Development Capabilities
Background
Arville have worked on a major project with a high profile PPE garment manufacturer who was keen to react quickly to a specific enquiry from their main customer, however due to restrictions of their incumbent suppliers they were limited in their ability to respond
Application
The end user had a specific requirement for a fabric which was woven from a bespoke meta-aramid blend, allowing for very specific stretch characteristics. The fabric needed to be tough and durable and capable of flexing with a high degree of movement to cope with constant wear and loading
Problem
The specialist nature of the high performance yarns neede for this project and capacity restrictions from their incumbent suppliers meant that the garment manufacturer was potentially facing weeks worth of development work, even before samples could start to be produced
This time restriction severely limited their ability to react to the enquiry in the way that they felt was necessary to secure the work with their customer
Project Brief
The key requirements for the customer were:
- The need for a responsive supplier who would be able to react to the commercial pressures on the project
- A bespoke fabric woven using a meta-aramid blend that allowed for specific stretch characteristics
- A physical sample of the fabric was required for a product development meeting where they would be looking for a formal approval from the end user
- The project timeline was incredibly tight, a follow up meeting had already been agreed with the end user, giving a window of only 2 weeks to make samples ready
Development
We worked alongside the customer as a partner to supply their technical textiles needs. To allow us to acheive this we dedicate resources for short-run and development work so that we can help to cost-effectively satisfy their own customers better, more quickly and more profitably
In this case our technical resources were invaluable to help design and test the fabric to ensure it met the performance specifications and developed prototype samples to prove the concept of the development. In this way we act as a vital resource to help our customers with a structured approach to fabric design
To support our research and development work we have an in-house laboratory and testing facilities which provide us with a first-class level of technical support that is unrivalled in the technical textiles industry
Every fabric we produce is rigorously tested against our customers specifications giving assurance and peace of mind that they are produced within strict manufacturing tolerances and are designed to perform consistently to exceptionally high standards. Our testing regime is intensive and includes a wide range of industry standard testing procedures
Most importantly, a number of our looms are allocated to ongoing development work for our customers, allowing us to offer flexible manufacturing and full-width production of short run-lengths
Process
The project called for an incredibly tight timeline which was compounded by the fact that although the samples were being produced in the UK, they were required to be sent to Australia in time for a trade-show so deadlines were critical:
Day 1 29th August – yarn packages arrived at Arville
Day 11 8th September – finished fabric ready for despatch from UK
Day 14 11th September – shipment arrives Australia
Total – 14 days
During that period the fabric followed Arville’s normal ISO9001 manufacturing route, which involved a number of different in-house processes including yarn testing, warping, weaving, finishing and internal QA inspections. The full-width development samples were 100% indicative of full-scale manufacturing as they had been produced in the same way on the same machines
Outcome
The garment manufacturer was delighted that the concept could be proved out within the window of opportunity required by the end user, opening up significant chances to secure further commercial work
By electing to work with Arville on this project as a supplier for thie technical textiles the customer received a number of secondary benefits unique to the project:-
- Arville are specialists at what we do. We focus on our customers’ needs for fabrics that perform in demanding applications and strive to deliver a ‘best in class’ approach in the field of technical textiles
- Our integrated approach of fabric design, weaving, finishing, coating and fabrication means we can fulfil your requirements for technical textiles more quickly, more efficiently and in a more cost-effective way
- We’ll work with you as a partner to supply your technical textiles needs. We dedicate resources for short-run and development work that will help you to cost-effectively satisfy your own customers better, more quickly and more profitably
Problem → Assess → Design → Technical Solution → Trial → Full Scale Production
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