Category: SUSTAINABILITY
Country: Bangladesh
Region: Asia Pacific
Rahbar Hossain
30th October, 2024 8:58 AM
JUTCO Fibre is one of the major fibre developments in the last decade. Md. Azhar Ali, COO of Salma Group continuously worked hard, and visited several countries to gather knowledge and develop this fibre. Throughout his career from 1995, he visited many countries including Brazil, India, China, and South Korea, and gathered extensive experience.
JUTCO Fibre is a cottonized bast fibre that is modified from jute to use in the fabric manufacturing process (knit and woven). This fibre is a very newly innovated fibre in the textile world and was developed by Salma Group which is one of the biggest yarn manufacturers in Bangladesh. They produce all kinds of blends such as Viscose-mélange, PC-CVC, 100% modal, 100% Tencel, cotton blends and more.
In a recent interview with TT, Md. Azhar Ali shared the story behind developing this innovative product, the challenges he faced, its’ market potentiality etc.
TT: Why is there a growing demand for linen bast fiber despite limited availability?
Md. Azhar Ali: The global production of bast fiber which is linen fiber is 200000 metric tons per annum. Last year's production was only 96000 metric tons. Day by day the demand is increasing but fiber is not that much available in the market, and production is very low. And the price almost tripled, what used to be like €3 is now €9.
TT: What is the primary requirement of those who work with linen bast fabric? Is it possible to replicate the feel of linen using other fibers?
Md. Azhar Ali: Now which fiber can be its substitute? Those who make linen bast fabric have been working on it for a long time. Their requirement was whether the same feel can be brought with any other fiber or not. Is it possible to bring the same feel that comes from linen? All in all, it seems to me that since both are bast fibers and the physical parameters of both are similar, it (the same feel) might come with that. But if it is not commercially viable or feasible on that basis, there is no point in developing it.
TT: What are the challenges you faced when blending JUTCO fiber with cotton, viscose, or modal?
Md. Azhar Ali: With JUTCO fiber from the last ten/fifteen/twenty years in our country, we have seen different people trying different ways to make it usable, especially how to blend it with cotton or with viscose or with modal. Many people have tried various processes, but in the end, have not succeeded. The main problem with this was that when it was blended with cotton or something else, there was an itching effect on the fabric when it was worn. Now this itching effect has to be removed which was a limitation. Another limitation is how to process it and how to process the carding machine. For this carding process, still we are trying many ways to know how to process it.
TT: Since jute and linen are both bast fibers, are there any similarities in their physical parameters?
Md. Azhar Ali: Many are trying to just give jute fiber directly, but that didn't work. Later on, we tried sliver blending with sliver, that didn't really happen either. After that, I thought that jute and linen are both bast fibers and if jute and linen are both bast fibers, I checked their physical parameters. It looked almost same. As far as physical parameters are concerned, its finesse is roughly close to that of linen. Its moisture content also is fairly close to that of linen. Only its strength and elongation are unlike those of jute. Now my limitations are these two; Strength and Elongation. Now if these two can be managed somehow, if strength and elongation can be managed, then it can be used with any fiber.
TT: What is the main challenge in blending jute with cotton, considering strength and elongation? Why is fiber selection an important factor in this process?
Md. Azhar Ali: Now the challenge is how to blend it with cotton taking this strength and elongation into consideration. Based on how we process the fibers, first the fiber selection is an important factor. For fiber selection, I visited some jute mills worldwide to see how they do the fiber selection, based on what parameters they select. And the finest quality fiber they have there is what they call spindle i.e., two spindle or three spindle, spindle means count. On that basis we went for further process with this fiber. We have brought it through some chemical process. After chemical processing, the next problem is, cottonization? Whether I mix with cotton or mix with other fibers, it has to be cottonized.
JUTCO Fibre by Salma Group has the potential to replace the linen.
However, we don't actually do the process of cottonization that way in our country. To learn this we visited 5/6 factories and saw this cottonization process. Seeing the machinery there, I was thinking about how it can be done? At the same time I went to China. I sat with them and talked about cottonization. Then they showed me a sample, 'Is this what you're looking for?' I saw that sample. The requirement that I had, they can roughly cover it with their machine, that is, they can do cottonization. Based on this we had some trials. We designed this machine in our factory by trial. Now we are doing cottonization through that machine.
TT: Why is cottonization process crucial before blending jute with other fibers?
Md. Azhar Ali: There are some factors here; which raw material of jute we take is a factor and this cottonization process is another factor. After this cottonization process, this fiber can be further blended with any other fiber. And for blending carding, it should be blended in the same way that linen is used in carding.
If we make this JUTCO fiber open not only in our industry but also in any factory, everyone can take this fiber from us, then with this fiber they can make different blends of yarn. And the performance will be almost like linen or as like linen.
Now we have been giving trials in two factories for a long time; one is GMS composite for knit and for woven we are giving trials at Paramount Textiles. Successfully, the reports coming from these two factories are fine in all parameters.
TT: What are the plans for developing yarn blends with jute in the coming years? What is the production target for JUTCO fiber in the next five years?
Md. Azhar Ali: If we say what the potential of JUTCO in our country is, we have a target that within the next 5 years we will bring our production to 100,000 metric tons per year to the market. And we focus on these three markets knitting, weaving, and sweaters.
We are planning to develop many yarn blends with jute. We have ideas like we will make jute mélange like the same way the mélange is being made with linen. Since it produces a little coarse count yarn and coarse count yarn is needed for sweaters, I think sweaters can be a big market, where consumption is high. All in all, it seems to me that our target by 2025 is to use 100,000 metric tons of JUTCO in this sector. I think if we can cover up these three sectors; sweater, woven, and knit, we hope to get good feedback from these three markets.
Courtesy: Textiletoday.com.bd
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