Recognition for TMC’s Herculan yarn innovation
Performance fibre developer TMC, the owner of Nuyarn spinning technology, has said its launch earlier this year of a new product, Herculan, has helped win inclusion in specialist business publication Fast Company’s list of ‘Most Innovative Companies’ for 2022.
New Zealand-based TMC made alterations to Nuyarn spinning machines to make it possible for them to accommodate strong wool, the coarsest and most durable grade of wool fibres, measuring more than 38 microns.
This type of fibre has typically gone into applications such as interior textiles, flooring and upholstery, and is often called ‘carpet wool’. According to TMC, it has a low market value and in difficult economic periods is often deemed too costly to process, package and ship. As a result, much of the fibre goes to waste.
The International Wool Textile Organisation has estimated that between 40% and 50% of the global wool yield is fibre that falls into this category.
Using Nuyarn, these coarse, long, wool fibres can now be wrapped around a performance filament to create Herculan. The yarn is extremely fine and, the company has said, has outperformed some of the most widely used synthetic textiles in Martindale abrasion tests.
TMC has said Herculan will simplify supply chains and encourage end users to waste less by using natural fibres to make garments “that last longer and have superior performance benefits”.
Chief executive, Andy Wynne, said TMC was honoured to have receive recognition from Fast Company. “It took five years to develop Herculan and we believe it will have a positive effect on the wool industry, as well as help deliver a new era of wool products that perform better and last longer,” he added.
Fast Company put TMC at number six on the list, praising the fibre developer for having launched “a natural nylon replacement from a local surplus”.
