The fabric of flexibility

THE FABRIC

OF FLEXIBILITY

Textil Santanderina has played an integral role in developing the Spanish textile industry over the past half century, with its influence reaching worldwide in recent years. EmmaJane Batey spoke to CEO Juan Pares to find out how this success has been achieved.

Established in Cantabria, Spain, in 1959 following the merger of two local textile companies, Textil Santanderina has grown to become a leading name in high quality, innovative textile solutions. With a long-term commitment to providing value to the customer, the company has created a strong business that is appreciated by customers worldwide.

Textil Santanderina offers a varied product range of more than 500 items, created at its state-of-the-art 80,000m2 production facilities in Cantabria. The value focus is clearly evident in the product portfolio, with Textil Santanderina’s two core promises influencing its everyday activities, and its plans for the future. CEO Juan Pares explained, “Continual improvement and innovation is very important to us, with our main promises being that that the quality of our products and our service will always be the best it can possibly be. Our customers have come to rely on us in these two areas particularly, and we are proud to say that we always meet their needs.”

In terms of products, Textil Santanderina’s offer is focused on two areas; fashion and technical, with each area offering both garments and materials. The fashion division represents around 70 per cent of the company’s activities, with clients worldwide and especially strong performance in Europe, the USA and China.

Importance of quality and creativity

Mr Pares explained how the fashion division is dedicated to quality and creativity. He said, “It is most important that we stay close to the market so that we are always offering exactly what people want in terms of colours, finishes, textures and performance. We have a great team of creative people that are in regular touch with customers that buy both the fabrics and the finished garments, in order to guarantee that Textil Santanderina continually offers the right product at the right time.”

The technical products provided by the company have a greater demand for innovation, and 40 per cent of its staff are employed in R&D. Textil Santanderina is well-known for combining nano-technology and getting enhanced comfort into the more risky aspects of fabric performance, such as the requirements of clothing for protection against fire or chemical agents. Comfort with maximum safety is a key driver for this division, and remains an important market differentiator.

One overriding aspect of Textil Santanderina’s operation across both its fashion and technical products divisions is its respect for the environment. The company has implemented a wide range of ecologically responsible actions for the past 30 years. Mr Pares said, “Social and environmental responsibility is very important for us and always has been. We have a waste water treatment plant that is able to reuse water, even though we are careful to use as little as possible in the first place. We are also continually focused on reducing CO2 emissions and energy usage … it’s a mentality that’s ingrained in our company and one that we seek in our people as well as our suppliers. The ethics of Textil

Santanderina are so much a part of our business vision that we totally believe it’s all related – how our people act, how we look after the area around our production site and the suppliers we choose.”

Serving the world

The company has a formidable sales network with locations in 15 countries and representatives worldwide, allowing it to provide a complete service anywhere in the world. With quality of service such an important factor in the company’s vision, it comes as no surprise to note that it has strict quality targets across its departments. Mr Pares pointed out that Textil Santanderina is particularly strong in understanding what the definition of quality are to different customers, and how it ensures the expectations of each customer is met, if not exceeded, by appreciating their individual concept of quality. Members of the development team are focused on the market trends, including close communication with suppliers, customers and end users to maintain a tight relationship between the company’s product range and the market demands.

As Textil Santanderina looks forward to the next chapter in its history, Mr Pares is clear that its innovation and quality promise will enable the company to utilise the great potential in the worldwide textiles market, with surprising examples of how textiles are used such as in Astroturf for football pitches and the fact that today’s aeroplanes are 30 per cent made from textiles. He concluded, “Textiles have no limits like perhaps steel or copper. The textile industry is always changing and there are always new possibilities for using textiles. With our strong experience in integrating technical performance into fabrics and staying at the forefront of fashion fabrics, we are well positioned for continued success.” n