DKTE Society’s Textile & Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji for Technical Textiles have entered into a five-year partnership with Archroma, a leader in colour and specialty chemical to share Archroma’s 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 on 11 February in Mumbai in the presence of Archroma’s CEO Alexander Wessels and DKTE’s Principal Prof (Dr) P.V. Kadole.

At Archroma, they continuously challenge the status quo in the deep belief that they can make their industry sustainable. With this partnership, they 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 their industry, said Anjani Prasad, Archroma’s Head of Sales, Textile Specialties, India.

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, and Hydroperm hydrophilisizing agent.

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

Archroma is a global color and specialty chemicals company committed to innovation, world-class quality standards, high service levels, cost-efficiency and sustainability. Archroma is headquartered in Reinach near Basel, Switzerland, and operates with approximately 3000 employees over 35 countries.