Official Show Guide - director-e

COMPANY PROFILE
Reap What You Sow
As Lauffenmühle turns 175, its belief that ‘first
we must earn what we want to spend’ sends
out a strong message that has never been
more relevant within the textile industry
Warntec fabric
Lauffenmühle has always preferred to
choose its own path rather than follow
the crowd. It’s the only fully integrated
textile manufacturer of yarns and fabrics
for work and protectivewear in Germany,
and in the West stands out amid a sea of service
industries that have opted to source offshore
rather than manufacture in-house. But sticking to
its guns as a manufacturer is certainly paying off.
As Lauffenmühle celebrates its 175th birthday
this April, its firsthand experience and expertise
as a manufacturer is proving to be an invaluable
asset in the face of the global economic
downturn.
Biotec Silver
‘Lauffenmühle’ means ‘the mill at
the waterfall’ - a nod to the
company’s impressive
history and the
land on
which it’s
built.
Established in 1834 as one of
Europe’s first spinning and
weaving companies,
Lauffenmühle’s main factory sits
on the small river ‘Wutach’ in
Germany’s idyllic Black Forest.
Carrying on a tradition that began
centuries ago when people used
millstones to harness the power
of the water, it’s now part of the
family-owned private equity
DAUN group and has around
400 employees.
Using its very own state-of-theart
technology for spinning,
weaving and finishing, it can
produce, exclusively in Germany,
some of the most innovative
fabrics for corporatewear,
uniforms, workwear and PPE on
the market.
Why manufacturing matters
Managing director Volker Steidel says that
Lauffenmuhle’s heritage plays an intrinsic role in
the company’s ethos: “We have a strong
philosophy in manufacturing and production. We
really know what we are selling because
we have made it with our brains
and with our hands, and this
creates confidence. We
have many competitors
who buy fabrics from
the Far East and just
do the dyeing and
finishing in Europe, but
we buy the fibre and spin
it into yarn using our own
spinning machines in
Germany. From this yarn
the fabrics are woven and
Lauffenmuehle Production Weaving
those are finished, all in our own production plants
in southern Germany.”
Volker also believes that, in these times of global
economic uncertainty, manufacturing has become
more important than ever. “For many years, very
intelligent people from the UK and the US have
tried to tell us that manufacturing is not important
and that we should concentrate on services, but
at the moment, with the global financial climate,
we have so many debts because we need to learn
that we must first earn the money before we can
spend it. How can we earn with services and
make it sustainable? The majority can only earn
something if they have created something.”
Tough regulations for tough fabrics
Lauffenmühle prides itself on creating a range of
comfortable hi-tech fabrics - e.g. stretch,
antimicrobial, colour woven and highly visible,
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