Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals, and DKTE Society’s Textile & Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji for Technical Textiles (DKTE), based in Kolhapur, India, have entered into a five-year partnership aimed at sharing Archroma’s globally recognized expertise in the area of technical textiles and nonwovens with the Institute’s faculty and students.

The partnership was officially announced at a ceremony held February 11 in Mumbai in the presence of Archroma’s CEO Alexander Wessels and DKTE’s Principal Prof. (Dr.) P.V. Kadole.

Under the terms of the partnership Archroma will provide training sessions, as well as technical support and guidance to the students of the Institute. In particular, DKTE’s students will have access to some of Archroma’s technical laboratories in India and Switzerland for projects, experiments and trials.

The students will also benefit from access to a range of functional products with application and performance characteristics critical to the industry, allowing them to gain hands-on training and learning, and help develop innovative solutions for new industry entrants. The DKTE’s faculty has already expressed special interest in Archroma’s Nuva N water and oil repellent solutions, Pekoflam® non-halogenated flame retardant, Sanitized® antimicrobials, Appretan solutions for textile strength and flexibility, or Hydroperm® hydrophilisizing agent.

Anjani Prasad, Archroma’s Head of Sales, Textile Specialties, India, commented: “At Archroma, we continuously challenge the status quo in the deep belief that we can make our industry sustainable. With this partnership, we want to take a new approach to knowledge sharing and help to prepare a new generation of textile experts to the opportunities and challenges of our industry.”

“Thanks to our collaboration with Archroma, our Institute and center of excellence for nonwovens will be an interface between the industry and consumers in order to improve article effectiveness,” comments Prof. (Dr.) P.V. Kadole, Principal, DKTE’s Textile & Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji.