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Interview with Wesly Clements

Wesly Clements
Wesly Clements
Director (R&D)
Baldwin Technology
Baldwin Technology

We unveiled Baldwin Texcoat G4 at ITMA 2019
US-based Baldwin Technology Company is a global manufacturer and supplier of innovative process-automation equipment, parts, service and consumables for the printing, packaging, textile, plastic film extrusion and corrugated industries. Director of research and development (R&D) Wesly Clements talks about the company's new technologies in textile finishing and more in an interview with Fibre2Fashion.

Please tell us in brief about your company.

Baldwin celebrated 100 years in 2018 and for most of these years, we have focused on the offset printing market. Four years ago, we started an R&D programme to leverage our decades of experience in precision spray technology for accurate control of finishing chemistry in textiles. In those years, we learnt a lot. Our technologies offer big water savings, and consume less energy for the drying process, which makes the whole process very sustainable.
 

What new technologies did you showcase at ITMA 2019?

We showed the Baldwin Texcoat G4, used to apply finishing chemicals to textiles through the spray technology and eliminates the conventional use of bath. There is no contact between the chemistry and the fabric and so the chemistry is never contaminated with particles from the fabric. So there is zero chemistry waste and nearly 70 per cent water reduction. Baldwin TexCoat G4 manages a wide range of low-viscosity chemistries, single and dual-sided applications and various textile characteristics as well as wet-on-wet applications. The fully automatic flushing performs a chemistry change in less than five minutes, which saves a lot of time, especially when several small-volume productions are run daily. 

Individual nozzle control and automatic volume adjustment ensure a continuously precise and uniform finishing every time, in any process conditions and capacities. Securing that the exact amount of chemistry is applied in relation to cloth width, grams per square metre and textile characteristics, no unnecessary energy or chemistry is wasted in the process. Mist containment covers secure a healthy working environment by encapsulating and preventing aerosols from escaping. Low energy consumption, reduced waste of water and chemistry combined with a healthy working environment are results of its technical features, ensuring a sustainable textile finishing. The machine has a single as well as dual-sided application, fully automatic flushing, individual nozzle control, automatic volume adjustment, mist containment covers, exchangeable cassette valve rails, digital touch-screen control panel, tool-free nozzle exchange and automatic valve failure detection. Other benefits include less energy consumption, minimised downtime, easy maintenance and lastly short-term return on investment.

To how many countries do you export to?

The Turncoat G4 is installed in seven countries in five continents. (HO)
Published on: 09/07/2019

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.