At a time when European commission finishers are finding it increasingly difficult to operate due to extremely high overheads, ETV, based in Gescher, Germany, is going from strength to strength – and alert to new opportunities going forward.
Founded in 1950, the privately held company is currently installing a third Monforts Montex 8500 finishing range with a working width of 3.2 metres, fully equipped with a Montex®Coat coating unit, an EcoBooster heat recovery unit, crash calender and computer-controlled winders and unwinders.
Longevity
For ETV managing director Dirk Tunney, the company’s longevity is in part due to a timely move away from traditional textile applications such as clothing and home textiles 25 years ago, to focus on adding value and functionality to technical textiles, films and membranes.
“The large discounters now dominate the procurement markets, particularly in the home textiles sector,” he says. “Stationary retail hardly exists anymore, and the market is characterised by the price structure of cheap imports from non-European countries.”
Since repositioning itself in 1999, ETV has grown into a powerhouse in its selected fields, dyeing and finishing around 1,500 tons of yarn and 1.6 million linear metres of fabric each year. In addition, the company annually prints around 4 million linear metres of fabrics, foils and membranes, along with coating up to 40 million linear metres of fabrics and nonwovens.
ETV was also early in addressing the need for sustainable processes with a thermal exhaust air aftertreatment unit, a printing paste recycling station and the use of 100% recycled industrial water as a result of its own in-house water and sewage treatment plant.
Energy costs
Escalating energy costs in Germany, however, have understandably been a cause for concern for the company.
“Up to and including 2020, our energy expenditure was less than 10% of our total overheads which ensured we were competitive on the market, but at their peak in 2022, gas prices in
