Andritz recently supplied and commissioned two new refining and cottonising lines for Van Robaeys, a family-owned company producing flax fibres for the spinning industry based in Killem, northern France.

Van Robaeys is responding to the growing demand from the French market for cottonised and high-quality textile fibres from natural sources. The company’s extensive expertise in flax scutching dates back to 1919.

Europe is the world’s largest producer of flax fibres and between 2010 and 2020 flax cultivation areas have increased by 133%, primarily in France and Belgium

The latest commissioned lines are the seventh and eighth cottonising lines supplied by Andritz to Van Robaeys, with the first having been in operation for the past fifty years. The latest lines can process up to 800kg of fibre per hour and use state-of-the-art equipment to ensure a high degree of flexibility throughout operations.

“It has been a real pleasure to collaborate with the Andritz textile experts again – fifty years after purchasing our first Andritz line,” says Van Robaeys CEO Pierre D’Arras. “With our new equipment we are benefiting from the latest bast fibre processing technology and significantly increasing our capacities in the production of high-quality fibre.”

Andritz has many years of expertise in technology for the decortication of straw from bast fibre crops, as well as for refining and cottonising fibres and shives for further processing. This premium quality fibre is used for both nonwoven and spinning processes in the textile industry.

www.andritz.com