Amongst a wide range of its products’ applications, Danisco also associates itself with textile/garment industry. How is it established in select industry?
Genencor, a division of Danisco, has been active in the Textile industry since the company started in 1982, and is a world leader in this field. Danisco is committed to the Textile industry and since the acquisition of Genencor has increased R&D expenditure on Textiles biotech innovation. The goal is to bring lower resource and differentiated solutions to the industry.
A good example of this was the introduction of PrimaGreen® Ecofade LT 100 which was launched in February 2009. A major benefit of this solution is that it can reduce energy consumption by up to 90% and Genencor’s PrimaGreen® portfolio of products can be expected to be expanded on. Genencor offers a full range of enzymes for the Textile processing industry, with a dedicated Textile Industry team and a global presence. We are committed to becoming the leader in Textiles enzymology and "first choice" for our customers.
How do you see biotechnology getting along presently in the arena of textile/clothing industry?
Biotechnology is an important aspect of the textile clothing industry as it can produce solutions which contribute to sustainability with/and differentiated fashion finishes. Fashion trends now evident in the market would not have been possible without biotech innovation. More focus is currently placed on sustainability, enabled by enzyme technology. Enzyme technology has the potential to lower temperatures and water usage, in certain geographies heating is now no longer required.
Recent times have brought along tough situations for textile industry in the form of economic meltdown. How does biotechnology industry go affected by this?
As the industry declines so does the biotechnology sector; if less garments and fabric are produced then less raw materials are required. As with all industrial markets there has been a drive to reduce inventories and cut production. The effect has been sector and geography dependent. However, even in these times some geographies are booming.
What level of competition do you find in your sector?
The competition in Textiles is fierce, there are numerous players both multinational and local. Product quality, differentiation and sustainability offer competitive advantages.
What core competencies help your company maintain its one-upmanship?
Genencor's strength is the ability to innovate and produce solutions contributing to sustainability that the Textile processing industry requires. Our expertise in this area is second to none. We also have a dedicated Textile Industry team that has first-hand knowledge of the industry and, more importantly, we engage in mutually beneficial collaborations with industry leaders to deliver solutions.
Great improvements have been made in technical textiles since the 1980s which now account for considerable share of the entire textile production. Thus, their huge innovation potential makes them the driving force in the growing textile industry. Do your products have applications in this sector of textile industry too?
Technical textiles is not an area that Genencor has focused on as yet. We believe there is plenty of scope for biotech solutions in classical processing and we intend to target these first before moving into the technical textile field.
Huntsman Textile Effects and Genencor had sign agreement few months ago. What was the idea behind this JV? How is it faring?
First of all, I need to highlight that our collaboration with Huntsman is not a joint venture in legal terms. We do work closely together on creating solutions that will benefit both the textile industry and its impact on the environment. In this collaboration, Genencor is a world leader in biotechnology, particularly enzyme innovation and production, Huntsman is a world leader in the Texile sector. Both companies are passionate about improving sustainability and finding ways to reduce the environmental impact of Textile processing. The joint development agreement was signed to commercialize a "first to market" enzyme technology from Genencor. Huntsman applied their application technology across the whole process of interest to bring a full and improved biotech solution to the industry, giving resource savings and a differentiated process improvement. You may expect to see the first results from this collaborative effort soon.
‘Environment safe’ and ‘eco-friendly’ production is the core concern of corporate walk in the industry. How is your company placed on this front?
Genencor's strategy in Textiles, is "chemical process replacement" with biotech solutions, based on innovation which is tailored to the Textile industry needs. All merchandisers in the industry are looking at ways of reducing energy and water usage, sustainability is in vogue. Biotechnology offers the key to reduce resources, improve processes and provide differentiated finishes. The Textile industry embraces new technology and is quick to evaluate and implement. Coupled with a huge auxiliary processing market we believe that biotech will play an important role in the future by reducing the environmental impact of Textile processing.
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DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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