LoomTex textile waste turns into park benches

LoomTex Pty Ltd has survived in business for a century to become Australia’s last woollen furnishing textile weaving mill and dye house.

Now with a name change the company, a joint venture between Instyle Contract Textiles and Colan Australia, has a vision to become one of the most innovative and sustainable textile manufacturers in Australia.

The weaving and dyehouse manufacturer specialised in wool fabric has been trading as LoomTex since September last year.

New LoomTex CEO Samantha Van Zyl (pictured, below) has acted to divert production waste away from landfill and turn it into a valuable resource.

Van Zyl said: “I’m really passionate about diverting waste from landfill.

“We’re looking at reducing our waste and how can we repurpose it.”

As part of initiative with fellow Geelong Manufacturing Council member GT Recycling, the Geelong, Victoria-based operation is sending used dye cones and bale strapping for chipping.

“GT Recycling provided us with bale bags that we fill with waste, then deliver back to the local recycling facility.

“It is then turned into public park benches, tabletops or concrete reinforcement as a valuable resource for the building industry.”

In another sustainability innovation, Van Zyl said selvedge loom waste – the edges cut off from woollen fabric – is now sent to Keysborough in Melbourne to mattress-maker Sealy. Sealy freights it to Queensland to make matting and a non-woven pad that sits in between the springs and the top layer of the mattress.

“We’ve got 10 looms, producing approximately 100 metres a day each, so 1,000 metres of selvedge a day in pre-consumer waste that was going into landfill.

“The next step will be how do we cooperate together with local businesses to recycle our waste resources that is commercially viable.”

LoomTex is also partnering with social enterprise Assembled Threads, examining how end of life curtains and fabrics can be repurposed, for example into dog beds.

LoomTex makes textiles for interiors, apparel and technical areas such as defence, aerospace and emergency services.

Van Zyl has been in the CEO role just under a year, working alongside her father Thomas Yearwood who is Operations Manager.

“I came down to help in the family business about seven years ago and got the textile manufacturing bug.”

In the first of many upgrades planned for the LoomTex facility, a recent gas boiler upgrade improved energy efficiency and resulted in reduced emissions.

The business is expanding, with three new apprentices starting in recent weeks.

Van Zyl says shipping rate inflation and supply chain delays due to the pandemic in recent years ‘really shined a light on the importance of sovereign manufacturing capability’.”