LoomTex Pty Ltd, a joint venture between Instyle Contract Textiles and Colan Australia, has a vision to become one of the most innovative and sustainable textile manufacturers in Australia. The business is Australia’s last woollen furnishing textile weaving mill and dye house and has specialised in wool fabric for a century, renowned for its high-quality textiles.
Under a rebrand, the weaving and dyehouse manufacturer has been trading as LoomTex since September last year.
New LoomTex CEO Samantha Van Zyl is passionate about the environment and in particular diverting production waste away from landfill and turning it into a valuable resource. To achieve this, LoomTex has formed many partnerships with local organisations, including diverting some of its waste into park benches and mattresses. “I’m really passionate about diverting waste from landfill. We’re looking at reducing our waste and how can we repurpose it,” Van Zyl says.
As part of the new initiative with fellow Geelong Manufacturing Council member GT Recycling, the Breakwater-based operation is sending used dye cones and bale strapping for chipping.
“GT Recycling provided us with bale bags that we fill with waste, then deliver back to the local recycling facility. It is then turned into public park benches, tabletops or concrete reinforcement as a valuable resource for the building industry.”
“Turning production waste into a valuable resource via zero-waste initiatives like we have with GT Recycling is accessible. It does however take a conscious mindset and a bit of extra effort initially, requiring some imagination and leadership to overcome barriers.”
In another sustainability innovation, Van Zyl says salvaged loom waste – the edges cut off from woollen fabric – is now sent to Keysborough for mattress-maker Sealy, which freights it to Queensland to make matting and a non-woven pad that sits in between the springs and the top layer of the mattress.
“We’ve got 10 looms, producing approximately 100 metres a day each, so 1000 metres of selvedge a day in pre-consumer waste that was going into landfill,” Van Zyl says. “The next step will be how do we cooperate together with local businesses to recycle our waste resources that is commercially viable.”
LoomTex is also partnering with social enterprise Assembled Threads, examining how end of life curtains and fabrics can be repurposed, for example into dog beds. LoomTex makes textiles for interiors, apparel and technical areas such as defence, aerospace and emergency services. It is investing in technology, research and development to remain at the forefront of the industry.
Van Zyl, who grew up in Geelong, has been in the CEO role just under a year. “It’s exciting, every day is different,” she says.
Her father Thomas Yearwood worked in a textile dye house in Melbourne during a university gap year and “absolutely loved it,” staying in various roles before eventually heading up Geelong Dyeing after a management buyout at the end of 2012.
“I came down to help in the family business about seven years ago and got the textile manufacturing bug. I was appointed as CEO in September and run Loomtex with my Dad who is the Operations Manager,” she says.
The new owners have pledged to protect jobs, nurture local talent and enhance the mill’s capabilities to ensure the rich heritage of Geelong’s textile weaving and dyeing continues.
In the first of many upgrades planned for the LoomTex facility, a recent gas boiler upgrade improved energy efficiency resulted in reduced emissions. Supported by a government grant, this project was undertaken to mitigate projected energy costs increasing by 450%.
The business is expanding, with three new apprentices starting in recent weeks. Van Zyl says shipping rate inflation and supply chain delays due to the pandemic in recent years “really shined a light on the importance of sovereign manufacturing capability.”
“LoomTex has partnerships with thought leading experts such as Deakin University’s Institute of Frontier Materials, RMIT and CSIRO to foster environmentally considered wool and high value fabrics. LoomTex is at the forefront of what’s happening next with smart fibres and technical sustainable textiles.”
Image by: @kylo_and_vader via Replas – Recycled Plastic Products