Two new textile factories in Aalten

AALTEN – “Because the mood in the textile industry can hardly be described as festive, we do not want the official opening to take place with a great fanfare. Nevertheless, we do not want the occasion to pass unnoticed,” the management of Textielgroep Twente wrote in a letter inviting the press to attend the opening of two new factories in Aalten.

And it is no small matter. For years, one disaster after another has hit the textile industry. Only this summer Schuttersveld went bankrupt, Spinnerij Nederland had to cut 475 jobs and Van Heek Scholco 67. In the related clothing industry, Bendien Smits is also facing contraction. Yet Textielgroep Twente is opening two new factories in Aalten: Wisselink Textiel and Koala Tricotage.

Municipality

It should be said that the first initiative for the new buildings came not from the group management but from the municipality of Aalten. The two companies had long been located in the village centre, where they caused noise and vibration nuisance. Management was willing to move to an industrial estate, partly because production could be organised more efficiently in brand-new factories. The condition, however, was that various public authorities would make a substantial financial contribution. Director H.J. Hesselink and Mayor Bekius therefore lobbied hard in The Hague.

Not without success. Of the total investment of 17 million guilders, ten million came from public funds, including the municipality’s purchase of the old factory site. The old buildings have since been demolished and 122 homes are under construction on the same site.

Management is now confident that the seven million guilders it had to provide for the new construction itself has been well spent. Director Hesselink attributes Textielgroep Twente’s reasonably healthy performance, with five operating companies and sites in Aalten, Enschede, Weerselo, Tilburg, Geldrop and Bree in Belgium, partly to the broad spread of its product range.

In a vulnerable industry such as textiles, he considers it important to have several irons in the fire. If sales of certain products are poor, there is still something else to fall back on. The group’s activities are indeed widely diversified. Wisselink makes both consumer goods — sheets and duvet covers — and fabrics for industrial applications and tents. De Gunne in Weerselo produces garden cushions, garden furniture and sleeping bags, Stilo Print in Tilburg prints T-shirts, while the Koala knitwear company makes underwear and leisurewear.

Underwear

Koala carries, among other things, the long-established Jansen & Tilanus brand, for generations of Dutch people almost synonymous with underwear. More important to Koala, however, is its own Koala brand, which receives all the emphasis in its presentation. That presentation matters because the retail channels for underwear are changing considerably while the brand is trying to retain its market position. Not long ago, much underwear was bought in general textile shops. That type of shop is declining, while other outlets such as sports shops and textile supermarkets are taking their place.

For a Dutch textile company’s position in that market, Hesselink considers rapid delivery essential. He sees this as an advantage over foreign competitors and says the group’s medium size helps make it possible: 500 employees and turnover of 80 million guilders. Its operating companies are small enough to react quickly.

That does not mean the financial results are outstanding. In 1981, the group made a net loss of 1.5 million guilders. A better result is expected for 1982. Hesselink also takes considerable pride in the group’s healthy capital position, which has recently been strengthened further by a subordinated loan of six million guilders from the Nationale Investeringsbank.

“We have always been cautious with profit distributions,” Hesselink says. Unlike many other textile companies, the group has continued to invest at a reasonable level. This can be seen in the modern looms: visitors are struck by the ultra-light shuttles sending the weft threads through the yarn at speeds of 900 metres per minute.