Made in Reda: the dyeing department
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Dyeing is a very ancient technique, with its origins likely dating back to the time of the Phoenicians, who, from the 14th and 15th centuries BC, were known to use Tyrian purple, extracted from Mediterranean mollusks, to achieve the color red. Subsequently, the Egyptians and Romans also left evidence of their use of dyes, but it was only in the early 19th century that we witnessed the emergence of true dyeing schools, where research and experimentation with dyes and products used in the textile industry took place.
Today, the practice of dyeing has evolved significantly, becoming more refined thanks to technological innovation and striving to coexist with the goal of minimizing its impact on the environment. At Reda, color plays a fundamental role and is one of the distinctive features of our Merino wool fabrics.
Let us take you on a journey to discover the Dyeing department: here, we are greeted by Leo Negri, the Dyeing and Superwash Manager, who has been with the company for 32 years. He passionately and enthusiastically tells us about his work and the importance of the dyeing department within the company: "Our task is to ensure the production of the required quantity of dyed product, according to the company's quality standards and within the set timeframes, by organizing and managing the assigned structure, including facilities, materials, semi-finished products, and collaborators. The dyer's goal is to achieve a color that closely matches the one requested by the customer, whether internal or external," Leo Negri explains. "To do this, we prepare a laboratory study of a color chosen by the Style Office or the customer for the 3 Reda lines: Reda 1865, Reda Flexo, and Reda Active. We then select which dye classes and products to use for dyeing, based on the final product's intended use, and conduct color tests to match the shade. At this point, we determine which dyeing cycle to use in production and produce the necessary quantity to fulfill the order, using dyeing equipment, monitoring parameters, and adhering to strict quality standards. We reproduce the same shade every time the need arises." Leo Negri continues, revealing one of the indispensable secrets of his work from the very beginning: "What is always essential is the proper management of people - they must be trained, involved, motivated, understood, and encouraged - as well as attention to detail in every process, every operation, and every decision. This truly makes the difference."
It is a very challenging job that requires precision, attention, and the commitment of everyone involved. A job that is not lacking in rewards: "There are many satisfactions: walking through the company and seeing that everything that is colored comes from the work of one's own department, meeting the needs of external or internal customers, seeing the color charts realized thanks to the work of one's own team. It is also gratifying to see clothing items come to life, perhaps recognizing the name of the color and, along with it, the difficulties faced to achieve it, successfully reaching the quality standards that define our company. I also enjoy working in and for a group, which is a large company, especially thanks to the continuous presence of the Botto family, as well as having people around whom I can rely on, and with whom loyal and strong relationships have been established," Leo Negri confirms.
There are many challenges that the department faces: "The dyeing process is complex, but the most difficult and challenging factor is industrializing it and ensuring the repeatability of dyeing over time, providing the customer with product consistency, always. Our goal is to minimize damage to the fiber as much as possible to avoid compromising the subsequent steps after dyeing, such as preparation, spinning, twisting, warping, weaving, mending, and finishing. In a complete and complex cycle like that of a textile mill, many quality and performance issues can be influenced by previous processes. That's why it's essential for each department to take care of the product that passes through it," Leo Negri explains.
These challenges can be successfully faced and overcome only through teamwork, which is not lacking in this case; in fact, it is one of the team's strengths. Furthermore, for Reda, sustainability is not only related to environmental preservation but also to the protection of people and listening to their needs: "Like every manufacturing department, the fundamental aspect remains personnel management. The productive departments I oversee currently have a total of 21 employees. This relatively low number allows me to establish special relationships with the individuals and to try to manage their specific needs. It also allows me to gather feedback and individual responses, obtaining insights that may not be statistically significant (given the number), but precise and in-depth. In a department with 60 or more people, such a situation would be unsustainable. We must be oriented not only towards results but also towards people. It is only through the care of people that we can achieve results," Leo Negri confirms.
Over the years, Reda has always placed research and sustainable innovation at the heart of every process: "In 2015, we designed and implemented the Automatic Tops Dye Warehouse. In a room where 30,000 kg of tops were once stored haphazardly on carts, we now store 80,000 kg, which is approximately 1600 bumps. Thanks to sophisticated software developed by our IT department, we have complete automation of movements, order, and precise mapping. Inside the warehouse, both physically and logically, the batches ready for feeding the next department are also stored. We have pushed automation to the point where the service to the Mixer, which is the first machine in the Spinning Preparation, is completely automatic. In practice, the bumps are distributed around the machine by the system, according to the logics defined by us. I believe that there are no similar situations in companies comparable to ours," Leo Negri explains.
Research is also what makes Reda fabrics synonymous with innovative performance: "The Superwash treatment is carried out in a continuous chemical treatment plant on wool top tapes. Thanks to it, the chemical and physical structure of the wool is modified, improving stability and felting characteristics, thus making it resistant to washing in a washing machine. A woolen garment, when washed in a washing machine, should not undergo changes in appearance (felting and pilling), it should be stable, not undergo dimensional changes (sizing changes), and not undergo color changes (colorfastness). This last aspect requires that dyeing is done with particularly fast dyes, which are complex to apply, even for piece dyeing.
The Superwash department was established in late 2019 in Gattinara. Despite having no prior experience, the company decided to invest in order to be self-sufficient in the treatment of wool used for the Reda Active line and to internally control the quality of the process. The plant, called SPLIT PAD, is a kind of prototype. Only after this implementation and thanks to the developments and improvements made by our team, the supplier installed similar plants in other companies worldwide. Currently, in Italy, very few companies have plants comparable to ours, and they are certainly much less technologically advanced. In addition to what I've said, what distinguishes my departments and Reda are the people and the passion with which we do our work. This is the real added value!" Leo Negri concludes. And from his words, it is clear how these values underlie every choice and process within a department where color takes shape to enrich excellence in Italian-made fabrics in a unique and lasting way.