Collaborate to build the future

Pooling, sharing, uniting, enhancing the value to achieve a common goal:  starting from this vision, Tollegno 1900 and Shima Seiki Italy, continue to intertwine projects aimed at promoting their growth. A long-standing relationship between the two companies that, on the occasion of Milano Unica, presented a new initiative that saw them alongside The Woolmark Company in giving shape to the “Protection Wear” capsule collection. From the triangulation between the three realities of the yarn sector, 4 outfits have taken shape that highlight the extreme versatility of Merino wool in creating high-performance garments suitable for a modern and urban look. “This project – explains Davide Barieri, Sales Director Shima Seiki Italy – is only the latest in a series of initiatives that have been developed over the years with Tollegno 1900, with whom we have a great affinity in the way of operating and in the objectives to be achieved. By combining mutual skills, we have always managed to give shape to realizations of value.

Was Dumas right, “union is the strength”?

I’m deeply convinced that, to be competitive and to respond efficiently to the demands of an increasingly fluid market, we must both join forces, so that we can reduce as much as possible the costs, investing in new generation training them to internalize most of the activities.

The future therefore speaks the language of collaboration for Shima Seike who, for 2022, has invested in multiple directions. What are the initiative and the project on the calendar? 

We have decided to move on several levels, which however, manage to contaminate each other by becoming a flywheel for each other. This year we have mainly focused on the internal training of new recruits with different talents: from programmers to mechanics, from pattern makers to salespeople, we want to “refund” the company with new lymph, which always has the merit of bringing enthusiasm and proactiveness. At the same time, however, we also want to open our gaze to new areas in which the tech-textile combination can best express itself: I am thinking, for example, of the furniture sector or the development of more technical products. But the more ambitious project consists in fostering a closer and more valuable interaction between us and our customers, also through trips to Japan where we can bring the strength of our “made in Italy”. At the same time, however, we are also working to connect clients with each other, becoming facilitators to help them develop new projects.

Collaboration and sharing are therefore the guidelines for 2022, already visible from your participation in Pitti Filati ..

Exactly this way: at Florence fair we deliberately presented ourselves with a collective stand, in which a whole series of interpreters from our world found space:  Universities, spinners, designers, knitwear factories, all united to talk about the same product, each with their own knowledge.  Our young talents also played a not secondary role.              .

Talents who are faced with a complex market situation because they are in full recovery after very difficult years. How has the situation changed from 2019 to today? 

In 2019 we already started to smell the air of crises which in 2020, thanks to the pandemic, exploded, leaving many victims on the field, and forcing many companies, to withstand an unexpected impact, to redesign models and sometimes even their production sectors.  In 2021 we saw an unprecedented rebound: the previous year’s stop generated a considerable acceleration that led to record results.

What should we expect from 2022?

The increase in the costs of raw materials, energy sources, and transportation say it a lot.  The river in flood of 2021 find itself having to deal with a series of “funnels” that will lead to a physiological downsizing of its flow.   Today not only we necessarily have to play defense to maintain the result, but we must learn to prioritize: the exponential increase in demand but the scarcity of products will lead to sip and carefully evaluate orders and customers.

How is the Yarnbank project progressing?

As of January 2021 there were 38 registered suppliers and registered users from 75 countries. One year later, the numbers have almost doubled! A result that excites us and that underlines how the market is increasingly moving towards digital solutions. The example of success provided by large companies in other fields, which make digitalization an acquisition by now, certainly represents an important sounding board in making terms such as Metaverse, 3D, Augmented Reality more and more common, also clearing in the fashion district. The result? The fashion market, which boasts its roots in the tradition of craftsmanship, is starting to experiment with the new approaches to experimentation and sampling.

Some recent projects also testify that Yarnbank has a specific weight. 

It is true, let’s think, for example, of the Pitti Studios project for which Yarnbank represented the first step, indispensable, to create a virtual fashion show.

Let’s now look into the short-term future and imagine 2023..

We will have to roll up our sleeves but being able to count on all the experience of recent years that has taught us to rethink, opening up to new opportunities. But above all, it made us understand that great results cannot be achieved alone. It is only by helping each other, each for their own specificity, that we can think of satisfying the customer, ferrying ourselves out of this year and banking the next.