Back to 1957, when Biancalani Textile Machinery was founded, the textile machines in Prato were all thought to finish mostly one kind of fiber: wool. The art of wool had been somehow moved from Florence to Prato in the 15th century and it is undeniable that, since then, textile machineries have always been improved, sharpened. The introduction of new synthetic fibers has changed it all. Or maybe not.
At the beginning, the demand for wool was incredible and textile machineries had to be competitive as per mass production. In the last few years though, wool and knit fabrics processing has quite changed its path – even if not completely – and has become the heart of one of the most niche textile markets ever. And, needless to say, textile machinery had to change as well and switch from making large quantities of fabrics to a more sophisticated finishing process and to ennobling a wool fiber whose highest qualities were meant to be highlighted.
Wool fibers come from all over the world and have all incredibly distinct features – suffice it to think of how different Chinese cashmere wool and Australian merino wool are. The first textile machineries had very simple functions and mechanical characteristics. Fabrics were in contact with the wooden parts of the machines as wood was strong enough to work deep in the fibers and to realize the perfect compacting pressure. The process had to be always very productive. Now machineries have evolved in order to deal with completely different processes as well, ones that treat high-quality fibers as carefully and gently as possible. That’s when IDRA by Biancalani – mill-wash combined with totally independent channels – becomes an asset.
IDRA boasts the highest technological approach and two or four independent channels that allow to process as many products at the same time – the one machinery of the kind with independent channels. That is key as, talking about niche markets, it often happens to process small quantities of each specific article. But what about wool mass market? Does it still exist? The answer is definitely affirmative. And MILLA takes care of it. MILLA is the other wool-finishing – milling and washing – machinery by Biancalani, that still works on large quantities: for examples, in parts of the U.K. and Italy, wool finishers choose it to treat wool fabrics both for niche and mass production, with outstanding results.
Last but absolutely not least: fabrics made of regenerated fibers. The above-mentioned very distinct wool features imply very different ways of processing them, which is anything but a simple approach to wools finishing. Given that regenerated fibers feature different characteristics compared to virgin ones, Biancalani machinery with independent channels like IDRA may become even more essential. As they say: let’s deal with it.
Source: Biancalani