse range of processes, in addition to a Thermex range for the continuous dyeing of denim and other woven fabrics, a full-colour kitchen and a number of lab-scale systems for smaller batch trials," explained Monforts' junior technologist Saskia Kuhlen. "It enables our customers to test their own textiles and technical fabrics under fully confidential, real production conditions and using the results from these trials we are also able to make recommendations for improving many fabric finishes. The new TexCoat installation will make an important contribution to what we can achieve."
Michael Schuhmann, global marketing segment manager for technical textiles at Archroma Textile Effects, believes that the company's commitment to advancing sustainability solutions for technical textiles has led to a pivotal partnership with Baldwin, where the benefits of contactless precision spray combined with Archroma's innovative solutions have helped textile manufacturers achieve greater energy and water savings.
Rick Stanford, Baldwin’s VP of business development for textiles, echoed the enthusiasm, noting that the collaboration marks a "transformative" step in reducing energy, chemical, and water consumption while improving product quality and productivity. He emphasised: "We strongly believe that this partnership will be greater than the sum of its parts."
Recently, Archroma collaborated with Türkiye-based textile producer Kipaş Denim and sustainable textile solutions company Jeanologia and created a new concept called 'Denim Halo pre-treatment' to create the easy-wash, laser-friendly denim.
