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SPINNING A YARNSince its establishment nearly 40 years ago, Ferney Spinning Mills Ltd has become oneof the world’s biggest names in the knitwear sector and a leading producer of carded yarnsin pure wool and noble blends. Georgina Cutler catches up with General Manager, MrMushtaq Ahmad Sooltangos, to find out the reasons behind the company’s reputation asa Mauritian firm with European standards. Written by Gemma Carter. ‡

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Founded on the island of Mauritius in1978 by sister company Floreal KnitwearLtd – at the time, already a successful localknitwear factory that specialised in pro-ducing woollen sweaters for the Europeanmarket – Ferney Spinning Mills was set upwith the assistance of French spinner LaSociété Amalric, a company based out ofthe city of Castres, in south-westernFrance. By gleaning the French com-pany’s long experience and expertise,Ferney Spinning Mills commenced opera-tions with a strong continental savoir-fairein the woollen yarn industry, and managedto gain a reputation for being a Mauritiancompany with European standards.The plan was to create a vertically inte-

grated set-up, with Ferney Spinning Millsas the yarn supplier, and Floreal Knitwearknitting the sweaters at its factories inMauritius and elsewhere. “We started in 1978 with two lines of production, andin 1980 we set up our own dye house,” MrSooltangos reports. “After that, the com-pany grew rapidly to become a six-line fac-tory producing 2,000 tonnes of woollenyarn by the early 1990s.“In the 1990s, we established a produc-

tion collaboration with a Scottish millcalled Laidlaw and Fairgrieve, whichbelonged to Dawson Group. This was anextremely worthwhile experience becauseit enabled our team to enhance its tech-nical know-how, our Scottish partner beinghighly experienced in the production ofwoollen yarn. A little further down the line

we also benefited from a similar collabo-ration with Italian expertise and know-howin woollen yarn manufacturing.”

High-performance woollen yarnFor its first 26 years in business, FerneySpinning Mills had been producing yarnsexclusively for Floreal Knitwear, althoughthat changed in 2004 when the company’ssenior management made the wise deci-sion to allow Ferney to sell and export itsyarns to other knitters in the market, asMr Sooltangos tells us: “We quickly builtup an export market, and the main changecame in the development of a market inthe woollen weaving industry in the UK.This was significant for the companybecause it meant that we had diversifiedaway from producing yarn only forknitwear, and started producing yarn for the weaving industry. We also approached the Italian and Germanmarkets, and as of today we sell 40 percent of our production outside Floreal Knitwear.“Of course, Floreal Knitwear remains

our main customer, taking around 1,000tonnes of our total production, and ourcontribution has played a pivotal role inthe company’s regional development –Floreal now has factories in Madagascarand Bangladesh, as well as in Mauritius.We supply quick-response products to ourcustomers, with very short delivery times,while the real highlight of our product port-folio is our Total Easy Care 100 per cent

lamb’s wool, which is machine washableand suitable for tumble drying. Thisproduct, which is used to producesweaters, is faring extremely well in theEuropean market, especially in the UK.”The remaining produce is sold to other

businesses, predominantly clients basedin Europe. “Customers in Europe demandhigh-quality, high-performance woollenyarn for their sophisticated weaving facili-ties, and we fulfil that demand,” he asserts.“Over the past four years we have launchedmany new yarns and colour palettes forladies’ woollen and woven garments inEurope and the US, and this is a veryimportant growth area for Ferney. Anotherarea in which we have been very successfulis the woollen upholstery business in theUK, and we see this as a fast-growingsector, going forward. The increasinguse of wool in interior design is mainlydue to the high resilience and durabilityof wool, in addition to the fact that it isflame retardant, which negates the needfor flame retardant certification of prod-ucts that are certified 100 per cent wool.This makes wool ideal for upholstery pro-duction purposes, and we see this trendmoving into Italy, too.”The company’s products are generally

used in the manufacture of knitwear,woven blankets, knitted and wovenaccessories, apparel fabrics and upholstery fabrics. “Around 30 per cent of the 1,000 tonnes that we sell to Floreal Knitwear is Total Easy Care‡

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is vertically integrated and incorporatesa full range of production processes, fromwoollen yarn dyeing to blending, carding,spinning, winding, twisting and finishing.Our newest production line was set up inJanuary 2012, while we are currently in theprocess of upgrading the preparation andwinding stages of the operation.“As Mauritius is a very small island, we

are very dependent on transportation andlogistics, and the process begins with theimport of raw materials,” he continues.“We import around 1,700 tonnes of wool annually, mainly from Australia,New Zealand, China and South Africa,while we procure most of our dyes, chemi-cals and auxiliaries from China and Europe,and nearly all of our spare parts and acces-sories come from Europe, China, South

Africa and India. We rely heavily on air andsea transportation in order to bring all ofthese materials into Mauritius.”On the export side, Ferney exports its

products mainly by sea to the UK, Italy,Germany, Canada and Bangladesh, andsome further countries are due to be addedto that list in the near future, Japan beingone of them. “We also have a deliveryservice in the UK in the form of a bondedgoods warehouse in Bradford,” describesMr Sooltangos, “from which we offer a 24-hour delivery service, while we have ahighly competitive air freight deal forexports to the UK, which enables us to ship our products at a rate of £1.20(~US$1.88) per kilogram. Indeed, we keepa close eye on transit times, freight costsand the reliability of the different shipping

lines in order to prevent any disruptionto our supply chain, and we are continu-ously trying to reduce shipping and clearingtimes by ensuring that we have the appro-priate documentation, while making anyother necessary changes to keep ourcustomers satisfied.”

Manufacturing ExcellenceThe company currently employs 527people, who work on a flexible shift systemthat can be five to seven days, dependingon demand. Ferney has its own mainte-‡

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lamb’s wool that is used to manufactureproducts for Marks & Spencer, in the UK,”reveals Mr Sooltangos. “Marks & Spenceris therefore our biggest customer – albeitindirectly. Also through Floreal, we supplyJohn Lewis, Debenhams, BHS, Matalan,Next and Boden in the UK, amongstothers, while we have also developed a

market in France, supplying customerssuch as Carrefour, Célio, Camaieu and others.“We export directly to the following

customers in the UK: Abraham Moon &Sons, Wooltex, Brierley Brothers, Gardinerof Selkirk (which has been owned byBrierley Brothers since 2001), and

Johnstons of Elgin. In Italy we work with the world-famous Gabel Group andMarzotto Group, while in Germany wesupply Biederlack, which has been pro-ducing high-quality blankets for 125 years.We also export to customers in Canada andthe US,” he adds.

Competitive shippingFerney has always invested in state-of-the-art equipment for its production facilities,procured from the best European suppliersof textile machinery. Mr Sooltangos elabo-rates: “When our customers see our equip-ment they feel very safe and confident thatthe quality of the yarn will be excellent.We produce around 5,500 kilograms perday and we have an installed annualcapacity of 2,000 tonnes. The company

Management Team - Ferney Spinning Mills

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nance facilities and the company employsengineers to manage this department,while training has always been high onthe agenda, as Mr Sooltangos assures us:“Certainly, over the last 36 years we havebuilt a training-oriented culture at Ferney,such that our success can be attributed toour well trained employees. We provideinduction and orientation programmestogether with other continuous learningprogrammes, all of which are carried outusing multimedia, and we were one of thefirst companies in Mauritius to introduce,in the 1980s, quality circles and Kaizenmethods, which involved sending someof our employees to undertake trainingwith Toyota in Japan. “In fact, we regularly send all of our top

management and senior staff to companiesin Japan, China, the UK and elsewhere inEurope, where they remain for a period oftwo to three weeks on a training basis.During their time overseas they learnproper benchmarking and observe thelocal work ethic, and upon their returnwe do not hesitate to change some of ourmethods, should there be areas in whichwe could improve,” he affirms. “The

training of grassroots workers is equally, if not more important than developingthe best managers, because if we do nothave the right people handling the overallproduction process then we will notachieve results. For that reason, we have always started with training on thefactory floor and gradually worked up tothe top, and I truly believe that one of ourgreatest strengths is our grassroots training.”Indeed, the survival, resilience and

growth of Ferney is not a miracle – it isbased on very clear factors. “Nearly all of our competitors on the island ofMauritius have closed down, while manyspinning mills in Asia and Europe havealso ceased to exist,” Mr Sooltangos informsus. “In such a cut-throat market, one ele-ment that has been crucial to our abilityto survive is our sister company FlorealKnitwear, which uses Ferney as a strategicand regional strength for serving its cus-tomers in Europe. Moreover, in 2004,when we started developing an exportmarket, we decided not to compete withthe Chinese as we would almost certainlyhave failed. We chose instead to competein the European market, and we havesince been dedicated to building ourbusiness in Europe.“Manufacturing excellence is a further

important point to note about Ferney – wehave based our entire business aroundmanufacturing excellence – while weare committed to R&D, innovation andthe regular introduction of new products,”he comments. “All of these characteristicsand qualities enable us to meet most of themarket challenges, and are the main rea-sons behind our success and expansion,not only in the knitwear sector but also inthe weaving industry. Today, we producearound 500,000 kilograms annually for theweaving sector, which is around 30 percent of our capacity.”

Keeping up with the latest trendsFerney has managed a dedicated R&Ddepartment since the 1990s, and this divi-sion offers a range of personalised servicesfrom straightforward shade matching to thecreation of a mixture of colours, marls andtweed effects, in accordance with bothFerney’s and the customer’s standards. Thecompany carries out continuous researchand uses all of the new technologicalfibres for producing knitwear andweaving yarn. “We achieved a major milestone in

2006, when we formed a collaborationwith an Italian yarn development officecalled Stylprojet, which is led by GiuseppeCendron, a professional yarn designerand colour forecaster who worked withBenetton Group for 25 years before setting up his own office,” states MrSooltangos. “This partnership has beenextremely beneficial to us, and it is nowdriving all of our collections and yarn devel-opment. Stylprojet obtains informationfrom all of the industry fairs and exhibi-tions in Europe, such as Pitti ImmagineFilati in Florence, Première Vision in Parisand Milano Unica in Milan, and I havepersonally visited nearly all of those fairstogether with the designer for researchpurposes. Such research activities areimportant because we have to offer sea-sonal colour and trend ideas that are tai-lored to our customers’ market needs. Wepresent an annual knitting and yarn collec-tion, and we conduct collaborative andspecific development directly with ourcustomers’ design teams, such as those atMarks & Spencer.“Since the establishment of the busi-

ness, we have been applying stringentquality management principles, andtoday our system is ISO 9001:2008-accredited,” he notes. “Our in-housequality control laboratory is fully equipped

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CARD CLOTHING

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with state-of-the-art European testingmachines and equipment, and we havequalified technicians who carry out thetesting of fibre, yarn and fabric. I believethe main secret to our high quality stan-dards is that a great deal of emphasis isplaced on the ownership and measurementof key operations within the organisation,and as a result our staff take pride intheir work, which helps generate excellent results.”

Sustainable productionOf course, environmental concerns play a major role in most industries today,and the textiles sector is no different.Ever mindful of its responsibilities,Ferney is certified in accordance withthe Oeko-Tex Standard 100 for its envi-ronmentally-friendly production facili-ties, while the company also has all ofthe environmental accreditations neces-sary to export into Europe, which arevital as this is the market in which 99per cent of its production ends up.“Sustainability is also extremely impor-

tant,” Mr Sooltangos remarks, “and to thatend we are working with Marks & Spencervia its ‘Plan A’ initiative, which outlinesits commitment to sourcing responsibly,reducing waste and helping communi-ties.” Through this programme, Marks &Spencer looks to work with suppliers whosefactories operate sustainably and with alow carbon footprint. One area of its opera-tions that Ferney has been focusing on isits dye house, which uses only dyes, chem-icals and auxiliaries that comply with thelatest standards. Ferney also has an in-

house wool recycling plant, where size-able quantities of waste wool are recycled,and one of the company’s Italian cus-tomers, Gabel Group, uses large amountsof this ‘eco wool’ to produce blankets underthe ‘Eco Wool’ brand, which it sellswithin Europe.“In addition, we collect and re-use a

large amount of rainwater – 72 per centof the water that we use in our spinningmills is not from the government supply,it is from our own reservoirs, which is amajor achievement and an excellent way to save water,” he declares. “We also savewater during the dyeing process, havingchanged our methods. The internationalstandard for dyeing one kilogram of woolinvolves using around 110 litres of water,but we now use only 80 litres, most ofwhich is harvested rainwater. This savingtranslates to a 36 per cent reduction inour water consumption, while we havealso reduced our steam and electricityconsumption. Our next step is to embarkon a solar energy project – the capitalexpenditure for that project has beenapproved and we hope to have the necessary facilities in place soon.”

Leaders in a niche marketGenerally speaking, the European markethas been struggling for some time, andthere are many challenges facing compa-nies like Ferney. “Every cloud has a silverlining, however,” observes Mr Sooltangos,“and one major trend that we are seeingin the UK – our biggest market – at themoment, is the resurgence of what is leftof the wool and textile industry. All of ourmain customers in the UK are investingin and increasing their production capacityin order to grow their business, and as aconsequence they are also increasing theirbusiness with Ferney. What needs tohappen now is for the UK to find a newequilibrium between what it is producinglocally and what it is importing. This is amajor opportunity for Ferney – we havebeen there throughout the bad times andwe are hoping to reap the benefits of thegood times.“Together with Floreal Knitwear, we

have employed designers in the UK whoare working with our main knitwear cus-tomers in the country,” he continues. “Ibelieve the fact that we are using designresources in the UK is a strong statementfrom us as a small and humble companybased on an island in the Indian Ocean,and the future of this business lies in spe-

cific and collaborative development withour main customers on the high street, asan ongoing trend.”Ferney is heavily involved in the woollen

sector, and wool accounts for only two percent of textile fibres globally, making it avery small, niche market that is becomingincreasingly competitive. “We believe thatin future, only specialist and niche pro-ducers will continue with wool production,and this presents another major opportu-nity for Ferney,” Mr Sooltangos reflects.“We are not afraid to work in a niche, butin order to do so you must be very closeto the market, and you must be aware ofthe latest trends in yarns and colours, andwe feel very well equipped in that regard.”

Growing with its customersLooking ahead to Ferney’s future growthand development, the company has manyprojects in the pipeline, including anincrease of its marketing firepower in theUK and the rest of Europe. Mr Sooltangostells us more: “We recently appointed twonew European agents and we are alsostrengthening our marketing team here inMauritius, all of which will help us remainvery close to the customer in the market.Secondly, we are putting a great deal oftime and resources into the Italian knittingand weaving market, which will be ourmain focus for the coming year, where weare looking to achieve quite an ambitioussales target in a short period of time.“Furthermore, we intend to invest

heavily in our plant in order to renewequipment in the winding and preparationdivisions, which is an ongoing process,while we are also making changes to ourshift system and working hours in orderto adapt to the new realities of the labourmarket,” he explains. “We are also investingin solar panels, as I already mentioned, andwe will continue to invest in training anddevelopment for the new generation.“Most businesses today are trying to be

the alternative choice to Chinese suppliers,but that is not our aim – instead, wewant to be the very best alternative tothe leading European suppliers,” assertsMr Sooltangos. “When we first enteredthe UK market, in 2004, I spoke to ourcompetitors there and told them that wewere not in the UK to take their marketshare, but to supply them with competi-tive yarns that will help them grow theirbusiness. A decade later, all of our cus-tomers are growing – and Ferney is ben-efiting from that growth,” he concludes.o

Mr Mushtaq Ahmad SooltangosGeneral Manager

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