The Year of the Dragon smells like success for Loxy

It’s 2012, and we’re loving the textile industry more and more every day.  On January 23, China celebrated its New Year as it rolled into the Year of the Dragon.  We’ve entered 2012 with a mighty roar and while other years might have seemed to drag on with indifference, the Year of the Dragon has some serious potential for energy and expansion.

The Year of the Dragon smells like success for Loxy, because 2011 showed a lot of ramped up growth and success in Loxy Shanghai. 

Dominating the Reflective Tape Market with Power

Limitations on the past are lifting as advances in technology have steadily improved the way we produce and market our products.  We’ve even launched several new products in Shanghai that are seeing tremendous growth.

Chinese Astrology for the Year of the Dragon

According to the Chinese Astrology for the Year of the Dragon, it will be easier to fix any issues that arise, and we’ve been able to overcome a variety of product hurdles that other companies are still struggling over.  With the success of our Shanghai branch we’ve been able to muscle through tough times and see growth where our competitors are struggling.

A Great New Year for All Those Helping us Manufacture Reflective Tape

2012 doesn’t just mark a great year for Loxy, it’s a great year for employees as well.  Thanks to our growth and expansion, and the success of our Shanghai branch, we’ve been able to add far more staff to meet the demands of the market place.  Our brand name is growing, demand is growing, and we’re positioning ourselves to continue to deliver quality textiles, seam sealing tape, reflective tape and more without delay.

A Happy Chinese New Year to all of those in our Shanghai branch, we look forward to an amazing year and have many of you to thank for the growth we experienced in 2011.

Here’s looking forward to a fabulous year.

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Seam Sealing Tape in Sports and Recreation

Think Loxy is just for work wear and safety?  Guess again!  Loxy is continuing to expand in 2012 and we’re sinking our toes into the lush landscape of Sweden.  We chose Sweden as part of our expansion process because Swedish design knows no bounds.

We’ve hired Michael Hansson, our new key account manager in Stockholm, who will be tackling the marketing and sales of sports and outdoor recreation gear focused around seam sealing tape and will be working with a variety of manufacturers in the region to promote our products.

Quality Seam Sealing Tape is Important – And Quality Comes from Sweden

Why Sweden?  Because diversity is the keyword when it comes to Swedish design.  Emotional values in everything from textiles to furniture and artisanal crafts are considered to be as important as the function in Swedish craftsmanship and design.

When we work with manufacturers in the region, we want them to work with someone who understands the process.  Who recognizes why everything is tested, retested and tested again to ensure that products and textiles meet expectations from a physical, functional and aesthetic perspective.

There are new generations of designers – even in textiles – growing in Sweden.  This new generation is following in the footsteps of established, popular designers.  Of course, our focus isn’t merely on Sweden.  We recognize that we’re shifting into a new generation of upstarts and new manufacturers around Europe (and the rest of the world).

Our key account manager will be working with each of these manufacturers who focus on the industry of sports and recreation.  It is our hope that with our innovation in seam sealing tape, and their designs that are leading the industry, we can move forward into the future of newer textiles.

Seam Sealing Tape in Sports and Recreation

A variety of sports, from recreational to extreme, as well as outdoor activities, open the wearer up to moisture to some degree.  Some more than others.  Our seam sealing tape provides cutting edge water proofing and seam sealing to outdoor garments and sportswear; but there are far more uses in the textile industry for seam sealing tape including:

Outdoor Gear – A variety of garments worn by outdoor enthusiasts have offer different degrees of protection, ranging from partial to complete waterproofing.  We supply seam sealing tape to manufacturers that is designed to completely eliminate water transfer through the seams of clothing, jackets, pants, backpacks, and more.  The application is limitless.

Subterranean Gear – Imagine the splendor seen by people who love to get underground, traveling through cave systems carved by flowing water.  In environment rich in moisture, seam sealing tape ensures that those enthusiasts aren’t troubled by moisture seeping through clothing.

Hazmat Suits – Loxy has always been a major player in safety and visibility for professional work wear.  With unmatched quality in our seam sealing tape, there are men and women who put their lives on the line working around hazardous materials.  They trust in our seam sealing tape to keep them safe.  If we can protect them, we can certainly ensure that people seeking fun and entertainment outdoors will stay dry.

We’re looking forward to expanding our operations throughout Sweden and beyond, pairing with innovative, creative designers that share our goal and mission – to improve the textile industry and set the standard for quality.

Read more Seam Sealing Tape Blogs here…..

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As of 2012, we’re proud to announce that Loxy has become a nominated supplier for Berendsen.  The news came down the pipe over New Years and we’ve been celebrating the new partnership.  We’re extremely happy to become a preferred supply for Berendsen due to their success and clout within the textile industry.

This textile service provider provides solutions to source, clean and maintain textiles for their own customers in order to keep operations running.  What does Berendsen do?  Here’s just a taste of their offering

Loxy Becomes Preferred Supplier to Berendsen

Textile Solutions Beyond Reflective Tape

Cleanroom solutions – Their textiles are used not only to protect the customer’s production, but also to protect the employees who handle it.

Healthcare services – They are the partner of choice for public and private sector healthcare organizations looking for high quality linen and textile services.

Hospitality – Berendsen is a leading supplier of rental linen and laundering services to the hospitality sector.

Mat Services – At Berendsen, their mat solutions are the preferred choice for thousands of European businesses of all sizes in many different sectors. What they all have in common is a desire to keep their floors clean and fresh – and Berendsen has the experience to provide mat solutions that meet any needs.

Washroom Needs – With Berendsen’s washroom products, the company guarantee a comfortable, clean, washroom experience for customers.  The service, like many of their other services, is provided in eight countries where businesses can benefit.  Their customers include retail establishments, industrial, museums, airports, theaters, universities and more.

Workwear – Berendsenrents, washes and maintains workwear for many different types of customers, from fire-fighters and welders to doctors, road-workers and chefs.

Shining with Reflective Tape

The workwear is where we help them shine, quite literally.  Because of the quality of our reflective tapes, Berendsen has chosen Loxy as their preferred supplier.  They have grown to trust and appreciate the quality of our reflective tape product 1301 not only for new garments but for repairs in their line of rental work wear.

We’ve seen tremendous growth together, and we’re looking forward to a fantastic year in 2012 as we support one another.   We’re working toward a better textile industry with a focus on quality that customers grow to love.  Together, Berendsen and Loxy can do just that.

To learn more about Berendsen and what they offer, visit them online at www.Berendsen.com

Read more Reflective Tape Blogs here…..

Learn more about Loxy Reflective Tape here…

DYNE Testing

In the textile industry, surface tension testing (DYNE) is critical in helping us where there are concerns of quality and consistency over bonding, film and material production.  Bottom line, without proper testing and verification methods, you won’t discover there’s a problem in seam sealing tape or reflective tape until post production – often that happens at the consumer level and then it’s too late.

Not only do you wind up with unsatisfied customers, but botched production tends to be environmentally unfriendly.

Think about it from the perspective of car insurance.  You don’t purchase car insurance to cover you because you’re a bad driver.  It’s there to support you.  Like automotive insurance, proper surface tension testing or DYNE testing simply insure that substrates are properly treated and produced to spec/standards.

These standards of testing textiles have been around for decades, it’s certainly nothing new.  For some companies, it merely consisted of a contact angle measuring device with liquid.  For example with a some  material you likely would see a droplet supporting adhesion as the droplet is wetting outward.  This creates a low contact angle.

With untreated textiles, the droplet would cling to itself rather than the surface, and would result in a taller droplet with a higher contact angle.  Of course this type of testing isn’t practical anymore which is why we use more current DYNE testing solutions.  The concept is that we test or pre-check surfaces to ensure that they will bind together and support adhesion, such as with our bonding films and their various applications.

Bonding of Seam Sealing Tape and Reflective Tapes – DYNE Testing

Surface tension is the property of a liquid arising from unbalancedmolecular forces at or near the surface. If it is higher than the surfaceenergy of a material, the liquid tends to form droplets rather thanspread out or “wet out” as some refer to it. Surface tension is normallymeasured in energy units called dynes/cm. A dyne is the amount offorce required to produce an acceleration of 1 cm/sec² on a mass of 1gram.

The DYNE level of material is known as its surface energy.  If the liquid used for testing has a DYNE level lower than the material’s surface energy, then the liquid spreads over the surface in a uniform wetting layer.

If the ink’s DYNE level is equal to or higher than a material’s DYNE level, then the liquid becomes cohesive and remains in droplet format.

For quality assurance purposes, DYNE pens were developed – mainly because bottled testing liquids were never really “shop floor friendly”.  The pens are similar to a felt tipped highlighter and contain the same solutions you find a lab test environment.  When the tip is swiped across the surface of the textile, the results are interpreted in the same manner as a solution with a cotton swab in a lab.  It really just boils down to a matter of convenience.

Testing Seam Sealing Tapes & Textiles – The Downside of Pens

One thing to note is that quick-drying pens used in some areas of the textile industry should be considered to be potentially inaccurate.  This is because the liquid is alcohol based.  Because of the fast-dry nature, older pains begin to dry out and as they do so, they may appear to give favorable results when in all actually the test is not entirely accurate.

Testing Tips – Solutions Conforming to ASTM standard-2578

• Spread the test fluid from the felt tip pen lightly over an area ofapproximately 7 cm of the test specimen, noting the time it takes forthe continuous film of ink to break into droplets.

• Breaking of the fluid into droplets in less than 2 seconds indicates alack of wetting and a lower numbered test fluid should be tried.

• If the fluid remains intact for longer than 2 seconds, a highernumbered test fluid should be tried.

• The aim is to establish the lowest reading at an optimum dwell timeof 2 seconds.

• Extreme care must be taken to ensure the film surface is not touchedor contaminated in the areas in which the tests are to be made.

• We recommend the replacement of the inks regularly if the bottledinks are frequently opened to atmosphere.

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If my grandfather were here to see what we’ve accomplished with Loxy, the first thing out of his mouth would be “slow down, overachiever!”

Last week I reported that we were successful in the upgrade and testing of our reflective tape line #13501, testing in at the industrial level of 20 cycles at 160c.  You can read all the details on that on the last blog post .

Reflective Tape 9901

Taking Reflective Tape One Step Further

We’ve done it again, and rather quickly.  Reflective Tape 9901 went through a similar upgrade process to enhance the overall design, ultimately making sure it was 100% safe and met Oeko-Tex 100 standards.  That reflective tape line (9901) has now passed for 50 cycles at 70c wash, and has met the requirements of ISO15797 standards.

In addition, our newest upgraded reflective tape has met and exceeded standards for domestic wash (ISO6330) with 100 cycles at 60c.

Making Changes in Reflective Tape with Oeko-Tex Updates

In September of last year, Oeko-Tex modified their standard testing procedures, and it was brought to our attention that by the new standards, some of our reflective tape exceeded Dioctyltin levels acceptable under the new standard.  While our product had been marketable and salable under the previous standard, we were happy to work with Oeko-Tex along with brand managers and our quality assurance teams to improve our reflective tape lines and recertify our products.

As a result, our customers have a safer product, successfully passing standard ISO requirements every step of the way.
http://www.loxytapes.com/Articles/oko-tex-press-release-loxy

Reflective Tape That’s Guaranteed to Last

At Loxy, we’re dedicated to bringing you the finest in reflective tape and seam sealing tape.  And we’re very happy we were able to find a substitute would not alter the quality of our end product in any way.  More importantly, in the process we were able to actually update and improve the quality of our final produce.

This alternative will now be used to replace TOB in every product where it was previously used, and that means nothing but the best, more durable reflective tape from Loxy.

Cheers!