| Sioen
Industries N.V. in Ardooie, Belgium A WATERTIGHT STRATEGY |
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| Sioen
Industries N.V. in Ardooie, Belgium A WATERTIGHT STRATEGY |
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Following the takeover of the French company Saint Frères in 1996, and the Belgian companies TIS 1998 and Verannen Technical Textiles in 1999, Sioen Industries has manufacturing facilities in twelve locations in Europe and a further three cut and sew operations in Tunisia and Indonesia as well as a sales office in China. Production is concentrated in three main areas: coating and fabric manufacturing, fabrication of protective clothing and masterbatches.
In
the field of coating the company maintains an unchallenged leadership. A
position that has been attained through efforts to produce quality
products and a wide innovative range of products. And last but not least
the capacity of the manufacturing facilities, which include the most
modern production lines in the world. Coated materials, which the company
produces using both methods, direct and transfer coating, resist water,
wind, cold and/or chemicals. New areas of application are constantly being
added. In addition to various types of cover, protective clothing,
tarpaulins, containers, etc., coated fabrics are also increasingly used
for advertising purposes and special a In the past exclusively fabrics from outside suppliers were coated. In 1998 another step was taken in the direction of being a vertical operation when the com-pany opened its own weaving plant. After extensive investigation a decision was taken in favor of the DORNIER system family with an investment in 74 rapier weaving machines and 13 airjet weaving machines in nominal widths up to 360 cm. Today, heavy industrial fabrics are produced from yarns in counts of 280, 550 and 1100 dtex, which precisely meet the requirements of the company’s own coating operations. By operating its own weaving plant the company increased its flexibility and in addition this also facilitated the development of new markets. However, in order to gain complete control over product quality, Sioen is now investing in its own spinning plant for the manufacture of high tenacity PES yarns. The dynamism of diversification is well illustrated by the companies taken over by Sioen. The manufacturing program of TIS, which weaves exclusively on DORNIER rapier weaving machines, consists of PVC coated fabrics and heavy sailcloth for ocean going sail boats. Veranneman, also a DORNIER customer, covers the areas of geotextiles, protective mesh and lightweight coated fabrics for example as used in advertising applications. The entire enterprise has a total of 175 DORNIER weaving machines.
In the fabrication departments of Sioen exclusive protective clothing is designed and manufactured for industrial use and sports and leisure wear. This market is undergoing a period of expansion, since protective clothing must meet increasingly more stringent technical and legal regulations. In addition sports and leisure activities on water, in the mountains or in the air have experienced a boost in popularity, and these activities are best served with the use of appropriate clothing. Protective clothing from Sioen is on the one hand resistant and functional and on the other hand the products sell well because they have the right “look”. In-house designers produce patterns using state-of-the-art CAD/CAM technology, and are perfectly and specifically designed to customer requirements.
The processing department is the youngest branch of Sioen. Here in one case two types of masterbatches are produced utilizing environmentally friendly processes: pigment paste and pigment granules. In the second case coated fabrics and film materials are cut for various industrial applications. Thanks to the flexibility and creativity of its employees, Sioen is able to offer its customers that little bit extra every day. And to make sure that this will always be possible, the bar is raised a little every day.
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