LEVERKUSEN, Germany — July 14, 2015 — Bayer MaterialScience is building upon the launch of its innovative and unique offer of waterborne and solvent-free PU coating technology for textiles, INSQIN®, with a first of its kind Partner Manufacturer Program which seeks to foster and realize true collaboration between upstream suppliers, manufacturers and brand owners. Leading PU synthetic materials manufacturer Duksung Co. Ltd., headquartered in Korea, has signed up as the inaugural partner manufacturer of the Program.
Responding to the fast-growing applications of coated textiles especially in sportswear and fashion apparel & footwear, the INSQIN Partner Manufacturer Program is developed with the full recognition that materials innovation must need to go hand-in-hand with sustainable development, as well as the consideration to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain. As such, the INSQIN® Partner Manufacturer Program would act as an agent to connect players at various stages of the supply chain, especially to open up direct conversations between material manufacturers and brand owners.
“The textiles industry is extremely complex and often brand owners and retailers are not in direct contact with material manufacturers. However, higher expectations from consumers on the origin and quality of the products that they consume mean that brand owners and retailers care and are demanding more transparency within the supply chain on the materials as sourced”, commented Nicholas Smith, Global Head of Textile Coating at Bayer MaterialScience. “This is certainly a two-way engagement, while brand owners want to source new sustainable materials and would mandate greater certainty on the sourcing of materials, material manufacturers also require more insights into the expectations of the brand owners. Our Partner Manufacturer Program facilitates the alignment of their common interests and drives closer partnerships.”
The Program verifies through professional third-party audit the management system and production processes of manufacturers of PU synthetics and other PU-coated fabrics using INSQIN technology. The Program will also deliver new opportunities to material manufacturers as they would be able to connect to more brand owners and retailers who are interested in sourcing such materials, via a mechanism of validation and recognition.
The inaugurating partner of the Program, Duksung Co., Ltd., has a long history collaborating with Bayer MaterialScience which includes co-developing the official footballs for three previous World Cups. The joining of the INSQIN Partner Manufacturer Program is another demonstration of Duksung’s commitment to customer-centric innovation.
B.G. Lee, CEO Duksung Co., Ltd., commented on the Program, “We are witnessing a paradigm shift in the synthetic materials manufacturing sector, and expect that PU dispersions will be a game changer as consumers are demanding higher quality but more sustainable products, whilst brand owners are responding with increasing supply chain transparency in material sourcing and the production processes.
Mr. Lee continued by illustrating the benefits that Duksung could get by participating in the INSQIN Partner Manufacturer Program, “Firstly, we would be able to receive world-class technical support from Bayer MaterialScience for the implementation of waterborne PU technology; secondly, we would receive validation of our production of sustainable materials from a global leader in conformity assessment; and thirdly, with this recognition we hope we can receive new business opportunities through being recommended to brand owners who are interested in sourcing for more sustainable materials.”
Mr. Smith welcomes Duksung to be the inaugural partner of the INSQIN Partner Manufacturer Program, and looks forward to welcoming other forward-thinking manufacturers to the Program.
Posted July 28, 2015
Source: Bayer Material Science
