Industrial thread manufacturer Coats has become a strategic investor in Twine Solutions, an Israel-based technology start-up that has developed a revolutionary digital thread dyeing system.
Digital thread dyeing from Twine
Coats is investing US$5m for a 9.5% share in the company and a seat on the Board.
Twine has created the world’s first standalone digital thread dyeing system which applies the features of small-scale digital printing to the traditional dyeing process. The plug and play machine dyes thread using digital printing technology and can produce any length and colour, whenever or wherever they are needed. The technology is based on waterless dyeing and will feature inbuilt colour software integrated with Coats ColourStitch, says the company.
Rajiv Sharma, group chief executive, says: “This is an exciting and innovative strategic move. We are investing in future technology which will improve our industry and its sustainability by directly addressing the key needs of our customers: speed, innovation and sustainability. The disruptive technology has the potential to revolutionise the thread industry and Coats will work closely with Twine to commercialise this opportunity.”
Coats and Twine will now work together on an exclusive commercial partnership to market the technology which will be launched mid-2019.
Twine Solutions was founded in 2015 in Israel by brothers Alon and Erez Moshe, who have significant digital printing expertise. The company currently has 40 full-time employees and is based in Petah Tikva, outside Tel Aviv. Israel is the hub of digital print innovation globally.
The seat on the Twine Board will be taken by Michael Schofer, chief supply chain officer, Coats.
Alon says: “We are bringing high-tech to a low-tech industry by providing a unique solution to the most basic problem for one of the largest and oldest industries. To have the world’s leading industrial thread manufacturer as a backer brings immeasurable strength and opportunity to our offer.”
According to the company, a key part of Coats’ strategy for development and growth is to collaborate with companies with unique capabilities that can leverage off the existing Coats network. The strategic investment in Twine follows three successful acquisitions: Patrick Yarn Mill, a manufacturer of high performance engineered yarns, based in North Carolina, US; Gotex, a Spanish company that designs and manufactures high-tech industrial yarns and tapes used in the telecommunications, energy and oil and gas sectors; and FRS, a UK-based company that provides software solutions and expertise to improve operational efficiency and speed to market in apparel and footwear.
Coats employs 19,000 people across six continents. Revenues in 2017 were US$1.5bn. Headquartered in the UK, Coats is a FTSE 250 listed company on the London Stock Exchange. It is the official thread supplier to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Twine has now completed its growth stage investment round, which was co-led by New Era Capital Partners and Maverick Ventures Israel. As well as Coats Group, HP Tech Ventures also invested in the company as well Twine’s existing shareholders Landa Ventures and Gefen Capital.
Alon says: “By digitally dyeing thread, Twine brings a unique solution to a most basic and fundamental global problem. This basic component, thread, is prevalent everywhere and is literally in 'every wear'. It is a primary and critical production bottleneck, limiting today's manufacturing of textile goods, ever more pronounced with the advent and growing of mass personalisation and customisation.
“It is with much pleasure that we announce and welcome our new investors and partners, in joining Twine to meet these challenges and push the boundaries to great heights. Coats will not only join as investors, but as Alliance Partners to cross boundaries and transformations between digital and traditional frontiers among others. By addressing this singularity point, thread, Twine brings immense economical value, as well as brings paramount importance to the ecological benefits from its offerings and solutions, thus allowing for Industry 4.0 to truly set in.”
lrit Hillel, partner at HP tech Ventures, says: "Twine's unique technology positions the company to be a major player in the digital transformation of the textile industry, which we believe is ripe for disruption. We are excited to join Twine's mission to improve the industry's efficiencies, foster creativity and make a sustainable impact on the world."
