Ramps up for Further Southeast Asia Expansion Following Partnership with Industry Leader Luen Thai and Launch of State-of-the-Art NTX™ Cooltrans™ Facility in Cambodia
SHANGHAI and SINGAPORE, July 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NTX™, a global textile technology leader, announced the completion of nearly 200 million US dollars in a C2 round of financing led by Centurium Capital, with additional contributions from existing shareholder NRL Capital. Index Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor. The funds will be used to fund operational needs to meet the rapidly rising demand of the expanding customer base.
The funding was secured after the company successfully became a preferred supplier to global international brands such as Adidas. The company also demonstrated continued expansion of its textile manufacturing ecosystem developed around the waterless coloration technology - NTX™ Cooltrans™.
Gary Liu, Managing Director of Centurium Capital, commented: "Through its proprietary dyeing technology, NTX™ brought about revolutionary innovation to the global textile supply chain, effectively solving the long-standing pain points of traditional textile manufacturing of high water and energy consumption and pollution. In addition, NTX adds significant value to the industry by helping improve their production efficiency and service capabilities. With ESG as an integral part of our 'invest to transform' investment thesis, we look forward to a long-term partnership with NTX to make positive contributions to the sustainable development of the global textile supply chain. "
NTX™ has revolutionized the textile industry by introducing NTX™ Cooltrans™, a breakthrough waterless dyeing & printing system that delivers up to 90% in water savings, alongside dramatic reduction in energy usage and virtual elimination of water waste. With NTX™ Cooltrans™ as a foundation, the company has established a Southeast Asia-based ecosystem of textile processing plants to become the next generation sustainable eco- friendly supply chain partner for some of the world's biggest fashion and apparel brands.
NTX™ functions as a complete environmentally friendly textile processing solution provider by putting in place best practices, technical expertise, staff training, raw material sourcing and market opportunities across its ecosystem.
Kalvin Chung, Chairman and Co-founder of NTX™, commented, "We welcome the latest round of funding and we're excited about the future of NTX™. Over the years we've seen NTX™ Cooltrans™ mature into a solution that satisfies and exceeds the requirements of some of the most demanding global brands in the marketplace. Just as important, has been the development of our business models that today give us a clear path to scale up NTX™ into a global supply chain solution provider."
The funding is especially pertinent as the textile industry has recently seen a slew of announcements regarding green initiatives across the globe. Some of the key initiatives include:
In aggregate, all of these initiatives have set a stage for textile businesses that either completely re-engineer their processes with green solutions or become obsolete in terms of global competitiveness.
NTX™ Expands Presence in Southeast Asian Market via Partnership with Global Textile Manufacturing Leader Luen Thai
In recent years, the Southeast Asian market has seen tremendous growth as it continues to establish itself as a global supplier of manufactured goods. Most striking examples are the record growth of exports in Vietnam by 48.2% in March of this year contributing to Vietnam's total exports for the quarter equaling US$88.58 billion. Other Southeast Asian countries have also risen one after another, and they are expecting to accelerate development even further boosted by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The free trade agreement is set to further strengthen business ties across Asia and positions the Southeast Asian members including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia - countries with NTX™ presence - to serve as ideal supply chain bases for global clothing and apparel markets.
In response to this trend, NTX™ has doubled down on establishing a strong presence in Southeast Asia where a textile production cluster continues to blossom and attract the right talent and support systems to service global demand. Its most recent joint venture with Luen Thai under the name Luentech Textiles Solutions (LTS) has already resulted in a new state-of-the-art NTX™ Cooltrans™ facility to expand production capacity and satisfy growing demand for green textile supply chain partners. The facility is the first of its kind to be designed entirely around the newest iteration of its waterless coloration technology. The launch of the new plant also aligns with the Kingdom of Cambodia's drive to diversify and modernize its textile industry.
Every aspect of the new facility was designed around NTX™ Cooltrans™, meaning it incorporates all the sustainable eco-friendly factors that the solution provides. NTX™ Cooltrans™ integrates pre and post treatment processes delivering significant savings in energy consumption. The up to 90% reduction in water use is an especially meaningful aspect of NTX™ Cooltrans™. Cambodia is working hard on improving the environmental impact of its manufacturing sector. The significantly reduced water consumption of NTX™ Cooltrans™ waterless technology means that these facilities can operate in environments where water comes at a premium.
NTX™ is focused on a long term strategy of transforming the South East Asian textile industry into a high technology focused hub. Plants and mills that form the NTX™ ecosystem are fast becoming renowned as operations that are exemplary for eco-friendly practices, sustainability, and respectful employee working conditions. This is in line with the vision NTX™ has set at its inception and it is perfectly aligned with the requirements that are increasingly in demand by global brands operating in the European Union, the United States and Asia-Pacific regions.
NTX™ Solution Addresses Key Issues with the Printing and Dyeing Phase of Textile Production
The printing and dyeing phase of textile manufacturing is the bottleneck of the global textile and apparel supply chain. Companies that provide these services are under extreme pressure to deliver in a timely manner the endless designs that are requested by the big international apparel brands. The slightest change in design, material, or finish require an overhaul of the production process causing delays, issues with output quality or consistency. Traditional systems consist of non-standardized production processes that rely heavily on skilled labor often working under agonizing and unsafe conditions. It's a system that depends on having excessive amounts of ready to use inventory of raw materials, generates excessive waste, and requires large capitalization. Furthermore, according to a European Parliament led study the textile industry is responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, while a study from International Labor Organization found that up to 36% of those emissions came from the dyeing, printing and finishing steps in the process. In short, dyeing and printing is ripe for technological disruption due its technical shortcomings and environmental impact. NTX™and its waterless coloration technology NTX™ Cooltrans™ provides a proven path forward.
NTX™ Cooltrans™ technology and the corresponding production ecosystem addresses all of these issues. It can execute designs precisely and consistently across all materials, within its ecosystem facilities. This eliminates waste generated by quality and consistency issues. It also makes the system agile and able to scale up or down capacity across the plants. The efficiency improvements of NTX™ Cooltrans™ can result in a shortened delivery cycle of finished products by 30 to 50%. NTX™ Cooltrans™ is both accurate & precise at dye transfer and color fixation, which lead to substantial energy and water savings. The state- of-the-art machinery requires less labor and provides safe, ergonomic working conditions. It is a prime example of the technologies necessary to implement environmental protection strategies arising across the globe.
NTX™ Management Team has the Experience, Industry Expertise, and Global Scope to Elevate NTX™ to new Global Leadership Heights
The management team of NTX™ has a rich background in the textile industry complemented by experience in the world's top 500 enterprises.
The leadership team has a proven track record of innovation and business development. NTX™ has already obtained over 100 patents for NTX™ Cooltrans™. It has established valuable partnerships and built up a next generation supply chain ecosystem that is ready for the requirements of the decades to come.
Bolstered by the revolutionary breakthrough in printing and dyeing technology, NTX™ became an Adidas certified supplier and established a global supply chain of apparel fabrics for several international brands. NTX™ continues to establish cooperation with a number of leading textile and garment enterprises, and provides services for dozens of leading international clothing brands. As the world of textile production evolves and new environmental requirements, resource and energy use constraints, and business practice demands are revealed, NTX™ has shown to have a comprehensive leading edge to meet the challenges ahead.
About NTX™
NTX™ is committed to creating revolutionary textile solutions through continuous research and innovation that are ecologically and economically sustainable. We are driven to achieve a zero-waste benchmark by conserving energy, reducing and eliminating water use, while never compromising performance or functionality. Our automated and modularizable system solutions allow for local-to-local production, further shortening lead times and cutting down on transportation emissions. Cost is often the unmentionable C word for sustainability, NTX™ believes that sustainability and economics must go hand-in-hand to materialize clean eco-conscious solutions into reality. For more information on NTX™, please visit www.ntx.global
About Centurium Capital
Centurium Capital is a leading private equity investment firm in China and primarily focuses on investing in China's healthcare, technology, consumer and business services sectors. As a transformational capital provider with a focus on business model innovation and resolving structural deficiencies to unlock growth potential, Centurium pursues a hands-on and operations-centric investment approach to drive value creation and generate long term shareholder value. For more information on Centurium Capital, please visit www.centurium.com
About Luen Thai
Sustainable shared success through reinvention drives Luen Thai and makes it an eXtraOrdinary Company. We are a global leader in apparel and accessories manufacturing and in sustainable fashion technology. We are committed to give the best care to our people, communities, and the environment in all our locations. Luen Thai believes that cooperation resulting from working towards sustainable shared success with our stakeholders: shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees, and local communities, will create more positive and lasting benefits to end-consumers, the industry, and the world. At the forefront of our reinvention are quality, speed, flexibility, sustainability, and cost.
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