Although many major brands switched to recycled fabrics the interest for recycled threads and accessories has remained low for a number of reasons.
Bodo Th. Boelzle, the CEO of Amann Group throws some light on the special characteristics of recycled sewing threads as he converses with Fibre2Fashion Correspondent Manushi Gandhi.
Synopsis:
Amann Group is a leading producer of high-quality sewing and embroidery threads. It was founded in 1854 by Alois Amann. The company’s product range includes universal sewing threads to special high-tech threads all sewing applications. With its headquarters located in Bönnigheim, Germany, it operates in more than 100 countries worldwide. The group’s turnover is approx. 145 Million Euros.
Bodo Th. Boelzle is the CEO of Amann Group since 2008. He joined the group in 1997 as the CFO. Prior to joining this group, he was the at Aramark GmbH, Neu Isenburg. He did his MBA in 1987 at Eberhard-Karls-University in Germany.
Excerpts:
When we compare the strength and other such properties of a recycled thread to that of a regular thread, what are the differences observed?
As said before recycled threads are today mainly made for embroidery or all areas where medium tenacity filaments can be used. The sewability from recycled sewing threads on the machines is then almost identical to conventional ones.
When it comes to high tenacity threads the technical performance of recycled polyester threads is slightly inferior and the costs are higher.
Threads are an essential raw material in apparel manufacture at the same time it is also a product sold at a very lesser rate. So, what has helped Amann Group to achieve such high sales figures over the years?
I would say our focus on doing well what we have known best for over 150 years - producing threads - and to improve our knowledge continuously especially with regards to the latest finishing techniques. It is true that threads are widely seen as a commodity specifically in apparel.
The interesting point though is the huge variety and diversity of products and materials which have to be sewn. Not only all types of garments, shoes and leatherwear but home interior, textile components for the automotive sector (airbags, steering wheels, soft tops..), technical textiles for aircrafts, batteries, filters and many more.
We are not only experts for sewing threads but for their applications too. Customers come to us not only for global presence, reliability in service and quality, but also for specialized application know-how. Very few companies can offer this in the thread world.
For a multi-national company, is it tough to deal with different labour laws, different environmental laws and different wage structures? What kind of challenges you often face in this regards?
We work in close contact with our local HR departments and local lawyers and advisors to make sure that our policies are in compliance with the respective local regulations and laws.
We have implemented a global HR policy to set worldwide group standards in employment which contain guidelines for all our employees and the management.
Our employees are important to us and we therefore focus on local training programs to bring our teams to similar levels and we have fair remuneration systems.
When it comes to environmental laws our German standards which we follow for all our production sites are at the highest level anyway.
What is the annual growth rate of the company? What are social and political reasons that have affected the growth of the company?
Unlike a publicly quoted company our company is not only driven by its growth rate. As good Swabian entrepreneurs we look for financial stability too. We are able to achieve our projects through our own financial strength.
The annual growth rate of the last years alternated between 2% and 15%. For sure the financial crisis of 2008 had a strong impact on our business but due to our solid financial base, the Group has managed to recover from the crisis fast and is well prepared for the future.
How has been the demand for recycled threads in the market? Are they received well?
The interest for recycled materials and accessories started with the last soccer world championship in South Africa when the huge sportswear manufacturers started to concentrate on recycled fabrics. Many major European and American brands focus on sustainability in their company policy.
We launched our sustainable lifecycle product range offering polyester sewing and embroidery threads made of recycled pet bottles as well as an organic cotton thread, GOTS certified, 5 years ago. Although many major brands switched to recycled fabrics the interest for recycled threads and accessories has remained low for a number of reasons.
Sourcing is important for big companies. How do you identify from where and what to source?
We have our local sourcing networks on all continents through our subsidiaries and partners. We have many long standing suppliers with whom we have very close relationships.
According to you, what are the colour trends for 2014?
For this summer 2014 there is a strong trend to pastel shades. Nevertheless our customers order increasingly over a much wider range of colours. We even notice in the automotive business an increase of colours for interior design.
This summer we will see in apparel different yellows from lemon to saffron tones, blues focusing on azures, indigo, lilac, lavender and corals as well as mellow greens like lime, grass or jade greens. An essential colour will be white.
For the upcoming fall/winter season 2014/2015 the pastel colours will still be en vogue – often combined with a slight bloom. As contrast to those light colours will be seen intensive colours such as china blue, signal red, intensive jade and deep dark shades like aubergine and black.
Other than apparels, what are the other applications of recycled thread?
The further field of application for recycled sewing and embroidery thread could be home textiles, shoe and leather industry.
Do think that there is a lot of scope of further development of recycled threads? Is there any scarcity of material availability for recycled threads?
As resources are limited the recycling process becomes more and more important. When polyester threads are concerned though there are unfortunately hardly any suppliers for recycled high tenacity filaments in the market.
Smart textiles (e-textiles etc.) have special kind of thread requirements. How do you plan to cater to this segment?
We have established a technical business unit 3 years ago with specialists from our target segments focusing on this interesting and challenging field. The technical team concentrates on highly specialised areas and develops in close cooperation with customers and our R & D new products and solutions.
Published on: 17/04/2014
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.
