Thies iMaster helps Portugese dyeing house save energy

Etevimol Knitting Company enjoys an enviable reputation for its high quality knitwear since forming in 1977.

Recognizing the prime premium of vertical integration, Mario Mano, had by 1988 established atb as a dyeing and finishing sister company to additionally ensure more direct quality control and guarantee faster response times.

Today, not only is atb recognized as Portugal’s leading knitwear dyeing and finishing specialist but, together with Etevimol is producing the latest high quality fashion knitwear fabrics. 

Acabamentos Têxteis de Barceló’s Lda (atb), considered to be Portugal’s leading dyeing and finishing  knitwear specialist, took delivery of its first 200 kg capacity iMaster H²O dyeing unit late last year; and placed an order for two additional 400 kg units.

“We recognized its potential for energy savings immediately and placed an order through the local dealer, Unipessoal Lda, for a further two 400 kg capacity units; both delivered in July,” said director Mario Mano. 

Based in Barcelos, the heart of the country’s knitted textile centre near Porto, the company was formed by Mario Mano to offer a more vertical operation for its knitting sister company, Etevimol, producing innovative, high quality knitwear fashion fabrics.

Atb took delivery of its first Thies units in 1985 with the installation of six jet units which remained operational until 1998.   

“As part of our on-going modernization program me, we recognized that we had to improve quality further and become more energy efficient, in order to cut costs; to become more competitive with, for example, our competitors in Asia,” said Mario.

He continued, “once the first iMaster had been installed we recognized the unit’s versatility and flexibility, being able to handle the wide range of materials and blends which includes cotton/viscose, polyester/modal, modal/cupro, wool/polyamide, 100% micro modal, 100% micro viscose, 100% wool and wool/viscose/linen” 

Mario also disclosed that for the first time it had completed 600 t of linen for the summer collection. “It even works with a 95% jersey modal and 5% lycra – not the easiest blend to handle,” said local dealer João Sampaio.  “All this has been made possible with the self-cleaning automatic filter; conventionally done manually so now saving both energy and labour costs.”

“We are working at liquor ratios as low as 1:4 and 1:5 which compared with previous norms of 1:7 and 1:8,” said Sales Director, Miguel Domingues. “We are achieving significant savings on utilities such as electricity, steam, water and of course, dyestuffs.”