Indorama, world's biggest manufacturer of PES fibres swears by Zinser

Machinery and Technology

Indorama, world's biggest manufacturer of PES fibres swears by Zinser

The Indonesian company Indorama Synthetics produces 280,000 tonnes of polyester per year in the form of fibres, yarn and chips. It is considered the world's biggest producer of PES fibres. With spinning plants in Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey it is also in the top ten of the most successful spinning mills in the world. The company swears by the Zinser 351 ring spinning machine and winding machine from Schlafhorst when spinning PES yarns.

Indorama produces over 104,000 tonnes of ring yarn annually from polyester, viscose, cotton and mixed fibres. Sixty percent of the yarn production is exported globally to Indorama's customers in over 75 countries. The remaining 40% of production goes to the domestic market. Indorama itself is responsible for a portion of downstream processing.

PES at 22,500 rpm in practice

As a polyester specialist, Indorama has particular expertise in the manufacture of high-quality PES yarns on ring spinning machines. The Zinser 351 from Saurer is its first-choice machine. "Productivity on the Zinser 351 is outstanding, because it is extremely fast, completely reliable and also easy and safe to operate thanks to EasySpin," says Anupam Agrawal, director of Indorama's Spun Yarns Division. "The Zinser 351 is our number 1 machine. For example, we spin Ne 40 PES yarns on it permanently at spindle speeds of 22,500 rpm. And the yarn quality is unsurpassed."

The Zinser 351 makes possible enduring yarn quality and maximum profitability based on a highly precise and energy-efficient cutting-edge technology. Top speeds can be attained on the special Zinser high-speed spindles, which operate extremely quietly. The simple EasySpin user interface and high-performance OptiStep spinning program support spinning at the technological limit at enduring maximum spindle speeds, without any manual adjustment being required.

Zinser 351 in a linked system with Autoconer X5: the gold standard for maximum productivity

Schlafhorst has been the preferred supplier for the listed company for many years and has been delivering ring spinning and winding machines to Indorama since the 1980s. Around 60 Zinser 351 ring spinning machines with nearly 100,000 spindles operate non-stop round the clock in the company's three Indonesian spinning mills. Roughly 85,000 spindles are operated automatically in a linked system with Autoconer X5 Vtype package winders – the gold standard when it comes to quality and productivity.

In the linked system the Zinser 351 and the Autoconer X5 operate synchronously at the same rate. Their output is optimally coordinated to achieve the maximum productivity across the entire process. Bobbins and empty tubes are transported contactless in the material flow system of the spinning and winding machine, thereby protecting the yarn.

The Zinser 351 produces perfect bobbins with the optimum unwinding properties in the package winding mill. The proven, technologically unrivalled winding and splicing process on the Autoconer X5 is a guarantee of the unique package quality that delights customers in sales and downstream processing.

SPID controls every metre of yarn

The interaction of the Zinser 351 and Autoconer X5 is topped off by SPID, the unique Spindle Identification System. This ensures virtually real-time unbroken quality inspection of every single metre of yarn spun. SPID analyses all yarn data acquired by the clearer and provides 100% quality control of the entire yarn production. "We assure our customers that every metre of yarn fully conforms to the customer's specifications," declares Anupam Agrawal.

The methodical route to greater profitability with the Plant Control System

The Indonesian company adopts a very methodical approach to increasing productivity, profitability and quality. Collecting and evaluating all production and quality data in full plays a central role in this, and so Indorama uses Schlafhorst's Plant Control System. The Plant Control System acquires and analyses all production and quality data and makes these available online to the management.

"Data, data, data – that is the secret of success," says Anupam Agrawal. "The Plant Control System from Schlafhorst renders our spinning and winding processes more transparent. Now we know everything about our processes and can optimise them efficiently."

Success is a sequence of superb performances

The company's success is based on clear differentiation from its competitors. "We inspire our customers with performance that is unequalled across the globe," says Agrawal. "For our clients everything is important: quality, reliability, adherence to delivery schedule, consistency and service."

Indorama expects the high standards that it sets itself from its suppliers too. "Success is a long sequence of superb performances," adds Anupam Agrawal. "It's the whole that counts, the entire team. This includes our suppliers and above all Schlafhorst. That's because Schlafhorst is a fantastic team player, standing squarely behind our joint success."

Schlafhorst's local customer service plays an outstanding part in Indorama's "A-team", advising the company on how to increase productivity and quality and supporting investment decisions with detailed calculations of economic efficiency. Here Schlafhorst leaves nothing to chance. It employs over 450 service personnel in 20 service centres and three technology centres to bolster the success of its customers worldwide.

Investing in the future

Indorama is pursuing an expansive future strategy. It reacts to movement in the market primarily by developing new products. "Spinning mills are sandwiched between their clients in the textile industry and the raw material suppliers," comments Anupam Agrawal. "They cannot shape the market themselves; they must react extremely quickly to fashion trends, demands, the raw material situation and local conditions. We have to remain flexible to a high degree, and so Schlafhorst is a strategic partner for us. With powerful, highly flexible technologies like the Zinser 351, for example, we can deliver any product in any quality desired quickly and reliably."

Indorama invests continuously in the latest technology to raise its efficiency. This applies to both the production facilities and its IT systems. Indorama aims to prepare its staff resources for the planned growth in the company with its own polytechnic within the next five years. Agrawal has quite specific ideas too regarding the spinning mill machines of the future, "Our technology partnership with Schlafhorst dates back over 30 years. We know that Schlafhorst is already working on solutions that will advance us tomorrow. Schlafhorst's engineers listen very carefully to us. They don't give up until they surprise and inspire us with unprecedented innovations."

Large contract for new fully automatic cotton compact spinning

Zinser is now also number 1 for Indorama for the production of high-grade compact yarns made of cotton. The Indonesian company has just ordered a complete, fully automatic production line with over 40,000 compact spindles for combed cotton in the counts Ne 20 to Ne 40 from Schlafhorst: From the Zinser Flyer 670 and the Zinser 351 2Impact FX compact spinning machine up to the automatic winding machine Autoconer X5 – everything in fully automatic linked systems and from the house of Schlafhorst.