Thies, the German company considered a market leader in high quality yarn and fabric dyeing machines, has been selling its products in India since the 1950s. Its range of quality products are successfully established in markets for woven, knit as well as technical textiles.
The Textile Magazine recently caught up with Ms. Verena Thies, General Manager, Thies GmbH, at her office in Coesfeld, Germany, and managed to get details about the company’s history, the competitive edge of its products and its vision, going forward.
Ms. Thies pointed out that the company was founded by her great great grandfather, Bernhard Thies, in 1892. “He worked as a chemist and wanted to find a solution to mechanically support the dyeing procedures. That’s how the idea of manufacturing dyeing machines came to him. While the initial years were quite successful, the times during the First and Second World Wars were tough for the second generation of Thies. My grandfarther Alfred Thies, the third generation, was a visionary who saw that the textile business was not a local one but global and that’s how our company’s export business started. Today more than 90% of our products are exported,” stated Ms. Thies while going into details about the company’s long history.
Reminiscing the long-standing relationship of the company with India, Ms. Thies said that her grandfather loved the Indian culture and had sold machines way back in the 1950s. The Indian customers are very well informed technically, they know exactly what the company’s machines can do. “This helps us a lot since we can then discuss the projects at a very high technical level. Customers here value our products and that’s why the Indian market has always been good for us.”
She also felt that while there has been a slight slowdown in the Indian market in the last 2-3 years, things will gradually be improving in the near future.
The German company has three production facilities located in Coesfeld, Germany, Poland and Slovenia, with the first one being the biggest of them all. Going into details of the facilities, Ms. Thies said: “All these companies are owned 100% by Thies. The facilities in Poland and Slovenia specialize in stainless steel products, which are very delicate to manufacture. The focus at the factory in Slovenia is more on products meant for the healthcare sector.”
The parts produced at the Poland and Slovenia plants are transported to Coesfeld where they are assembled. “So, every machine from Thies is delivered throughout Coesfeld. 100% quality is the major goal of the company, and it is this focus that has helped the company remain on top for so long,” she added.
Asked as to whether the company’s production unit is running to full capacity, Ms. Thies said: “At the moment we are running even more than our production capacity and we are very happy and about the situation. It’s the best that we have seen in the last 30-odd years. Now we are working hard to improve our delivery times.” The Thies Group has a total workforce of around 800.
Listing down the key products of the company, Ms. Thies observed:” On the fabric side we have, for example, our round type machine, iMaster H2O, which is very well established in the market. On the yarn side, we offer our ‘icone’ machine, which is again very well established in the market. We also manufacture supplementary systems that work fully integrated with our machines. We are perhaps the only manufacturer who can deliver all-in-ones. We feel that the demand is higher for such fully integrated solutions in the dyeing houses.”
Ms. Thies referred to out some key factors that help the company have the much-needed competitive edge. “Next to innovative, high quality products, one of our key focus areas is the long-term relationship with our clients. If any problem occurs, we should be there to solve it. We have several agencies and our technicians who are present in different parts of the world. It is important to ensure that our customers are able to contact a service facility, within their zone, and speaking their own local language.”
Continuing further on the subject, she said: “Our customers are most welcome to visit our research facility. They can bring their own fabrics and run all their tests here. While doing so, they can check the dyeing results as well as the machine’s consumption data. Against this background, our customers know exactly what they are buying.”
Speaking about the relationship with Voltas, the company’s agent in India, Ms. Thies said that both the entities shared a very good relationship. “Since the Indian market is so vast, we need someone here who has several service points to be able to reach customers at a short notice. Voltas, with its experience and team, has that expertise. Of course, this business is project related. Every project is a challenge. We need to stay motivated every day and for every project.”
Apart from its agent, the company also has its own team of service technicians, as well as application engineers, based out of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu in India.
Outlining the 2022 vision for the company, Ms. Thies said there are some interesting development projects in the pipeline. “At the next ITMA you will see some new launches. I think there is a big space for invention in our business. Textiles is such a versatile industry. Every day is a new day. We are an experienced and innovation-driven company capable of meeting the future challenges, quipped Ms. Thies, signing off on a positive note.