FROSINONE, Italy — April 11, 2017 — Forty million meters of fabric manufactured last year, a distance equivalent to the earth’s circumference; a plant as big as ten football pitches in Frosinone; customers spread over 64 countries; more than 400 employees; a turnover of more than 120 million euro; one in three workwear garments in Europe made using its own fabrics; and a colour range of over 4,000 shades. These are the striking numbers of Klopman, a European leader in workwear fabrics celebrating 50 years of activity and today one of the major manufacturing companies of central Italy.
Klopman’s history began in 1967 when the US fabrics businessman Bill Klopman developed the first polyester and cotton blend fabric for workwear to be industrially washed. After laboratory testing, the best blend combination was obtained: 65-percent polyester and 35-percent cotton, which is very much in use today.
Hailed since its inception with great enthusiasm by the US Laundry Association, Bill Klopman’s fabric has been continuously improved over the years and the production plant in Frosinone now has some of the world’s most advanced weaving systems. The company also boasts the most important quality certifications available, with over 4,000 process controls taking about two seconds to verify all parameters, based on a sophisticated electronic mapping system.
Acquired in December 2016 by the French textile company TDV, Klopman had already embarked upon a global expansion plan in 2014 with the opening of a production site in Jakarta to serve the Asian market directly. Klopman is now ready to grow further with a 15 million euro development plan for the next five years.
From the automotive industry to healthcare to the armed forces, a large number of companies use Klopman fabrics, which are available in over 130 different styles, even designed exclusively according to customer needs.
Klopman’s Research & Development department has now developed a new range of flame-retardant fabrics – K-Flame – designed to guarantee the utmost protection from heat, flame and welding, as well as offering antistatic and electric arc protection. K-Flame is the latest fabric innovation in the market, combining protection, comfort and durability, even in hot climates.
“50 years is a very important milestone for a company and Klopman is celebrating its anniversary in good shape, ready to achieve other important goals thanks to human skill and technical assets possessed by very few in the world,” stated Alfonso Marra, Klopman’s CEO. “Our company represents excellence in the Italian manufacturing industry and operates worldwide. Our intention is that our headquarter in Frosinone, Italy, becomes more and more an economic and social reference point. Klopman’s example demonstrates that attention to its own people and to customers, together with constant innovation in terms of processes and products, is the best way to approach an increasingly competitive and globalized market.”
Posted April 11, 2017
Source: Klopman
