The art of silk weaving - an ancient tradition - reaches back in Thailand to the prehistoric culture of Ban Chiang, 700-500 B.C. Weaving was well established at an early time and quickly spread to the major regions of Thailand, with each creating signature variations in design, color and purpose. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Thai textiles suffered from the influx of cheaper imports. The knowledge and art of silk weaving was pushed into the background but remained intact.

American Jim Thompson was decisively responsible for keeping Thai silk alive. Thai silk is legendary for its unmistakable lustre and iridescence. In contrast to the Chinese silkworms from whose white cocoons a soft, fine yarn is produced, the Thai cocoons of the "Bombyxmori" silkworm are characterised by their golden-yellow hue.

Typical for Thai silk are also the "humps and bumps "as coined by Jim Thompson which give the silk fabrics their unique appearance. Thai silk is especially appreciated for its fascinating beauty, colors, quality and diversity and has made an impressive revival in the last 50 years.

"The Thai Silk Company Ltd."
Jim Thompson not only succeeded in saving and reviving the traditional production of Thai silk but also in giving new impulses. His power of innovation gave Thai silk the worldwide reputation which it still enjoys. With the "Jim Thompson" label, the present owners, comprising the Thompson family, Thai business people and a Japanese department store chain, have developed new areas of application with current, modern designs. 

Under their influence, Thai silk has turned into a modern fabric with which "The Thai Silk Company" produces trendy fashion collections for women and men, ties, scarves, furniture and decoration materials, cushions, handbags and other accessories.

Today, more than 2,800 employees work for the company which has a weaving shop, finishing shop, print shop and tailoring shop. They are even self-supporting in raw materials. They have exclusive contracts with 1,500 Thai farmers for silk worms.

This emphasises Jim Thompson‘s strong commitment to the rural life of the Thai people alongside the progressive company strategy. The same applies for the more than 1,000 employed weavers who still pursue the ancient tradition of silk weaving on traditional handlooms.

Handlooms and DORNIER Shuttleless Weaving Technology
„The Thai Silk Company" combines hand weaving technology with the latest shuttleless weaving technology from DORNIER to meet the high demands for Thai silk in top quality and still be able to offer traditional Thai silks. 

The complete Jim Thompson collection is woven on 54 Rapier and 2 Air-jet machines in Jacquard and dobby versions. Yarns used in the filling range from 18 den pure silk to Nm 5/1 chenille. Positive-controlled central transfer on the DORNIER Rapier machines also allows 4-fold filling insertion for 18 den fine silk yarns. This saves costs in preparation, increases production performance and enriches the spectrum of pattern variants.

Range of Styles
A dedicated team ensures that Jim Thompson‘s dream will continue to be pursued in the future. One of the first successes was a fashion line for home accessories matching international market trends and created together with the interior designer Ou Baholyodhin, renowned from Tokyo to London. This was followed by collections for the commercial and private furnishings markets. Worldwide renowned hotels such as „The Oriental" in Bangkok use furnishing fabrics from Jim Thompson. New paths are also taken in fashion. In the past the company was primarily known for its elegant tie collection but then created four years ago a new women‘s and men‘s fashion line in cooperation with the renowned Thai fashion designer Nagara.

It combines decorative materials with trendy creations. The latest 2002 collection presented an explosion of colors and designs using modern as well as traditional designs. Nagara thus succeeded in creating a fresh but still very gracious line.

A further strength of the company is its sales structure. Although only 30% of the total production is directly exported, more indirect turnover is achieved via their own 28 Thai and 10 overseas shops to 27 countries in Asia, USA and Europe.

Despite the worldwide recession, the company with US $45 million turnover in 2002 expects an annual increase of around 10% over the next years. As Eric Booth, Marketing Manager of "The Thai Silk Company", reported, there is still strong demand for quality products as offered by the company.

Silk Fabric of the Future
The Jim Thompson company sees the future in a wide perspective. It plans to develop Thai silk in various directions, in other words not only as fashionable and trendy fabrics but also luxurious, high-quality fabrics. Finding perfect use in daily life - for example as sofa silks - and thus refining diverse living environments with the exotic charm of Thai silk is another characteristic of these dream fabrics.