USTERIZED Details

A recent analysis by Uster Technologies of costs in the textile production chain has shown that the industry still has a long way to go to master the quality challenges of today. The way that the industry manages raw materials and organizes the yarn manufacturing processes results in far too many complaints from customers downstream. The worst problems include:

• Unacceptably wide variations in yarn quality characteristics from lot to lot.
• Lack of knowledge or awareness by spinners of the yarn quality requirements of subsequent processes.
• A high degree of contamination of cotton by foreign fibers.
• Quality defects in the raw material or yarn which are detected only after finishing.
• Too many outlier bobbins which are the cause of many claims.
  

It is also a fact of life that many weaving, knitting or finishing plants blame quality problems and associated costs on the yarn producer – even if the fault lies with the raw material – because they have no contact with the raw material supplier.

Intensive discussions with retailers indicate that total quality costs can be up to 10% of the sales value. It is clear, therefore, that every process step in the textile chain has to work on eradicating the sources of faults or defects to lower the quality costs. It goes without saying that reducing quality costs have a direct effect on the bottom line.

The USTERIZED® certification is one vital way in which Uster Technologies helps spinning mills to prepare for globalization. Uster Technologies works hard to educate traders, weavers, knitters, garment makers and retailers to have a better understanding of the sources of quality problems in the industry. Understanding the importance of the USTERIZED® certification means it is only natural that these textile supply chain partners rely more and more on working exclusively with USTERIZED® suppliers.

Today’s textile industry is truly global. The rise of China, India, Pakistan,Turkey and many other countries as sources of textile products is a fact.There are no longer any restrictions in the textile market. We all have to cope with new product developments, with just-in-time requirements from customers and ever-shorter response times. But the real challenge is to get the quality level right, consistently, all along the supply chain, within clearly-defined cost limits. Delivering reliable, quality-optimized products will gain the trust of your customers, and maintain it.

Today’s high-capacity machinery creates a need for more testing than ever before. That is because statistically-relevant data is essential for process control and compliance with standards. The only solution to meet this need is to adopt comprehensive, instrument-based Quality Management Processes.

It is important to understand that an effective Quality Management System will ensure the correct level of quality testing for the process being undertaken. For example, it takes only one off-quality yarn out of 4000 to destroy the value of an entire woven fabric – so it is vital that the testing regime can pick up any such defect. The unique USTERIZED® certificate assures the production of quality products right from the start of the textile value chain. USTERIZED® – the label that creates trust among partners.

The USTERIZED® logo associates yarns with spinning mills applying a best-practice quality management system. These USTERIZED® mills are capable of producing yarns of consistent quality: by testing and clearing them with USTER® products, and by applying a comprehensive quality management process. USTERIZED® spinning mills are regularly audited by USTER® textile specialists. In these audits, any deficiencies in the mill’s quality management system can be identified and further process steps determined to improve the existing system.

The USTERIZED® brand is awarded to spinning mills fulfilling the following conditions:

• The mill has been audited by Uster Technologies.
• The mill is able to produce products of consistent, defined quality.
• The mill has an installed quality management system with a continuous improvement process.
• The mill is able to obtain reproducible quality data continuously, reliably and accurately, which is comparable with the USTER® STATISTICS, the only globally-accepted quality benchmark. Find further information about USTERIZED® on www.usterized.com.

USTERIZED® Members belong to an exclusive global club of spinners and enjoy a number of exceptional advantages as a result of theUSTERIZED® certification:

• Permission to use the USTERIZED® trademark on letterheads, literature, product branding, etc.
• Uster Technologies provides a marketing platform for certified mills, liaising with weavers, knitters and other companies downstream of the textile value chain.
• Certified mills are listed with their own company profile under www.usterized.com.
• Promotion of USTERIZED® and the advantage of working with certified spinning mills through trade shows, seminars, print publications, etc.
• Access to proprietary application knowledge via customer-specific password at www.usterized.com.

• Get USTERIZED® – and be recognized as one of the leading spinning mills in the world.
• Meet your customers’ quality requirements and cost considerations by specifying your yarn quality against globally-accepted benchmarks – the USTER® STATISTICS.
• Get contacted directly by traders, weavers, knitters and retailers through www.usterized.com.
• USTERIZED® for a better understanding between yarn vendors and yarn buyers all over the world.

The textile technologists of Uster Technologies can support you to reach your challenging quality objectives.