Shesh Gupta
Unit Head Thai Acrylic Fibre Company Limited
Regel recycled acrylic is another step to solve environment related problems in the industry
Incorporated in 1987, Thai Acrylic Fibre Co. Ltd (TAF), an Aditya Birla Group company, is among the world’s largest acrylic fibre producers. TAF produces more than 30 different types of speciality fibres including technical fibres for high-end applications. TAF Unit Head Shesh Gupta speaks to Fibre2Fashion about the company’s growth, recycled acrylic fibre, and sustainability.
Thai Acrylic Fibre Co. is one of the first ventures of Aditya Birla Group outside India, please tell us a little about TAF’s journey from 1987 to today?
Thai Acrylic Fibre Co. (TAF) has a special place in the history of our group, being one of the first companies the group started outside India. We started with an installed capacity of 14,000 TPA, which is now 120,000 TPA. Today, we are one of the largest producers of acrylic fibre globally. Initially our main market was Thailand and neighbouring countries but today we have customers all around the world. TAF has been through advancements in technology, automation, computerised process control systems and captive power generation, making our operations extremely efficient and reliable. This has led to TAF becoming a quality supplier and we have won a number of prestigious awards like Japan Quality Medal, Deming Prize, International Asia Pacific Quality Awards, etc. There has also been a change in the product mix, with the focus now being more on specialty products.
Which are the key focus areas for the company for future growth?
As a company we’ll increasingly focus on our value-added product portfolio. The most important factor will be product innovation. Specialty fibres and application-specific developments will drive the next wave of growth.
What kind of work are you doing on sustainability?
We have a relentless focus on sustainability and to align towards Aditya Birla Group’s vision of a sustainable organisation, we are taking various initiatives to constantly improve our environmental footprint. To highlight a few of them: We are the only acrylic fibre company in the world to be a Bluesign SYSTEM PARTNER. We have independently verified Life Cycle Assessment study of our key products with Higgs MSI scores. We are one of cleanest, greenest and most environment friendly acrylic fibre manufacturer in the world guaranteed by many certificates such as OEKO-TEX class one, and REACH. We have been awarded the Deming Award and Japan Quality Medal. We are the first company in Southeast Asia to have received this honour in 35 years of award history.
Our new product development strategy is disproportionately inclined towards innovating products that have good environmental footprint throughout the life cycle. Radianza, which is our ready-to-use coloured fibre made with gel-dyeing technology, has much better footprint as compared to conventional acrylic dyeing and is the only Bluesign APPROVED product in the world as far as acrylic fibre is concerned.
And now, we have Regel, the recycled acrylic fibre that we recycle from waste.
What was the need to develop Regel fibre?
Regel fibre is an attempt to solve the problem of ‘waste generation & waste management’ in our industry that has been highlighted by a process of extensive feedback from brands, retailers and our value chain customers. As per various studies, more than 80 per cent of all end-of-use textiles go into landfill and incineration and less than 20 per cent is collected for reuse or recycling. In addition, a lot of waste generated during the various textile processes is not being reused. There are numerous operational challenges to recycle acrylic waste including collection, segregation, processing, etc. It is not as straightforward as melting a PET bottle and spinning a fibre. That is why there are not many solutions/fibres available in the market for this. We are very proud to present Regel fibre as this is a unique solution to this waste problem.
How much recycled content is in Regel fibre?
Regel fibre can be developed with 50 per cent or more recycled content. Right now, we are offering Regel with 50 per cent recycled content.
How is Regel different from other recycled acrylic fibres?
Currently acrylic fibres offered as ‘recycled’ either have very less recycled content as there are technology limitations with the fibre manufacturers who are making it or it is being produced by mechanical shredding process. There is a compromise to be made on content, quality, processability or all of them with the current recycled fibres available in the market.
How is using Regel better than using fibres taken out of waste by mechanical shredding?
Regel technology is an authentic and intimate chemical recycling process that enables us to produce a fibre which has similar features and specifications as conventional acrylic fibre except that it has a recycled composition.
In mechanical shredding, short cut length fibres are obtained which can be used only in a small composition to make the yarn. Balance (~80 per cent) has to be virgin fibre, otherwise the yarn quality won’t be good enough.
Unlike Regel, where we can offer both regular and high shrinkable fibres, the fibres obtained from mechanical recycling can’t offer high shrinkable option.
With Regel, you can achieve solid shades, mélange effects to suit the design requirements, unlike shredded fibres that are already dyed and can be used mostly for melanges.
TAF manufactures a very wide range of products. What has been your approach towards product innovation?
We acknowledge the fact that consumer needs change over time and we try to capture those needs that feed into our Research & Development. Our approach to innovation has been customer-in as our marketing teams capture the demand trends and the needs of the customers and work closely with R&D to develop products that are relevant in the current market and address the needs of the end-consumer. In addition to R&D, we also have an application development centre, where we work on new applications of our products.
What innovations can we expect from TAF in the future?
We are already working on the next generation of Regel and Radianza fibre. We are looking at the space of circular fashion and improving environmental footprint of the acrylic value chain. You will see more variants of Regel in terms of functionality and other features. Our vision is to be a differentiated player in the textile and apparel value chain with focus on consumer-centric innovations. We have aggressive plans to grow our share of specialty products by achieving unmatched quality, reaching out to the entire value chain and exploring new applications. Our whole organisation is focused on achieving this vision.
Published on: 07/07/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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