Huntsman Textile Effects, based in Singapore, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Daechun Co. Ltd. to help South Korean textile exporter streamline operations and train technical staff at its mill in Gyunggi Province.
The agreement is meant to reinforce Daechun’s growth as an eco-friendly export business and build on its efforts toward sustainability. Daechun had already adopted Huntsman’s state-of-the-art technologies to improve efficiency at its Gyunggi plant. These include the Novacron P reactive inks for textile printing and the Clarite One all-in-one pretreatment for peroxide bleaching. With Huntsman’s support, Daechun is seeking to further enhance its chemical management capabilities as it continues to develop new products for its global markets. Specifically, it will optimize its chemical management processes from pretreatment to finishing and set up a waste print paste system.
Experts from Huntsman Textile Effects will carry out an operational audit called PIP on a need basis at Daechun’s facility and recommend ways for the mill to improve productivity and profitability. Implemented in many mills around the world, the Huntsman PIP has proven to be capable of reducing overall energy consumption while increasing output by up to 30 percent and improve right-first-time performance by up to 95 percent. Huntsman will also work closely with Daechun to support product development and testing programs at Huntsman’s laboratories.
“As a major producer of high-quality textiles for global markets, we continuously develop new products and look for new ways to meet the highest environmental standards,” said D.K. Kim, president of Daechun Co. Ltd. “Our investments in digital printing technology and our commitment to organic materials and eco-friendly inks and dyes illustrate our approach. With Huntsman Textile Effects as our innovation partner, we are now going even further in adopting sustainability best practice to achieve an even cleaner supply chain.”
South Korea exported $15.9 billion worth of textile and apparel in 2014, according to the Korea International Trade Association.
Established in 1988, Daechun produces top-quality fabrics in cotton and a variety of other fibers. Specializing in printing, its facilities include five flat and three rotary printing machines from Stork of the Netherlands, and prints up to 18 colors using the highest-grade of dye products from Huntsman with the capacity to print 2 million yards a month. It is GOTS and Oeko-Tex certified.
Huntsman Textile Effects, a unit of Huntsman Corp., has operations in more than 90 countries and has seven primary manufacturing facilities in six countries — China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand. Considered the largest textile dye manufacturer in the world, Huntsman specializes in using cutting edge technology to develop solutions and create innovative products with intelligent effects such as built-in freshness, sun protection or state-of-the-art dyes that reduce water and energy consumption, all aimed at supporting a more sustainable supply chain.