Spain’s circular knits finishing specialist Tinfer has recently taken delivery of a new Montex stenter at its Barcelona plant.
In opting to partner with Monforts for the supply of its third fabric stenter, commission dyer and finisher Tinfer put service – along with the proven reliability of advanced Montex stenters – at the top of its list of priorities.
Founded in 1973, originally as Tintes Fernández, in Arenys de Munt, the company shortened its name, expanded and relocated to its present plant in Pineda de Mar just down the coast from Barcelona at the beginning of the 1980s.
Tinfer has adapted over the years from being a supplier of commodity textiles to establishing a reputation as Spain’s specialist in swimwear and sportswear – and especially in the dyeing and finishing of circular knits with a high degree of stretch, based on elastanes with polyesters, polyamides, cottons and their blends.
While 90% of its customers are third party distributors in Catalonia, the fabrics Tinfer treats are subsequently supplied to garment makers for the global brands and retailers and the company is a firm believer in thinking global while acting local.
“The emphasis can only be on constant high quality, which our customers expect as standard,” says General Manager Xavier Alabau Basart, who is the son in law of the company’s founder Juan Fernández. “This in turn relies on both our own high standards and working with trusted suppliers. We needed to invest in a third stenter to increase our capacity in response to higher demand from our major customers, and this time decided to opt for the Monforts system.”
The agent for Monforts in Barcelona, Aguilar and Pineda, benefits directly from the technical know-how of its Technical Director Karl Sonnleitner. He was previously a Senior Engineer for Monforts at its Mönchengladbach HQ, so Tinfer couldn’t be in more experienced hands at a local level.
“Not surprisingly, Karl’s an expert in this field and located just 30 kilometres from our factory,” says Mr Alabau. “There are always teething problems with any new line but the response from both Aguilar and Pineda and Monforts has been tremendous.”
The new six-chamber Montex stenter which was commissioned at the Pineda de Mar plant has a working width of 2.2 metres. It is one of the first in Europe to benefit from the integration of the self-cleaning Monforts Eco Booster heat recovery unit.
The Eco Booster is equipped with an electric drive for computer-controlled optimisation of the heat exchanger’s performance to the prevailing exhaust air streams – something that is not possible with purely static heat exchanger modules.
“The Monforts Eco Booster heat recovery unit puts an end to maintenance downtime as a result of its automatic cleaning control, which means the machine doesn’t have to be stopped at all,” says Aguilar and Pineda Sales Engineer Oriol Canet. “In addition, the degree of soiling of the rotating heat exchanger wheel is monitored automatically, deciding when cleaning is required and to what degree, so the mill no longer has to rely on the operator.”
The new line is fully automatic, with all the intuitive features operators will be familiar with from touchscreen smart phones and tablets provided by the Monforts Qualitex 800 control system.
This makes navigation extremely easy and has considerably cut down the time required for Tinfer’s operatives to become familiar with the system.
“In my opinion the latest Monforts Montex is without doubt the best horizontal chain stenter on the market,” Mr Alabau concludes. “We are now building on the additional capacity it has provided us with and expected it to be fully booked out this Autumn.”