Consolidating its two business operations, Belgium’s contract furnishing fabrics specialist Tavelmo Movelta has replaced its two stenters with a single Monforts Montex stenter aiming for faster production speeds and improved quality.

“Advanced finishing is at the heart of everything we do here, and the Monforts Montex stenter is at the heart of our finishing operations,” commented Frans Hellyn, the owner of Tavelmo Movelta Group, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of contract furnishing fabrics.

Two previously separate businesses within the group have been consolidated at a state-of-the-art, integrated weaving and finishing plant in Nijverheidslaan, between the Belgian cities of Lille and Ghent. Both yarn and piece dyeing are carried out at a separate plant in nearby Sint-Niklaas.

Fast and efficient

The Movelta brand has been well known for many years for its ranges of woven velvets, while the Tavelmo name is equally renowned for flat wovens and chenilles.

Home textiles for sofas, curtains and bedding, produced by the company, are exported to more than 60 countries and the group also supplies materials extensively to manufacturers of caravans and mobile homes, boats and outdoor furniture.

With the merging of the two operations at the Nijverheidslaan plant, a six chamber Montex stenter with a working width of 1.8 m has been installed to replace two older machines. “It does the jobs both were previously handling much faster and with much better uniform quality results,” said Mr Hellyn.

Heavy weight fabrics

Tavelmo Movelta generally deals with fabrics that are much heavier than those produced for apparel, in the weight range of between 350-500 gsm, and finishes such as flame retardancy, moisture repellency and even chlorine resistance for the marine market have to be accurately applied.

Specific products within the company’s vast range demand especially sensitive handling, such as polypropylene-based outdoor fabrics, where precise temperature control is essential. In the treatment of face-to-face velvets, meanwhile, the even backing applied on the Montex stenter is essential for achieving accurate pile anchorage, the company reports.

New developments

Tavelmo Movelta received the 2014 Blue Drop Award at the MOOD (Meet Only Original Designs) trade fair held in Brussels, for its development of a special velvet quality, based on bamboo polyester.

“The company succeeded in creating a kind of pelt, similar to fur,” said Niek De Prest, MOOD trends co-ordinator. “The ultimate softness obtained with the naturally antibacterial bamboo fibre is unrivalled and even the discolouration is perfect.”

Another new development which is attracting a lot of interest is the new Easy Clean finish, developed in collaboration with a chemicals supplier. “The difference is that we are embedding the coating deep within the fibres of the fabrics, which took a lot of research and development work to achieve,” explained Mr Hellyn.

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