TI 13 - September 2021

N U M B E R 9 S E PT E M B E R 2 021

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I N T E R N AT I O N A L

MARIA DE BELÉM MACHADO Tearfil Textile Yarns CEO

DIRECTOR: MANUEL SERRÃO

“WE ARE FOCUSED ON SUSTAINABILITY AND ON ZERO WASTE” P8&9

INNOVATION

INOVAFIL MAKES FIBRES FROM TEXTILE AND FARMING WASTE P3

OPINION

ATP'S CONTRIBUTION TO A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE SECTOR BY 2030 P 15

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

COMPANY

THE BIG RETURN TO PHYSICAL TRADE SHOWS

FOUR TRIPS AROUND THE WORLD WITH LUNARTEX ELASTICS

P 12 &13

GROWTH

COLTEC INVESTED 5.2 MILLION TO LEAD IN EUROPE P6

P4

SUSTAINABILITY

ADALBERTO SPENDS HALF MILLION EURO IN SOLAR PANELS P 14

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INOVAFIL IS DEVELOPING FIBRES FROM TEXTILE AND FARMING WASTE

n EDITORIAL By: Manuel Serrão

BACK TO (THE CORE) BUSINESS

Inovafil is participating in a European project led by H&M and Adidas that aims to produce new fibres from textile and farming waste. The secret, explains Rui Martins, Inovafil’s administrator, is to look at discarded clothing as a raw material, with multiple components.

The project, which is based on Infinitive Fibre, a type of yarn developed in partnership with the Finnish Infinited Fiber Company, aims to find a solution for the tons of discarded clothes that fill landfills all over the world. An environmental peril that led the Nordic countries to look for a way to extract cellulose, one of the raw materials used in fibre production, from textile waste. The results are viscose, lyocell, and modal fibres, among others.

“In percentage, cotton has more cellulose than a wooden log. So are we going to throw pulp in the trash and cut down trees to extract it? What we are doing is dissolving clothes, extracting the cellulose from them, and using it to make fibres again. This fibre is called Infinitive Fibre”, reveals Rui Martins.

The next step is farming waste – all the sur-

plus that remains of the crops, which normally goes either to a landfill or to burn –, and that can also be dissolved to obtain cellulose.

For the administrator, this can be a long-term solution to the problem of textile waste, similarly to what happened with other recycling processes in the past.

“At first, recycled paper was yellow, full of impurities and more expensive than virgin paper. When it first appeared, and even though it was more expensive and of lesser quality, some bought it because it had a purpose. Today all of it is recycled, and with the same quality as virgin paper virgin. It is no longer an issue”, says Rui Martins, who argues that the same will happen with clothing articles. “Initially, these fibres will be more expensive and not so versatile, but once the technology is fully developed, no one will be able to see the difference between recycled and virgin fibres”.

This project, which integrates other textile companies, but also universities, is under development, and aims to produce clothing for H&M and Adidas. t

MODTISSIMO 58: REGISTRATION FOR BUYERS IS OPEN Let’s fly again! – It’s the motto of MODTISSIMO 58th edition, which promises the returns to the great flights of the international textile fairs. Scheduled for October 7th and 8th, this next edition will have the usual face-to-face meeting with manufacturers and brands.

Registration for buyers is now open.

“Keeping our health safety plan in place, all registrations

will be made exclusively online”, explains the organization, informing also that once the registration is complete, everyone will “receive a PDF that they can use to access the show, and that has to be shown when requested”.

Supported by the good registration results achieved so far, the trade show organization is betting on “achieving a high presence of foreign buyers, superior to the alrea-

dy excellent results achieved in previous editions”.

For that, it’s counting on the usual suggestions of the exhibitors, and on the active commitment of the various AICEP delegations abroad, which started in July with the international promotion campaign for the event. “We can already guarantee that MODTISSIMO 58 will be one of the most attended editions ever”, they state. t

Mission accomplished: here we are back to business. Or, better said, back to the core business. After having accepted, in a state of emergency, the challenge and the mission to manufacture masks and other personal protective equipment, most of our textile and clothing companies have now returned to their usual business.

On the one hand, the Portuguese Textile and Clothing Industry was able to once more respond to a national emergency. On the other hand, it managed to show its resilience, returning to its core positions as soon as the winds of the economic recovery began to blow.

Either way, this good news does not hide the truth: everything is not as it was before. The Portuguese government must be aware of the needs of the companies, in order to help them be successful in this recovery.

Nobody with common sense expects that the companies that were unviable before this pandemic suddenly become viable. However, we must all demand that companies that were doing well before keep being supported until the global market conditions allows them to do well again in this post-pandemic era. t

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Property: ATP - Associação Têxtil e de Vestuário de Portugal NIF: 501070745 Editor: Mário Jorge Machado Director: Manuel Serrão Adress: Rua Fernando Mesquita, 2785, Ed. CITEVE 4760-03164 Vila Nova de Famalicão Telephone number: +351 252 303 030 Email: tdetextil@atp.pt Subscription e Advertising: Cláudia Azevedo Lopes Telephone number: +351 969 658 043 - mail: cl.tdetextil@gmail.com ERC Provisional Registration: 126725 Circulation: 1000 copies Print Shop: Grafedisport Adress: Estrada Consiglieri Pedroso, 90 - Casal Santa Leopoldina - 2730-053 Barcarena Legal Deposit Number: 451405/19 Editorial Status: Available in: http:// tjornalinternational.com/editorial-statute/

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MEPISURFACES INVESTS 7 MILLION IN A NEW FACTORY IN COVILHÃ Mepisurfaces, a company that works with brands like Cartier or Dior, will invest around seven million euros in the construction of a new production unit. The announcement was made by the Mayor of Covilhã, Vítor Pereira, indicating that the new factory will be built from scratch in the Industrial Park of Tortosendo. The licensing process has already started and the construction, “it is bound to start as quickly as possible, to create jobs, wealth and to attract residents to our region,” said Vítor Pereira to the Lusa agency.

"We have to follow the path of innovation and quality, so that cost won´t be the pivotal issue" João Rui Pereira Pafil’s Administrator

BALLET ROSA PRESENTS CATALOGUE FOR MAN

It’s a new landmark in the dance market. The Portuguese brand Ballet Rosa launched the first dancewear catalogue exclusively for man. Ready to dress every dancer, Ballet Rose created an innovative collection of clothing and accessories specially designed for the male ballet dancers.Comfortable and produced with high quality materials, the catalogue presents solutions for both stage performances and rehearsals. In a mix of fashion and athleisure, it goes from the basics to more sophisticated options. t

FOUR TRIPS AROUND THE WORLD WITH LUNARTEX ELASTICS Between the start of the pandemic and the sector’s quick reorientation towards PPE production, Lunartex ended up producing an average of 18 million meters of rubber band per month, enough to encircle four times the earth globe in one year.

With an investment of 500 thousand euros to adapt to the health sector, the company ended up closing 2020 with a turnover of around 7 million euro, almost doubling the results achieved in 2019.

“It was a very good year in numbers, but extremely exhausting, and I would prefer not to repeat it”, states the company’s General Director, Lara Ribeiro. After earning approximately 7 million euros in 2020, the manager expects to reach this year “slightly above the amount reached in 2019”, when Lunartex amounted around 4 million euros.

Devoted to the production of elastics and trimmings, the company that supplies ribbons, elastic tapes, elastics and cords for the major fashion

brands, suddenly saw a large part of the Portuguese Textile and Clothing Industry sweep through its doors in search of elastics for Personal Protective Equipment.

“In March, we started to adapt production to the hospital sector, an investment of 500 thousand euros that in April was already functioning at full speed”, explains Lara Ribeiro.

The production for the health sector ended up weighing around 50% of the year’s turnover, and the manager has no doubts that this segment is here to stay. “In the future, it may represent 10 to 20% of our turnover”, she admits.

And if the company on average made 5 million meters of elastics monthly, 2020 ended up pulling the production up to close to 18 million, enough to encircle the earth globe more than four times.

Lara Ribeiro laughs when she realizes that Lunartex has the ability to wrap the world. t

LIPACO STRENGTHENS ITS BET ON RECYCLED YARNS A specialist in the production of sewing threads, the Portuguese company Lipaco is betting on sustainability. “Nowadays, the majority of customers are only interested in sustainable products, and the others are starting to shift towards this new market policy”, explains Jorge Pereira, CEO of the company, which recently had its sustainable innovation recognized.

Having invested, over the last few years, in new equipment, and in the production of technical and

sustainable fibres, Lipaco has now a catalogue in which recycled fibres, both in polyester or polyamide, are the stars. “Customers are now more aware, and this implies looking for alternatives to virgin fibres, which with each new production drain our planet’s resources”, explains the CEO. A commitment to sustainable innovation that has been recognized at various levels. An example is Recyarn 2 – a 99% recycled polyamide yarn produced from scraps

from the company’s main production cycle –, which has just been selected as one of the finalists for the iTechStyle Awards 2021.

Sustainable innovation has been for several years one of Lipaco’s bets, but now the market is increasingly changing its habits.

“There are customers who are only looking for this type of product, and in the future they will be even more. The market knows that this is an almost inevitable change”, reiterates Jorge Pereira.t

EURATEX WANTS FIRMNESS AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION

IMPETUS’ HI-TECH PYJAMA ASSURES A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

Euratex wants the European Commission to fight unfair competition and demands the use of funds for the reindustrialization process. The confederation that brings together the European textile industry also calls for “conditions for future competitiveness and resilience” in the textile sector. In total, the textile industry aggregates 16 thousand companies in the EU, provides more than 1.5 million jobs, and 162 billion euros in turnover per year.

Sleep well and soundly is what promises ProtechSleep, the latest project of the Impetus Group. Created in partnership with Fibrenamics and Tecminho, from the Universidade do Minho, this innovative pyjama is the result of two years of research and development, and combines technologies such as thermoregulation, targeted compression, and aromatherapy, which fights sleep disorders and ensures a greater rest. Impetus’ goal is to stand out by “doing what no else is doing”.

50%

is the percentage of water reduction that Tintex intends to achieve

TAJISERVI UNVEILS CUSTOMIZATION TECHNOLOGY FOR ONLINE STORES The Portuguese company Tajiservi, specialized in textile equipment, it’s debuting a new technology called Pulse Automation, which promises to increase the customization ability of online stores. Pulse is an automation software that directly sends customer preferences into embroidery or digital printing machines, making it easier to customize clothing articles with sentences, monograms or any other design. “It is something completely new. There is no one in Portugal that has this technology available”, said José Barroso, Tajiservi’s Digital Marketing specialist. With this program, companies can provide a more flexible personalization service in their online stores by letting consumers customize their clothing articles.

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GROUP

www.spormex.com

Events • Exhibitions • Conferences • Fairs • Stands • Tents

THE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP THAT ELEVATES YOUR BUSINESS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

NORTH PORTUGAL

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+351 253 233 000

+351 218 942 148

comercial@spormex.pt

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33 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN ASSEMBLING EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS:

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WEDOBLE CLOSES THE SEMESTER ABOVE ALL EXPECTATIONS The start of 2021 could not have gone better for Wedoble, which has already closed the sales period for the next season. “We had planned to sell about 90 thousand pieces, which corresponds to a turnover of around one and a half million euros, and we have already achieved our goal”, reveals proudly Márcia Pacheco, manager of the brand specialized in baby knitwear. Although the commercial goal for the semester has already been achieved, Wedoble foresees a drop in sales of around 20% in the Portuguese market.

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"Sustainability is here to stay, and will continue to be a fast growing area" Paulo Augusto de Oliveira Paulo de Oliveira's Administrator

ONLINE SKYROCKETS SOEIRO’S TURNOVER IN 2020 Soeiro, a clothing company specialized in the private label sector, ended 2020 with a 20% growth in turnover compared to the previous year. The pandemic turned out to be an important business niche, “since most of our customers sell primarily online,” explains the company. For Antonieta Barbosa, Soeiro’s commercial director, “if our customers sell more to the final consumer, of course we are selling more to them”. Dedicated almost exclusively to exports, Soeiro has a large share of customers in the European market, with emphasis on France – which already represents 45% of sales –, Spain and the Netherlands.

COLTEC INVESTED 5.2 MILLION TO LEAD IN EUROPE The Portuguese company Coltec, which has just completed four decades of existence, has expanded its facilities and increased production capacity with new machinery. An investment of around 5.2 million euros that made Coltec the European leader in textile heat sealing and lamination.

From the approximately 2,300 m2 of the old facilities, the company grew to more than 7,500 m2, which allowed for the modernization and expansion of the machinery park. The change came in 2019, just in time to fight back against Covid-19’s unforeseen challenge.

Thanks to the new production and storage capacity, in 2020 the company reached a daily production capacity of around 40 thousand meters of woven fabrics for the manufacture of disposable equipment for the health area.

Working continuously 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the company closed the year with a record turnover of around 7.3 million euros, after the 5.5 million reached in 2019.

Along with the new machinery, the company also invested in an internal laboratory that al-

lowed the entry into the world of technical fabrics for the medical and hospital sectors – which quickly were put through the test – and the automotive area.

“We are known in Europe as the company with the most heat-sealing and laminating capacity. Products that only we can make, such as special features for fashion, leather goods and footwear, with snakeskin or leopard skin imitations”, explains CEO Paulo Neves, adding that

the new machines allowed Coltec to verticalize the entire production. “From the design to the final product, we are the only ones in Portugal and in Europe.

There is only an alternative in Italy”, he explains.

Leader in the provision of textile lamination services, direct gluing and coating with thermal adhesives, and breathable and waterproof membranes, Coltec exports around 90% of production. t

PENEDO AMONG THE TEN CHOSEN FOR SMARTX FINANCING Têxteis Penedo’s Iosoftsleep 4.0 project was one of the ten proposals chosen by SmartX – European Smart Textiles Acelerator, in a funding round exceeding one million euros. With the support now guaranteed, the company led by Xavier Leite intends to develop an intelligent heating blanket, with built-in electronic components, and capable of autonomously controlling the temperature

according to the users’ needs.

The company’s goal is to manufacture a blanket that balances thermal insulation, breathability, flexibility and lightness.

Iosofsleep 4.0 is one of ten projects – among 27 applications from ten European countries – which SmartX selected as deserving of financing from the European accelerator, which plans to distribute more than one million

euros in the next 12 months.

SmartX gathers eight European clusters, two research and development organizations in the field of technologies, and three entities supporting innovation (for initiation, implementation and monitoring of professional projects), and aims to drive innovation in the field of smart textiles, in order to develop European value chains in segments with strong growth potential.t

RIOPELE INVESTED 30 MILLION IN SUSTAINABILITY AND AUTOMATION Not even the pandemic crisis put an end to the investment plan set

by Riopele, which in 2020 acquired new automated and more environmentally friendly machines. After the 25 million euros invested in 2019, in 2020 the company invested 5 million more in new machinery.

“As a result of this investment, when the pandemic passes and consumption skyrockets, Riopele will be extremely well-prepared. We can get out of this crisis stronger”, said the company’s president, José Alexandre Oliveira. In addition to the advances in the production automation, the new machines substantially reduce water and energy use.

The leader of the historical company – already on its way to 94 years of activity – has no doubts that “textiles are an industry with a future”, but it’s not confident in a short-term recovery. In his perspective, this year will be more difficult, and will have a greater impact on the sector than 2020, which means that the recovery will be slow and should only happen from 2022 onwards. t

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n INTERVIEW Maria de Belém Machado After a long engagement, Maria de Belém Machado, owner of SMBM, bought, in July 2019, Tearfil – which was located on the other side of the wall of the company founded by her father. The seller, ECS, a venture capital and restructuring fund management company, had no place for Tearfil in Moretextile's world.

The priority is, therefore, to reorganize production, bet on sustainability and innovation, and keep moving forward

"MY AMBITION IS TO REACH 15 MILLION EUROS IN 2022"

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n industrial unit cannot be open and closed at the same time. After 15 days of partial lay-off, Maria de Belém Machado chose to call all employees and return to work.

“Those who are not present are quickly overtaken by the competition. This way, customers know for sure that they have not been abandoned”.

Did the pandemic have more impact on the doctors or on the businessmen who produce tradable goods?

The danger is greater for doctors – they are real heroes. Entrepreneurs are not heroes. For me, this industry is an adventure...

An adventure which starts in a year that turned out to be very difficult?

It was a difficult year but despite everything, we held on. We had a production line on lay-off for 15 days, but we wanted to be there for our customers and our projects.

What measures were taken to counter the pandemic?

I bought the company in July 2019…

A small company that buys a much larger one…

No, it wasn't SMBM that bought it, I bought Tearfil. After buying it, the year ended almost immediately: we arrived, the summer holidays came, and we mapped our budgets for 2020. We were meeting budgets when Portugal closed, on March 2020: in April, we invoiced 60% less. In May, the normal course was to close doors because things were not flowing. One of our production lines closed for 15 days, but we had to call all employees right away because we are either in or out of the market. May was very complicated, but in June we started to reach our goals again. March, April and May were very difficult months – but despite everything we achieved our main goal, which was to balance the company. This year we are not only meeting the budget, but exceeding it: in the first quarter we were above budget.

PHOTO: RUI APOLINÁRIO

In terms of invoice, did you reach your goals in 2020?

The main goal was to achieve positive results, and we were able to do that.

How much was last year’s turnover?

We exceeded the 11 million mark,

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even taking into account the three months of very low business, due to the pandemic. We were able to turn the situations around by betting on recycled and technical yarns. We did a lot of work regarding recycled yarn, which is here to stay.

Is this year going better?

For this year, we made a bolder budget. At the end of the first quarter, we were already above the business plan predictions. We are comfortable and confident.

Is the budget's ambition the 15 million mark?

No, we are more modest: 13.7 million. Personally, I believe we are going to exceed 14 million.

When you bought the company, you had planned to invest 3.5 million.

We didn't invest at that level: in order to invest, we have to have solid accounts and, at this moment of great uncertainty, we have to be very cautious. We are constantly revisiting the investment plan and when the time comes, we will invest. We have to cement the accounts first; otherwise we won't be safe. 2020 was a good year for the evolution of the textile industry, considering the Covid-19 effect.

Most of your clients are Portuguese. Is the company’s exposure to exports still small?

Indirectly, more than 90% of what we produce is exported. Nonetheless, we are betting a lot on exports: last year we admitted another commercial agent, and we are going to grow substantially in that area. When I bought Tearfil, the company had a slightly degraded image: those who were going to sell knew they were going to sell, so they didn’t invest in the business...

But it took a number of years to buy the company…

Yes, since 2013. Well, I don't know if they didn’t want to sell, or if there were a lot of people wanting to buy – which are different things. The trick is to never give up. We signed the sale agreement in September 2018, but I was only allowed to buy almost a year later.

When you bought the company, exports were worth 12% of the 12 million turnover. Have you been able to increase this quota?

Yes. We are close to 15%. It's been very difficult – the customers themselves are holding back because they also have few orders, so there’s risk. However, almost everything we do results in indirect export, even because we belong to the group of suppliers approved by Inditex – we were audited.

Do the Netherlands attract you directly?

It was a region that was not covered by Tearfil. The Netherlands and northern France have large industrial zones, and customers who ask us for the most unexpected yarns.

Does that mean that the company is focused on sustainability?

We are focused on sustainability and on zero waste production: we are reusing, recycling and innovating with our own waste. We are launching a brand – it is about to be registered at a European level – called Eco Heather, a yarn 90% made from the company's waste, which is very good. Recovering, recycling, and reusing is very important to us, in addition to the other recycled fibres, which we use a lot. This way, we are lessening our environmental footprint, and contributing to a healthier planet. And the yarn is of very good quality.

Would one of the planned investments be the purchase of photovoltaic panels?

Yes, we are studying possible locations. It won't supply the entire factory, but we are happy even if it only supplies it partially. It should have already been done, but the uncertainty caused by the pandemic is delaying the investments. Everything has to be done very carefully – we employ 200 people, which rely on us. Just out of curiosity, when we bought the company, the first thing the unions asked was "how many people are you going to fire?”. We called the unions to let them know that we wanted to keep everybody.

Without people, we don't work.

I continue to believe that Portuguese spinning mills can be very important to the industry.

How much money would you have to invest in order to install the photovoltaic panels?

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is the best strategy or if we should make adjustments to it.

Are the two companies complementary? Does it make sense to unite them?

It could do: SMBM could never handle large volumes, Tearfil can handle large volumes.

They can be each other's customers…

Competitors, at this point are pure competitors. However, they could be complementary.

We now have Eco Heather. Tearfil is a highly regarded brand, the brand itself sells. We are working with the University of Minho and Fibernamics on anti-bacterial and anti-viral yarns – on projects that have to do with Covid-19. We have projects, we want to evolve, but we mustn't forget that we've only been here for a year and a half.

Will there be any collaboration between your two companies?

I made it clear to the boards of both companies from the beginning: they are competitors in the market.

Each one is completely autonomous from the other. Then, when the time is right, we'll see if that

Bernardino Andrade Tearfil Administrator

Which means that you have an integrated investment plan?

How is the relationship with the financial partners?

We have, but we also have priorities.

Nowadays, companies are stuck with a rating notation. From that notation, banks decide whether to support companies. Tearfil has felt great support and interest from some banks, essential to help us achieve the growth that we need.

How much will the total investment be?

About four million.

After making the investments, how do you anticipate Tearfil's dimension? Are 20 million possible?

Although our medium and long term plan is not so audacious, I'm very optimistic, and I believe a lot in my team. Even because we have big projects with strategic partners, and several developments that will create a lot of value downstream.

We currently have between 300 to 400 customers.

How much does Inditex weight?

Directly, none. Indirectly, it reaches 30%.

Is that comfortable for you, or would you prefer less exposure to a single buyer?

I wish it was smaller. However, the pandemic forced all companies to restructure, and value the proximity of the supply chain in favour of eastern geographies.

This happened to everyone and to Inditex even more: they cannot be dependent on a single supplier, and Portugal brings flexibility through proximity.

Around 350 thousand euros.

Do you foresee the possibility of developing your own brands, even for exports?

the questions of

For the textile industry in general?

Yes. The made in Portugal label is good, for textiles in general, but also for many other things. We have good designers, we have good manufacturers, so we are good.

Would the tradeshows’ full return help?

Yes, they are extremely important.

Tradeshows are the place where we meet new partners, new customers, and new raw materials. No one goes on holiday to a fair pavilion, so everyone who is there is important and wants to do business. There is always someone who brings us ideas, new products, who challenges us... There is always someone who is of great interest to us. We will always bet on fairs, both at Tearfil and SMBM. t

How do you see the role played by the Portuguese textile industry in creating wealth for the country?

Despite all the employment, taxes, exports, and contribution to the country's wealth, the textile industry is forgotten by the government, who does not protect us as it should. During the pandemic, a large part of the country stopped, but the textile industry immediately adapted and continued generating wealth. This resilience is very interesting and is not valued as it should.

Marla Gonçalves Tearfil Commercial Director

What are your expectations for 2021?

We want to continue to innovate responsibly and work alongside our customers and partners towards mutual growth. We also want to motivate our employees who are, without a doubt, the driving force of our success.

What are the priorities outlined to ensure the company's competitiveness?

We will focus on responsible innovation, and on sustainable products and manufacturing processes. We do not intend to produce more, but to produce better, increasing efficiency, productivity, quality and our margins, while reducing the energy bill.

We will also continue to invest in our human resources’ skills and ensure knowledge transmission between generations.

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SMART WAREHOUSE PUTS POLOPIQUE ON THE ROAD TO THE 4.0 INDUSTRY A smart warehouse that organizes all clothing samples is the latest digitizing processes of the Polopique Group, on the road towards the 4.0 industry. The new equipment, with 32 storage levels, increases storage capacity by 80%, occupying a mere 6 m2 of floor area. It is under the management of a new software that a wide range of accessories, such as buttons, clasps, labels and ribbons, are now packed in one place, which allows Polopique to have real-time control of articles, locations, movements and stocks.

"Environmental, economic and social sustainability are the cornerstones of our operation" João Mendes A. Sampaio & Filhos Administrator

GOLFINHO SPORTS INVESTS 1.5 MILLION

Golfinho Sports is preparing to double the size of its facilities, an investment of 1.5 million euros that also includes the acquisition of some machines. The Portuguese company thus seeks to improve the conditions of production and storage of swimming and pool equipment, including professional swimsuits and textile caps. “Soon there will be swimming competitions again, people will return to the pools and when that happens, whoever is prepared will be in the front line and take their respective dividends”, defends Nuno Arcanjo, the company’s CEO. t

LOUROPEL: WORLD’S LARGEST BUTTON MAKER EXPANDS FACILITIES It manufactures around 12 million units per day and continuesto grow. Biodegradable Ecological Buttons are an example of Louropel’s commitment to innovation and sustainability, which in recent years has invested 50 million in modernization projects, and is now moving towards expanding its facilities. The company, created 55 years ago, exports more than 85% of what it produces, supplying the world’s fashion greatest names, such as Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Armani, Valentino, Kenzo or Massimo Dutti.

The company’s expansion project, an investment of one million euros, includes the

construction of a Recycling Unit, which will allow to manufacture buttons from recycled material. An investment that strengthens Louropel’s position with sustainable innovation, which already stands out for using clean energy and natural and recycled products to manufacture buttons.

Biodegradable Ecological Buttons are already the star product of the company led

by Avelino Rego, which, with the construction of the new recycling unit, will also process waste from other economic activities, in a context of circular economy. Louropel currently employs around 250 workers. t

TWINTEX WANTS TO RELY ONLY ON 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY Committed to sustainable production, Twintex has just invested in 200 photovoltaic panels, and was given the 100% renewable energy certification. With this new investment, Twintex reinforces the company’s energy production capacity by 20%, and by the end of the year hopes to rely solely on 100% renewable electricity. The company’s headquarters already counts with more than one thousand photovoltaic panels, which produce 55% of the energy that is used internally.

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euro was Orfama's investment in new machinery over the past two years

RILEY, THE AMERICAN BRAND 100% MADE IN PORTUGAL

PAULA BORGES REACHES NEW SUCCESS AT THE BEGINNING OF 2021 It’s difficult to imagine a better start to the year for Paula Borges. In the first couple of months of 2021, the Portuguese textile company managed to recover the losses of 2020, and registered an unexpected rise in orders.

“We expect to close 2021 with a growth between 15 to 20%, when compared to 2019”, says Paulo Faria, the sales director of the company, which specializes in women fashion.

With an annual turnover close to 2.5 million euros, Paula Borges is now registering a rise in private label orders, after the Coronavirus crisis. “2020 was a very difficult year, our sales went down by 25%. However, on the other hand, 2021 started the best way possible. We are reaching new clients, mainly in European markets, such as the UK, Sweden, France, and the Netherlands, but also from Japan and the United

States”, reveals the sales director of the company.

“There is a positive side to the pandemic: people now have more time to think and to organize themselves. We have clients that came from other countries, where they couldn’t find the quality we provide. I honestly believe that the companies that managed to resist these difficult times will eventually prevail and grow”, foresees Paulo Faria. t

Launched in New York just two and a half years ago, Riley is a home textile brand that tries to stand out for one reason: all of its products are manufactured in Portugal. A feature that the brand proudly highlights, and that, according to CEO Sarah Abitbol, does not go unnoticed by consumers. And it has even put Riley on the radar of publications such as the New York Times and GQ Magazine. “Portugal is the place to be when it comes to sourcing home textiles. From the beginning, we realized that Portugal meant added value, due to its long tradition and history regarding home textiles. Portugal is the capital of home textiles”, explains the brand’s CEO to T Jornal.

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Anuncio T Internacional 235x295(241x301)cm ER 2021 quarta-feira, 13 de janeiro de 2021 10:30:58

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2. DUNE BLEUE, PT MILLS, SKYLAB BY INARBEL, TRIM NW AND WISE HS, ACCOMPANIED BY CITEVE, MADE UP THE FROM PORTUGAL DELEGATION, WHICH SAW THE FAIR OPEN ITS DOORS TO MORE VISITORS THAN THE ONES REGISTERED IN 2019

PHOTOSYNTHESIS by: Cláudia Azevedo Lopes

1. IT WAS AT THE DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTRE THAT THE ARAB HEALTH TOOK PLACE, BETWEEN JUNE 21 AND 24. THE PORTUGUESE COMPANIES, MAKING THEIR PRESENCE FELT FOR THE FIRST TIME, SOON ATTRACTED THE ATTENTION OF BUYERS AND VISITORS

6. PT MILLS, NEWCOMER TO THE TEXTILE SECTOR AND REPRESENTED BY GENERAL DIRECTOR MIGUEL MALHEIRO, TOOK ITS MASKS AND PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT TO ARAB HEALTH

THE HAPPY RETURN TO PHYSICAL FAIRS The months of waiting for the face-to-face contact were long, but along with the beginning of summer came the return to physical fairs. The first took the From Portugal entourage to Dubai, for Arab Health, and the second to the city of light and fashion capital, Paris, for Fashion Rendez-Vous. With full stands – within security limits, of course –, satisfied customers and exhibitors, these first two fairs of the year came to prove that, even in pandemic times, it is possible for the Portuguese companies to remain on the path of good business

5. MEDICINAL SUSTAINABLE SOCKS, FROM OF THE 2022 SUMMER AND WINTER COLLECTION, WERE THE STAR PRODUCT OF DUNE BLEUE. CELESTE PEREIRA RECEIVED VISITORS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

11. EQUALLY SATISFIED WAS MARIA SÁ, GENERAL DIRECTOR OF LURDES SAMPAIO, NOT ONLY FOR THE NEW CUSTOMERS, BUT FOR THEIR QUALITY. "IT WAS REALLY WORTH BEING PRESENT"

10. JOÃO CARVALHO, FITECOM’S CEO, WAS COMPLETELY SURPRISED BY THE SUCCESS OF THE FAIR, WHICH “EXCEEDED ALL EXPECTATIONS”. IN ADDITION TO REGULAR CUSTOMERS, IT ALSO ATTRACTED NEW CUSTOMERS, FROM YOUNG BRANDS

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4. AT THE SKYLAB STAND, INARBEL'S BRAND FOR THE HEALTH SECTOR, JOSÉ ARMINDO FERRAZ HAD HIS HAND FULL WITH CUSTOMERS INTERESTED IN THE COMPANY’S EQUIPMENT AND PERSONALIZED UNIFORMS FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

3. RUI LOPES, TRIMNW GENERAL DIRECTOR, BROUGHT TO ARAB HEALTH ITS NEW RANGE OF NON-WOVEN FABRICS AND ITS SOLUTIONS FOR PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. THE HIGHLIGHT WAS IMPERSCRIM, MADE WITH POLYESTER AND POLYETHYLENE, AND FULLY WATERPROOF

8. WITH FOUR REPRESENTATIVES WORKING SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE LE EUROPE/LA ESTAMPA STAND WAS ALWAYS FULL. "IT LARGELY EXCEEDED OUR BEST EXPECTATIONS", SAID GABRIELA MOREIRA, THE COMPANY RESPONSIBLE AT THE FAIR

7. IN PARIS CITY CENTRE, PREMIERE VISION FASHION RENDEZ-VOUS WAS THE FIRST PHYSICAL FAIR TO TAKE PLACE ON EUROPEAN SOIL IN 2021.

THEREFORE, THE EXPECTATION WAS TREMENDOUS AND THE REALITY DID NOT DISAPPOINT

9. THE EXCLUSIVE PLATFORM WHERE CUSTOMERS CAN SELECT ALL THE PATTERNS AND COLOURS AVAILABLE ON THE STAND AND SEE THEM APPLIED TO A GARMENT WAS ONE OF THE MAIN ATTRACTIONS AT THE LE EUROPE/LA ESTAMPA STAND

13. ADALBERTO LEFT FASHION RENDEZ VOUS WITH RENEWED CERTAINTY THAT EVERYTHING IS FLOWING: EVERYBODY WANTS TO RETURN TO THE NORMAL BUSINESS ACTIVITY. HERE'S TO THE NEXT TRADESHOWS!

12. BURSTING AT THE SEAMS WAS ALSO RIOPELE’S STAND. HOWEVER, FOR ANA VAZ, THE COMPANY’S AREA SALES MANAGER, “THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO HAVE THE BEST CUSTOMERS. AND WE HAD VERY GOOD CUSTOMERS"

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FARDYLOR READY TO EXPLORE INTERNATIONAL MARKETS With a history of more than 20 years, Fardylor, a clothing company specialized in workwear and uniforms, wants to pave its way towards internationalization. “We need to step forward, open new channels, and we have our eyes set on the French and Spanish markets”, says the company’s commercial director, Susana Cardoso.

70%

of Cristina Barros’ turnover comes from exports

BRANDBIAS IS PRODUCING AT FULL THROTTLE

ZIPPY STRENGTHENS BET IN NORTH AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

After entering Algeria and strengthening its presence in Saudi Arabia and Armenia, Zippy is now looking at Mauritius and Mauritania with the aim of reinforcing its presence in the Middle East and North Africa. As for the Portuguese market, the strategy is centered on e-commerce. “We have a five-year store remodeling plan in Saudi Arabia, with the opening of new stores in markets in the Middle East and North Africa, including Mauritius and Mauritania,” said the brand manager, Joana Ribeiro da Silva, to the newspaper Dinheiro Vivo. t

LANDCOLORS, THE NEW NATURAL DYES OF JF ALMEIDA Adalberto is investing half million euro in solar panels for its headquarters. With this investment, the textile company will reduce its electric bill and become more sustainable.

Within the same goal, Adalberto is also replacing its car fleet with new electric models.

“We are aiming to become carbon-neutral.

Since we decided to use only green energy, it’s also important to replace our fuel fleet with a more ecological alternative, in order to close the circle”, explains Susana Serrano, the company’s CEO. For that, Adalberto resorted to the services of Acciona, a company that developed the

GreenChain system, which allows clients to track the sources of energy that it is using and estimate its ecological footprint. “Acciona was the only company that presented us with a solution that fits our strategy. One of the main goals of our sustainability plan was to achieve green energy”, says Susana Serrano.

Reuse materials, diminish waste, reduce water consumption, and manufacture textiles with new sustainable fibres are Adaberto’s other goals for the near future. The company is focused on reducing the overall footprint of its textile production. t

Brandbias is living in a state of grace: since the beginning of the year, the company has been registering a significant increase in its production volume, mainly due to clothing manufacture, counter-cyclical with the reality of the majority of the Portuguese textile sector. The company has already stopped producing masks, and looks with great optimism for the future.

"We have to keep innovating, always. It’s the only way to stay in the forefront" Luís Cristino Hindu’s CEO

FAMILITEX ADOPTS SMARTEX ANTI-WASTE TECHNOLOGY Familitex is one of the Portuguese textile companies that has already installed on its circular looms the Smartex V1, a Portuguese innovative system that uses artificial intelligence to inspect textile meshes and detect defects. The technology, operating since January, showed immediate results by saving resources and reducing waste. As soon as an imperfection is identified – such as holes, stains or oil spots – the machine comes to a halt, saving energy, time and raw materials.

BABY GI INVESTS IN A NEW PRODUCTION LINE AND OWN ENERGY

ADALBERTO INVESTS HALF MILLION EURO IN SOLAR PANELS JF Almeida has a new line of natural dyes for cotton fibres that allows to save 30% of water and 20% of the dying time, when compared to the traditional dyeing process. It is called LandColors, and also has the peculiarity of avoiding salt in the dyeing process. An option with low environmental impact and free of toxic products that cause aller-

gies and skin irritations.

To keep up with the market’s demands, JF Almeida had already presented, at the end of 2020, an innovative dyeing process that used tea leaves, called Infusion. The textile company has its own dyeing unit, capable of dyeing 1,100 tons monthly, which makes it one of the largest in Europe.

According to its official

website, JF Almeida offers dyeing and finishing ser vices for terrycloths, quilts, fabrics and yarns in any type of fibre. It also has a 24-hour laboratory that can create new colours in just one day, and infrared dyeing machines: “two polyglycol dyeing machines and an automatic dyeing pipetting machine”, explains the company. t

Excited by the growth it had in the last quarter of 2020, and also to prepare the recovery expected for this year, Baby Gi has just invested in a new production line. At the same time, the children’s clothing brand is also installing photovoltaic panels to become increasingly ecological and environmentally friendly. In the last quarter of 2020, the brand entered two new markets – the Netherlands and North America.

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OPINION ATP'S STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE SECTOR BY 2030 Mário Jorge Machado ATP’s President

EUROPEAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY AT A CROSSROAD

We are still recovering from a pandemic that no one anticipated, but that still today painfully conditions our entire life, and left deep marks throughout the Portuguese textile and clothing sector. The present is unstable and uncertain, as is the recovery we have witnessed throughout this year: it encourages us, but does not reassure us, since the future is something to be built, and none of us can safely anticipate it.

ATP did not want to fail to undertake a commitment to the industry it proudly represents. Therefore, it’s presenting its usual contribution to a strategic plan for the sector by 2030, seeking to identify the major trends that will frame its development, and suggesting structuring lines of intervention, without avoiding the fundamental recommendations to the Government and Public Administration, to the centres that support the sector and, finally, to the companies themselves, central characters and ultimate recipients of everything we do.

The years that follow will mark a new time that by no means will be the same as the one we lived. That includes the problems and constraints we are used to solving, as well as the solutions that have allowed the resilience and reinvention of the Portuguese textile sector, making it a worldwide case study, notable by its flexibility, adaptability, high reactivity, innovation, creativity and ability to generate value for our clients.

The drives have changed and nothing assures us that the critical success factors will maintain effective, especially when the global fashion business is undergoing profound transformations. Even before the COVID pandemic, the consumption of fashion items in developed markets was in sharp decline, due to

The European Textile and Clothing Industry faces a double challenge. On one hand, the coronavirus pandemic hit our sector more than others, recording a drop in turnover between 10% and 20%, when in retail trade it reached -25%. The trade deficit widened, particularly due to massive imports of masks and related products from China. On the Alberto Paccanelli other hand, the European Union has emPresident of EURATEX – The European barked on an ambitious process of green and Apparel and Textile Confederation digital transition, which has translated into a wave of regulation that will have a great impact on our companies.

Taking these two challenges into account, our industry is at a crossroads, and it is necessary to ensure that this crisis becomes an opportunity, and that we develop a new business model for a sustainable and competitive industry. According to EURATEX, such a business model will have to be supported by three pillars: transforming sustainability into a source of global competitiveness; investing

the radical change in consumer values, who demand transparency from brands and producers, scrutinizing where and how they items are manufactured, with what processes, and what are the environmental and social impacts. The consumer is now concerned with environmental sustainability, but also social and economic, striving for models of productive circularity, and giving a second life to garments or making them the raw materials of the next industrial cycle, which determines less consumption, more responsible purchases and the traceability of the entire system.

The new drives are certainly sustainability and digitization, which will not only be focused on the processes efficiency, but also on the industry’s effects on its surroundings. At the same time, they will not fail to comply with the usual goals, since fashion is not intended to satisfy only utilitarian needs: it brings added value and happiness to those who consume it.

Our goal, in the contribution to the Strategic Plan that we recently presented for the sector in 2030, is to fulfil a golden scenario, in which the textile sector retains its relevance, but substantially improves its qualitative performance. This involves intensive investments in biomaterials, a next step in the affirmation of the technological innovation that is already a hallmark of this sector on a global scale; through automation and robotization, that are still very dependent on intensive labour, anticipating and filling their scarcity and accelerating productivity; and by training human resources in design, marketing and communication, allowing to offer structured and integrated skills, so that the goal of generating and managing Portuguese brands is not limited to the usual “wishful thinking”. t

in digitizing our industry, and ensuring that people have the right skills to do it; create a global textile market with equal rules and transparent supply chains for everyone.

The industry itself can do many things, but both Portuguese and European authorities must also be involved. Therefore, it’s with great joy that we welcome the European Commission's initiative to develop a European Textile Strategy by the end of 2021. This strategy should include the following topics: - Europe must guarantee effective market inspection, prevent unfair competition and ensure a levelled playing field. The continent has very restrictive social and environmental standards, and must protect the quality of its products. We often know that products made in other countries do not meet the same standards, and action regarding this problem is urgently needed.

- Europe should support the transition

to a more sustainable and digital industry through specific funds and programmes. In fact, SMEs, given their size and abilities, do not have the power to innovate their products and processes in the short term. And Europe must also take a test-market approach in moving towards sustainability and circular economy.

- The green transition must carefully balance the cost of the process and the long-term benefits. Businesses and citizens can quickly lose interest if the transition does not bring any short / medium term benefits. So Europe should help the education and training systems to develop comprehensive and cutting-edge knowledge in the textile and clothing industry.

With these measures taken, we are confident that the European textile industry can remain competitive worldwide, based on quality, design and innovation of its products and processes. t

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