Italian flair and German innovation make a happy marriage as integrated designer-denim producer Berto SpA installs the country’s first Monforts stenter line with integrated Soft Coating technology. Variety is considered the ‘spice of life’, but it is also something of a survival strategy for Berto Industria Tessile SpA, - shortly to celebrate its 120th anniversary and headquartered in the beautiful village of Bovolenta, in Padua, Italy.  Established in 1889 and originally producing sail cloth for Venetian sailing ships, it expanded its range to include woven fabrics for work garments, table linen,shirtings and, in the  1980’s, denim.

A strategy of continuous investment has been a key to the company’s continued success – for example in the early 1960’s it began spinning its own open end yarns  and adding ring spinning in 2004.

As denim output intensified the company installed an indigo dyeing plant. Today, as part of a major modernisation and expansion programme, Berto has just taken delivery of a new Monforts eight-chamber Montex stenter – the country’s first to feature the latest Soft Coating technology installed in-line.

This, explains Berto’s Finishing Division Manager Sebastiano Antico, will enable the company to increase even further the wide range of differentiated fabrics – primarily denims – it is manufacturing each season.

The sensor-controlled Soft Coating unit is a very efficient new method for applying dyes and coatings via a sophisticated roller system.

“It allows very precise applications of moistures (proofing, hydrophobic, functionality) on just one side of the material, or on both, or even to have separate treatments on each side, as required,” explained Monforts Area Sales Manager Henning Frank.

“The sensors automatically adjust the moisture application rollers to the speed of the fabric and can move with or against the line, depending on the desired objective.”

“Not only does this open up the potential for a wide range of new treatments and effects to be achieved,” adds Ariodante Corna, of Monforts Italian representative Sacconaghi Monaco, “It can also lead to big savings as a result of the amount of  reduced drying energy for the fabric being used.

As a supplier of denim to the leading European designer brands – including Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino in Italy alone – Berto has been quick to see the potential of this new technology. Obvious initial results have centred on the ability to instantly produce denims that are tough and resilient on the outside, with a softer and more comfortable inner, or in colours that are applied to certain areas of the fabric, but the company has many other new ideas in the pipeline, which it believes are giving it a vital innovation edge over the competition.

“We are very excited by the new Soft Coating technology because it offers a lot of potential for us to further differentiate our materials, building on in-house know-how developed over many years,” says Mr Antico. “As far as denim is concerned, there is a constant demand for new looks and effects.”

Short lots of the highest quality materials – in total between 500-600,000 metres a months – have been the key to Berto’s recent success.

“We have to be very fast and ensure the highest quality to satisfy our prestigious customers,” says Mr Antico. “We know from experience that Monforts technology is synonymous with high quality production, but just as importantly, our relationship is built on the reliability and quality of service provided by Monforts and Sacconaghi Monaco.

Monforts technology is also well out in front in respect of line automation and electronics. And of course, because we are dealing mostly with heavyweight denim fabrics, the machine needs to be sturdy – something at which Monforts excels.”

The 2.2 m wide Montex stenter line has been installed in a new purpose-built facility which also houses a new washing line, with space for further planned expansions. It is one of three Berto buildings which are situated on a new industrial zone in Bovolenta – the company having now outgrown its original plant which was built in the heart of the village 120 years ago. The fourth generation family-owned company’s fully-integrated operations span yarn spinning, weaving and dyeing and finishing, employing 218  people and split into four divisions – Berto Denim, Berto Yarn, Berto Flat (responsible for finishing third party fabrics) and Berto Garments.

The company produces between five and seven million metres of its own fabrics and upto three million metres is finished for third parties. Berto’s turnover in 2008 was more than Euros32.3 million.

Berto’s mission is to become ‘the fashion craftsman of denim’.  They are achieving their dream with continuous improvement in structure, organization and research to obtain increased flexibility and innovative products. Today’s market demands versatility, dynamism and immediacy. “Requisites such as these cannot be improvised; they are in the DNA of those who can delve into their past, retrieve the right tools with which to compete and adapt them to new scenarios,” said Flavio Berto. 

Berto is actively involved in many social projects around the world. For example, it has been involved in the creation of education centres in Angola and hospitals and infectious disease treatment schemes in Ghana.

For many years Berto has been particularly active in Bangledesh having built around 25 village schools in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region as well as a residential school and a hotel for students. A second Berto company of a similar size and structure to that in Italy also operates in Bangladesh. It is run by Giuseppe Berto, father of Flavio Berto, who now oversees operations in Italy.

“Here in Italy, we operate in a high wage country and constant variety and quality of service are the only way we can survive,” says Flavio Berto. “New European technologies such as Monforts’ Soft Coating are also essential tools for ensuring we stay ahead of the pack.”