Solidify our recognition as global quality jersey fabrics provider
Tintex was born in 1998 out of the creative Porto region in Europe. Tintex began its journey, making high quality, natural based, responsible jersey fabrics combined with its core expertise using the latest and best sustainable hi-tech dyeing and finishing processes. Nuno Malheiro, Head of Global Sales, Tintex Textiles, shares with Fibre2Fashion the major milestones achieved by the company in the last 3 years, main struggles amidst the pandemic, and revenue expectations for the current year.
Could you tell us a bit about how it all started for Tintex? Who is/are the founders of the group? Where does the company have its footprints?
Tintex Textiles was founded in 1998 by Eng Mario Jorge Silva, and 4 other founding partners, in Vila Nova de Cerveira, a city right in the border with Spain in the north of Portugal. The location was selected mainly due to the permits required at that time to build and start a dyeing plant, but today Tintex is deeply connected with the city and its people/customs.
The company started as a third-party dyeing plant, but soon revealed its innovation and entrepreneurship spirit by starting to work on better and innovative ways of dyeing and finishing, mainly cellulosic fibre’s fabrics. Its success with the Naturally Clean finishing of lyocell and other cellulosic fibres stood out globally and it was the beginning of a journey towards what Tintex is today, a recognised house of innovation, sustainability and quality that became vertical by adding a knitting company (HATA) to its portfolio, controlling the entire process from yarn to finished fabric which guarantees the quality standards the company advocates.
What are some of the main problems regarding sustainable fashion facing the industry now? Are all your fabrics sustainable?
Tintex is recognised as a reference in terms of sustainability worldwide and it is embedded in our approach to any challenge and innovation, the values of environmental awareness and its protection. We strongly bet on guaranteeing our values through certificates as Oeko-Tex Class 1, GOTS, Bluesign, OCS, GRS, STeP and others.
So, when we are asked the question “Are all your fabrics sustainable?”, we often answer that we do have sustainable practices and worries in our mind throughout all the processes, but sustainability has a very wide array of meanings and points of view, so we always have to be cautious when talking about this topic.
That said, I do believe that there is still a long way to go until we reach a level field when it comes to sustainability awareness and education throughout the entire supply chain. There are still some loose ends when discussing sustainability and different points in the supply chain have different understandings when it comes to sustainable practices and priorities, so a wider spread of knowledge (from farm to brand levels) would benefit a joint approach towards a sustainable industry.
What is the concept of Co.LAB all about? Could you throw some light on the same?
Co.LAB was born as a collaborative smart platform and research-lab aiming to create a new way of making fashion smart. It is the reflection of our views regarding the textile industry and our positioning in the same, that should be about promoting synergies and working towards a closer loop and more efficient supply chain.
It is very frequent to be asked by our clients, as a mill and fabric supplier, if we can recommend any garment maker to close the LCA and establish a closer supply chain. We often recommend several of our local partners and feel super happy to contribute for a successful growth of these kind of collaborations. Co.Lab approaches this sharing of contacts but also promotes a shared vision, shared values and shared innovation efforts towards a more connected and synergised building Industry.
How has Tintex grown in the last 3 years? What are the major milestones achieved?
In the past 10 years, Tintex has invested over €26 million in machinery, finishing technologies, R&D, CRM, e-commerce and in a fresh marketing and communication strategy.
When it comes to the technical/industrial outputs that result from this investment--we were able to produce outputs like our patented natural dye technology (Colorau), our water-based PU coating line that integrates industrial residue like cork, wood, or grapes in alternative to leather fabrics, and to win awards like the Hightex Award from Munich Fabric Start or “Best Product” award at ISPO Textrends in 2016 and 2017.
Besides that, Tintex has also grown its global awareness due to the rebranding done between 2018 and 2019. Our focus on natural fibres and our core mission of R&D reflect our Naturally Advanced positioning. We launched a new corporate website and our webstore, where everyone/everywhere can find all our deadstock and order anything from 1 metre onwards, promoting upcycling and giving access to our products for everyone regardless of the size and maturity level of its company/brand.
What disruptions has the pandemic brought into your business?
The pandemic has affected everyone, and Tintex was no different. We still ended the year with a 10 per cent decrease in our business volume when compared to 2019. However, we do feel that this was a positive result and a consequence of how fast we adapted to the market and re-thought our corporate strategy.
At first, the fashion market just stopped and most of the retail shops closed around the world, which meant PO’s being stopped or even cancelled. But then, the market started asking for protective material and Tintex played a relevant role in Portugal, being the first company to certify fabrics to be used in re-usable protective masks. That was a big push for us to keep our business volume very close to “normal” and helped us also anticipate some of the software investments we had planned, considering that working remotely while having a surge in demand and hundreds of new leads every week was a serious challenge. Happily, our sales team was able to adapt to a new CRM in a matter of days and successfully implement an organised and efficient customer journey with extremely good feedback when compared to customer satisfaction levels at our benchmark.
Finally, the increased demand for comfortable yet high quality product in the second half of 2020, helped us promote what we do best (i.e: high quality interlocks, jerseys, fleeces, or double-faced natural fibre fabrics). With most of the clients trying to shorten their supply chains and increase the demand for fabrics and garment makers in Portugal, Tintex has reinforced its recognition as a top player in this field and the go-to supplier when looking for great quality and reliability.
What are the textile fairs which Tintex is going to participate next? What will be the highlights in them?
As I’m answering, we are closing our participation at Premier Vision (Paris) and Modtíssimo (Portugal), which were the first live events we participated since February 2020. We usually participated in at least 3 to 4 shows per season, but this year decided to focus on just these 2 and increase the frequency of direct visits to clients. This is mainly because we felt the need to re-establish closer relationships with our clients/partners and visiting them personally would help us do that.
Today we feel that this strategy is allowing us to build stronger bonds and establish Tintex as the “Top of Mind” reference when thinking about quality jersey fabrics.
What are your long-term plans as a company?
We want to solidify our awareness and recognition as a global quality jersey fabrics provider that keeps itself as a frontrunner when it comes to innovative fabrics, finishing and practices.
This effort should allow us to keep investing in R&D and presenting new solutions year on year, while we approach new areas of business, new materials, and new geographies.
Tintex is Naturally Advanced and wants to share that philosophy and practices with long term partners.
What are your main struggles now and how do they differ from the times before Covid struck?
I would definitely say that our main struggles (from my point of view, as Head of Global Sales) are the higher complexity that mixed working schedules (remote + office), the volatility in prices for raw material and the different rhythms of re-adaptation to “normal life” around the globe.
As for the working schedules, it required a quicker investment in terms of tools to handle it, as stated before. But the main challenge has been maintaining the team spirit and company/employee bond, that can be weakened by the distance. I would say that we have been able to adapt to all the changes with a high level of success and even took the time to re-think the organization of our teams in a longer term, which in the end I believe will strengthen our team spirit and the connection to the company’s values.
Regarding the other challenges--we took the responsibility to own as much of the increases as possible to affect our client’s the least. But a closer relationship with our clients and a better customer journey when dealing with Tintex are becoming one of our stronger points, which is leading us from being a supplier into becoming a reliable partner.
As a jersey fabric manufacturer, what is your USP?
Tintex’s vision is to build a new generation of textile business that truly delivers on eco-sustainable strategy for all its production and fabric innovations. The vertical integration of Tintex’s supply chain and processes confirms the total creative control, with technical expertise, skills and strategies deployed across its international operation to supply premium fabrics that match the contemporary consumer needs.
This reinforces our mission to provide sustainable fabrics that are recognisable for their quality, touch, and premium feel.
What is the revenue expectation of the company for the current year?
This year we expect to grow compared to 2020 as well as 2019 and finish the year with a total turnover between €12 to €13 million.
Credits: Paulami Chatterjee
How many brands do you cater to? Which are your export markets?
We have over 500 active clients in the past 2 years, with over 1000 new leads being generated organically every year. (Tintex doesn’t spend any budget in paid media or ads)
However, we have been successfully diversifying our sales curve and today we have over 30 different clients representing close to 80 per cent of our turnover, with the European and American continent (and brands) as the main export destinations. Nevertheless, it’s important to state that Tintex has a very strong relationship with the Portuguese textile industry, making sure that we help any brand/client assemble a 0 mile supply chain whenever we can.
Despite that, we obviously maintain and nurture a good relationship with other markets like Turkey and have been watching a surge in demand from markets like Australia and Japan, which consolidates our position as a global player.
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