YA R N & DYE
you can’t always control what goes on outside . but you can always control what goes on inside .
THE
TOUR
E N D L E S S I N N O V A T I O N b y TA N D U S | C E NT I VA
YA R N & DYE
The decision to run our own dye facility was a strategic one. We are currently one of the few manufacturers in the flooring industry to have an onsite color facility. Many of our competitors purchase dyed yarn from third-party vendors. We prefer to control the process. Having our very own in-house yarn and dye facility allows us to offer our customers faster lead times, greater design flexibility and a further commitment to environmental accountability. Located in one of Tandus Centiva’s original manufacturing buildings, Yarn & Dye houses jet dyeing, space dyeing, yarn quality inspection, knitting, de-knitting, twisting, winding and cabling.
AREA 1
J ET DYEI NG
W E A R E A LW AY S S E A R C H I N G F O R A B E T T E R W AY. I T ’ S PA RT O F O U R D N A .
As the only ones in the industry to use this method, our jet dying capabilities date back to the 1960s and our automotive heritage when jet dying was the preferred method for auto interiors. After converting the method to treat yarn, we spent years perfecting it. Here’s how the classic method works today. We begin by loading nylon knitted socks filled with yarn into the jet. We then pump dye formula into the jet from the dye weigher. Wheels inside the jet spin the sock until the pressure of the jet takes over to continue rotating the sock. Radiator boilers heat the jets at a rate of three degrees per minute until the optimal dyeing temperature of 210 to 212 degrees is reached. The jets are pressurized allowing for temperatures in excess of boiling point without actually boiling. The jets dye the fiber for about 30 minutes and then a cooling process begins. The result is more level dyeing, better color saturation and superior styling.
50
The minimum dyeing capacity for the jet dye machines is 50 pounds.
7
The jet dye area is made up of seven jet dyeing machines and one dryer.
Jet dyes create solid base colors that can be dyed into endless color options.
8 2.5
Our jet dye system is compatible with eight different types of yarn.
Every two and a half hours, these machines can dye nearly 2400 pounds of yarn.
T h e Je t D y e
A LOT O F G O O D CAN COME OUT OF A GOOD LONG SOAK. A
Radiator boilers heat the jets until the optimal dyeing temperature of 210 to 212 degrees is reached.
B
The jets are pressurized allowing for temperatures in excess of boiling point without actually boiling.
C
The jets dye the fiber for approximately 30 minutes and then the cooling process begins.
A
C
B
AREA 2
WATER RECLAM ATI O N
DOING WHAT’S RESPONSIBLE. THIS IS WHAT GUIDES OUR CONSTANT PURSUIT TO REFINE OUR PROCESSES.
True to our culture of constantly pursuing sustainable processes that deliver optimal results, we eliminated our skein dyeing method in the 1980s and our beck dyeing method in early 2009. As we transitioned to a more optimal dyeing method, we identified an opportunity to repurpose a 20,000-gallon pressurized beck and six interior open becks into water reclamation tanks. These tanks now reclaim water used in the jet dye heating and cooling processes. The water is then recycled on the space dye range and in the extractor pump that dries the knitted socks from jet dyeing. We also installed repurposed water meters to monitor usage, prevent leaks, improve planning for dye runs and maximize overall water conservation. Our efforts have paid off with a 63% plant-wide water use reduction.
A NEW WAY OF USING OLD JET DYE BECKS TO RECLAIM WATER SAVES SIX MILLION GALLONS OF WATER EVERY YEAR.
AREA 3
SPACE DYE RANGE
FA S T, E F F I C I E N T, A N D M O R E S PA C E D Y E H E A D S T H A N A N Y W H E R E I N T H E I N D U S T RY.
Our specialized engineers custom designed and built our patented space dye range to be faster, more efficient and yield the best possible results. A two-story warping system allows for quick switch over between two yarn supplies, and our industryleading range of 24 space dye heads provide faster change over from one dye run to the next, saving countless hours of production time. Before the fiber receives color, it goes through 400 degrees of dry heat, and a thorough steam maximizes dye saturation. Dried fiber passes through a “kiss� roller for a light lubrication for smoother feed through tufting needles. Once the space dye process is complete, the space are wound onto cones for production and inspected by hand for quality control.
570 At full capacity the warp print space dye line is capable of running a sheet of yarn consisting of 570 ends.
150 The space dye line runs at 126-150 feet per minute depending on yarn type.
6 The majority of finished space dye products consists of a six color print.
1200 The print patterns will repeat at between 600-1200 feet depending on the pattern breakup or specification.
6 As many as 3-6 finished dye lots and patterns can be dyed back to back.
“I want the yarn to be perfect when it leaves my machine. I am always thinking about the customers, the people who will live with this flooring every day. I want it to be beautiful for them. � Cindy Austin
Yarn & Dye Operator
“We’re able to recycle an incredible amount of water from the jet dye system to reuse in operating the space dye system. It saves money and it is so much better for the environment.” Ferrell Langley
Space Dye Supervisor
“You can buy the best equipment, and the best technology, but at the end of the day, it’s the people that control the outcome of the products. And our people make the very best products. ” Conrad Purveyor
Yarn & Dye Plant Manager
“Having our own dye house onsite gives us more control over the quality of our products. Ultimately, we all just want to make great flooring that will please our customers. � Charlie Owens
Yarn Shift Supervisor
“It’s pretty standard in our industry to have the yarn dyed elsewhere and then have it shipped to the mill for production. That means a lot of trucks and a lot of pollution. Our dye house is just a few hundred feet away from where we twist the yarn.” Paul Ledford
Space Dye Lab Technician
AREA 4
KNI TTI NG & TUBE RECLA I M I N G
THERE IS EVERYTHING TO GAIN FROM WASTING NOTHING.
Designed for space-saving efficiency, the knitting and tube reclamation area is made up of two levels. Upstairs, nylon fiber is knitted into the socks used for jet dyeing. The process of knitting and de-knitting the socks for jet dying is integral to our jet dyeing process and helps us achieve more level dyeing, better color saturation, increased styling and the ability to dye larger quantities of yarn. Downstairs, we store yarn to meet the requirements of product development at Artesia. In this highly organized area, nothing is wasted. Empty cones from every area of the Yarn & Dye plant are shaved and re-stamped to make the cones usable for the next series of newly dyed yarn. We recycle up to 10,000 cones every 24 hours. Currently we buy up to a 100,000 recycled cones every week, use each one until it is no longer usable and recycle the remaining material.
The knitters create the tubular sock that dyes multiple fibers into one color in the jet dye process.
1
Between 600 and 1,200 pounds of fiber can be knitted per hour depending on the type of yarn.
600
Each knitter head requires 90 needles to run single ply yarn and 45 needles to run two-ply yarn.
90
The entire knitting process is made up of 72 high-speed knitters.
72
AREA 5
TW I STI NG / DE- KNI TTI N G
EVER-EVOLVING INNOVATION YIELDS BETTER TEXTURE, COLOR, DENSITY AND STYLING.
Our advanced twisting technology allows us the ability to cable twist nylon fiber into two-, three- and four-ply combinations categorized by the number of turns per inch (TPI). Our product designers are afforded multiple options to address performance and aesthetics by varying the number of plies and specifying twist as low as 1.75 TPI or as much as 6.0 TPI. Our Roto-twist machine has the unique ability to alternate the twisting direction of the yarn plies for added texture. Our more traditional method of air entangling blends the individual filaments of multiple colors to create new shades and add texture. In this same area, we use our knitting technology to de-knit the socks used in jet dyeing. Once the de-knitting process is complete the fiber is wound back onto cones to be used again.
D YED FI B ER QUALI TY C AN B E DARK ER C O LO R , WH I C H I S TH E C O LO R I N DE SI G N A N D
THAT I S OFF RE-D Y ED TO A USUA L LY BLACK, MO ST UTILIZED FLOORI NG PRO DUCTI ON.