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By Haaretz Labels
Twine Solutions, an Israeli based company, is changing the game of the traditional, resource-intensive, thousand-year-old dyeing process. Adi Mandel, Director of Marketing and Goor Moshe, Business Development Manager, sat down to explain how a hand towel started a revolution
To understand Twine, and the revolution it is offering for the textile industry, we first need to talk about the entire process revolving around traditional thread & yarn dyeing.
Designers or manufacturers require threads in specified colors. The thread in the specific color needs to to be ordered and specially dyed. The machinery used works in only bulk, slowly dyeing hundreds of kilograms of thread at a time, regardless of the actual quantity required. The entire mass of finished product is then shipped to the factory, generally at a huge expense, stored there and disposed of when product lines change and when that specific color is no longer needed. The process is identical even when smaller amounts of thread are needed, and the result is an extremely slow, iterative procedure, with little margin for error or change, involving unnecessary expenditures and resulting in a large carbon footprint with massive quantities of pollution and waste.
“The print industry went through a huge digital revolution,” says Adi Mandel, Director of Marketing at Twine, “yet somehow the textile industry lagged behind. The machines might be bigger and faster, but the work, for the most part, is still being done much like it was hundreds of years ago.”
The Eureka moment
The best ideas usually come out of a simple “eureka” moment, and Twine is no exception to the rule. Erez Moshe, who founded Twine together with his twin brother Alon, was looking at the multicolored embroidery on a hand towel. His idea was to create a machine that allows the embroiderer to stock only white thread and dye it to the exact color needed, in the exact quantity needed, on demand.
The brothers started researching and experimenting, and their hard work culminated in creating the TS-1800, a waterless, eco-friendly dyeing machine, based on a similar idea as today’s digital printers.
When supply doesn’t meet the 21st century needs
“Thread is a cheap commodity, and a basic part of any shirt, dress or sock. The greatest expense is in the supply chain, and the final costs are unproportional to what the product itself should cost. The fact that thread is only dyed in bulk, is also a huge cost factor, with a massive surplus of thread being dyed, transported and stored, just because there aren’t any other options. This is without taking into consideration the detrimental environmental aspects, massive carbon footprint left, the immense water usage and contamination and the time it takes from the start of the process until the thread is used. The fashion industry is dynamic, constantly changing and reinventing itself, and if in the past we talked about 4 seasons, and a few different lines, today we see 20 and more “drops” a season, requiring constant changing and adapting at a head spinning pace, something that just isn’t possible using the traditional dyeing options.” Adi explains.
Meet the machine that is revolutionizing the face of textile
This is where Twine, the world’s first digital thread and yarn dyeing system, comes in, with the TS-1800 thread dyeing machine revolutionizing the face of thread dyeing.
The dyeing is done inhouse, with the manufacturer only keeping raw or basic white polyester thread in stock. When a need for a certain thread color occurs, the thread is loaded into the machine, the requested color is programed digitally using Twine’s advanced algorithms, and the unique ink, in the exact color needed, is applied. Any color may be programmed into Twine, from basic colors to colors created from unique coordinates.
The thread or yarn is passed through the treatment chamber to ensure that ink is applied evenly, penetrating the fiber. They are then dried and cured in a built-in drying chamber, lubricated (if required) and the product is ready for immediate use. The machine automatically filters and collects all excess dyeing materials, for easy and safe disposal. The customer has full control over the process, determining the color, length, etc.
“The TS-1800 is used for product development and sampling, logos, capsule collections, and such. We are moving into the world of production with our new digital dyeing system, , which will be exhibited for the first time in the ITMA exhibition in Milan this coming June. ITMA is the world’s largest international textile and garment technology exhibition, and the greatest innovations in textile and garment manufacturing are shown there. We are proud to display the system, and the ways it can easily revolutionize dyed thread in a production floor, using a safer, quicker, cheaper, and environmentally friendly process.” says Goor Moshe, Business Development Manager.
10 times the revenue, in a tenth of the time
“A large textile company that provides luxury brands, can be sitting on inventory of thread or yarn worth millions of Dollars. Yet, they may only need 2 to 4 kgs of yarn, but the dye-houses force them to buy MOQs of 20-30 or so kgs at a time. Moving over to in-house thread dyeing can save up to 7-10 tons of material annually and hundreds of thousands of Euros saved on unnecessary stock, storage space, transportation and time. Our technology doesn’t use water, so that’s also half a million liters saved, and so much contamination prevented. We are talking not only about reductions in management and logistics costs for our customers, but an attractive increase in revenue due to shorter inventory turnovers, using a process that pays for itself in 12-18 months.” Goor elaborates.
Smart, clean, sustainable
“We are following the strictest European guidelines and regulations, allowing our clients to do likewise. We are textile 4.0 compliant, meaning that we use smart and connected production systems, that allow for real-time decision-making processes and production. This allows us to increase productivity, energy efficacy and sustainability, while adapting to new demands, and several of our clients have been offered government grants dues to Twine’s machines unique qualities. What we have in our hands is a one-of-a-kind technology, with incredible abilities, and we are many steps ahead in leading the unavoidable, too-long-in-coming, textile revolution.” Adi summarizes.
This interview was featured in Haaretz Labels February 27, 2023. Twine Solutions is a SPESA member.
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