South Asia Textiles helps launch fabric in battle against COVID-19
View(s):Two top textile companies in Sri Lanka and Switzerland are collaborating to produce a specially treated fabric to be used for face masks exported to the US.
They are South Asia Textiles Ltd, a leading Sri Lankan textile manufacturer specialised in producing exceptional quality weft knitted fabric for leading brands across the globe, and HeiQ Materials AG, a Swiss based global leader in textile innovation creating some of the most effective, durable and high-performance textile technologies currently available across the world.
South Asia Textiles’ knitted jersey fabric combined with HeiQ’s recently launched anti-viral and anti-microbial agent, HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03 was commissioned by a high-quality US brand working in close collaboration with partners in the US, the Sri Lankan company said in a media release.
Commenting on the partnership, Prithiv Dorai, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, South Asia TextilesLtd stated: “We are excited about the partnership with HeiQ and are hopeful that we can positively contribute towards the need of the hour. Our versatility and the ability to manufacture new technology enabled material within a short span of time is our key strength. The fact that we were nominated and selected for this project is a testament to consistency and superior quality standards that we maintain at South Asia Textiles”.
South Asia Textiles, a subsidiary of Ambeon Holdings PLC, commenced its commercial operations in 2004. The company also specialises in Knitting, Dyeing, Finishing, Printing, Brushing, Sueding and Preshrunk fabric for leading global brands such as Victoria Secret, Next, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Calvin Klein, Decathlon and Adidas.
HeiQ is the global leader in textile innovation specialises in research, manufacturing and marketing of high-quality, high-performance textile finishing. The Swiss-based material science organisation with offices, R&D centres and manufacturing facilities on four continents continues to serve brands and textile mills globally.
The company’s latest innovation, HeiQ Viroblock is an antimicrobial / antibacterial / antiviral textile technology specially engineered to work against enveloped viruses, such as influenza viruses and human coronaviruses.
HeiQ Viroblock is among the first textile finishing technologies that have been successfully tested against the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease, SARS-CoV-2, in the laboratory, using the Viral Stability and Persistence test method. HeiQ Viroblock treated fabrics showed over 99.99 per cent reduction of SARS-CoV-2 viruses after 30 minutes. Compared to untreated face masks, HeiQ Viroblock treated FFP2 face masks showed greatly reduced virus infectivity of key virus types: H1N1, H5N1, H7N9, Coronavirus (229E), and RSV in face mask testing.