NTX, a Singapore-based provider of automation solutions, showcased its waterless textile colouration technologies, titled Cooltrans, which utilise an “ambient temperature colouration by transfer” process. A miniature collection of its Cooltrans technologies – the NTX Cooltrans 2.5, the NTX Cooltrans III and the NTX CooltransV – were on show at ITMA. Developments to its technology allow precise design applications to “any kind of fabric” including cotton.
The application areas of the technology lie in apparel, but the company noted that the novelty of the solution means it can also be applied to spacers for footwear, too.
NTX’s Cooltrans technologies have reportedly attracted “high-traffic” to the NTX booth, said Jeffrey F Hsu, Chief Information and Technology Officer (CITO) at NTX.
Also at the show, NTX said it is taking an unconventional approach compared to other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) exhibiting at ITMA, searching instead for partnerships, not sales.
Hsu said: “Different from other exhibitors who are selling a product, we’re not selling anything here. We’re looking to reach out to partners – preferably materials manufacturers or garment manufacturers – in order to build an ecosystem that would utilise our Cooltrans technology.
“For NTX, we form a joint venture [with a manufacturer]. The joint venture purchases the machine; we’re with the joint venture every step of the way. This ensures that the marketing elements, the sales elements, the technical prowess and support is all there.
“And, generally, when you sign ink to paper to get a machine, more often than not the technology is already obsolete – especially when we’re talking about scalable technologies such as Cooltrans, which is up to over 10m metres.
“We make sure that the technology is always current. Anything that we learn from the existing joint venture partners, we always share that knowledge with the new joint venture and ensure that it’s most up-to-date and most current, with the most capability.”
NTX waterless textile colouration technologies
