New Monforts finishing for Benetton in Tunisia

Having ravaged then rebuilt Carthage more than 2000 years ago, the Romans left a lasting legacy for Tunisia with its amphitheatres, baths, villas, statues and mosaics around the country. Today the Italians are back laying the foundations for a new legacy with the United Colours of Benetton for the 21st century.
Benetton Manufacturing Tunisia has recently started production in its purpose-built 14,000 m2 dyeing and finishing facility in Mokine, Monistir with two Montex finishing lines and a DynAir relaxation dryer from A. Monforts Textilmaschinen. The recent order follows the decision by Benetton to invest in opening a dyeing and finishing facility in Tunisia – having previously relied on its two Italian operations providing finished fabrics for garment make up in the North African country. Extensive comparisons between several manufacturers were made by Benetton before placing the order with Monforts local representative Sacconaghi Monaco. The new facility handles single jersey, piquet, rib and fleece, mostly in open width but also with a limited quantity of tubular cottons for its world renown United Colors of Benetton design range. The new DynAir is allowing Benetton to achieve the critical shrinkage values specified for its upmarket knitwear. The DynAir drying line is optimised for the relaxation shrinking of knitted fabrics in either open width or tubular form. Its special guidance systems feature dynamic pulsating air current which allow the fabric to simply glide through the dryer completely ‘skew-free’. According to Finishing Manager, Claudio Pramdi and his Deputy, Gigi Pagliorescu, the 4-chamber DynAir is “exceptionale, without a doubt its ‘numero uno”, they both agree. Benetton also has two new Montex 6500 stenters – one a 6-chamber unit. The second line includes an 8-chamber stenter and a Sanfor range. Both lines also incorporate continuous inspection units. Operating at faster speeds than the shorter Montex, the second line is used for heat setting and also provides Benetton with a special ‘classified’ finishing technique for elasticated fabrics. No secret however, is the significant energy savings provided by both stenters integrated exhaust heat recovery systems, fitted as standard on all new Montex stenters. The hot exhaust emissions are circulated through the heat recovery system to heat fresh air entering the stenter chambers; providing a significant reduction in energy costs of up to 30% and avoiding unpleasant vapour condensation. Dyed and finished fabrics in rolls up to 196 cm and 215 m are transported to other Benetton ‘make-up’ facilities around Tunisia before shipment to Italy for worldwide exports. Cuffs and collars are also produced on smaller 58 cm wide fabric rolls. Both stenters also feature Monforts service portal ‘online assistance’ offering an advanced secure internet link with the latest reverse proxy technology. Together with the installation of a web cam and headphones, the operator can have a two-way conversation with the Monforts engineer, in the event of a failure; allowing the operator to be at the part of the machine experiencing the problem in allowing on-site diagnosis and dialogue. Benetton has been based in Tunisia since 1994 choosing North Africa as its base for its close proximity to Europe, low labour costs and political stability. -ends- MON485A.doc