SINGAPORE — July 12, 2012 — DyStar and its owner, the Zhejiang Longsheng Group, celebrate 115
years of technical Indigo synthesis at Ludwigshafen, Germany, where the first commercially feasible
manufacturing process was launched.
The history of synthetic Indigo goes all the way back to 1897, with the introduction of,
“pure indigo” from BASF. Demand for synthetic Indigo dyes was so huge that by 1913, natural indigo
had been almost entirely replaced. To date, more than 260,000 tons of the dye has been produced at
the Ludwigshafen production plant. This is sufficient to dye about 26 billion pairs of jeans which,
if lined up end-to-end, would cover the distance from the earth to the moon 87 times.
With its patented DyStar Indigo® Vat 40% Solution, DyStar has contributed to the continuing
success story of synthetic Indigo. “Pre-Reduced Indigo is a very consistent and clean type dye”
notes Dean Barley, Denim Dye Department Manager from Mount Vernon Mills. “Having a consistently
clean Indigo helps us produce more first quality denim day in, and day out. More first quality
goods also generate more money to the bottom line.”
The constant improvement of the manufacturing process over the years has paved the way for
DyStar’s current success. The numbers speak for themselves with double digit growth rates in the
major denim manufacturing areas e.g. 40% growth in South Asia.
“In anticipation of greater demand for DyStar Indigo® Vat 40% Solution and an increased
market share, the DyStar Group is planning to expand capacity at its Nanjing Indigo plant in
China,” said Harry Dobrowolski, CEO of the DyStar Group. The expansion reaffirms DyStar’s
commitment to the denim industry.
As global awareness of environmental issues created by the textile supply chain increases,
Brands, Retailers and their industry partners are looking for more sustainable solutions for their
businesses. With the recently announced project to develop electrochemical dyeing of Indigo in
collaboration with RedElec, DyStar is maintaining its position as the leading sustainable solution
provider.
Posted on July 18, 2012
Source: DyStar