Aquafil teams up with Carvico to form joint company
Italian yarn producer Aquafil and Carvico, a manufacturer of warp-knitted stretch fabrics, have formed a joint venture company XLAnce Fibre Italia which will manufacture and market the XLA polyolefin stretch fibre.
XLAnce Fibre Italia has completed a transaction with The Dow Chemical Company and its affiliates to purchase the trademarks associated with XLA polyolefin based stretch fibre and to acquire an exclusive license under the related intellectual property for cross linked polyolefin based stretch fibre for knitted and woven textiles.
The transaction also includes the acquisition of Dow’s XLA fibre production lines, machinery and equipment based in Dow’s Tarragona (Spain) site, which XLAnce Fibre Italia will transfer to Italy in the coming weeks. Production is scheduled to commence in the third quarter of 2012.
The new joint venture, which is owned 50%/50% by the two companies, is said to be a strategic move for both Carvico and Aquafil as it will allow the re-launch of XLA, an innovative fibre with important growth potential.
“Innovation is part of Carvico’s identity,” said Laura Colnaghi Calissoni, chairman of Carvico. “And true innovation in the stretch fabric sector commands a coordinated efforts along the supply chain, as new fibres are a compulsory component of any genuinely new fabric solution.”
“As a leading stretch fabric company our interest into the possibility to resume XLA production was natural, since XLA has been one of the very few significant new fibres in our business in recent years, and our partnership with Aquafil, whose fibre technology knowledge is a key requirement, made this project possible.”
Giulio Bonazzi, Aquafil group chairman said: “We were impressed by the quality and the amount of R&D work that has been done on this fibre, and we are grateful to Dow for the professionalism and all the information that was made available.
“Aquafil’s consolidated knowledge within the polyamide fibres segment, in particular with the innovative Econyl recycled yarn, and within the microfiber and polypropylene segment with the Dryarn hi-tech fibre, will be essential to revive this promising elastomer with undoubted synergies.”
