Schmits Chemical Solutions is a Dutch, privately owned company. The company is based in Almelo (eastern part of the Netherlands) and offers almost 50 years of experience in the chemical sector. With their craftsmanship and professional expertise, the team of 50 employees is able to help customers with waterborne chemical solutions in the field of technical textiles, toll-manufacturing and professional cleaning.
The company is an R&D-intensive company, able to both develop and produce formulations that work and can be applied in customers’ production process. It is all about the willingness to share knowledge and work together with customers, suppliers and partners to come to the most sustainable solution. Schmits Chemical Solutions is going for the perfect chemistry.
Interview with Bram de Vries, Manager Marketing & Operations at Schmits Chemical Solutions.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Bram de Vries: International textiles and non-woven industry: our products can be used in all sorts of textile applications: fire retarding, softening or stiffening, making textiles water and dirt repellent, laminating and more. We also offer tailor-made solutions. This way we have built up an extensive and comprehensive product portfolio and a lot of application knowledge, which enables us to develop the perfect chemistry for an inquiry.
Toll-manufacturing: under strict confidentiality, we can produce (semi-)manufactured chemical solutions for clients in accordance with their own recipe or specification. In addition, it can be expanded with purchase support for raw materials, logistical services and if needed R&D-support to improve a recipe. This allows our clients to focus on their core business.
Professional cleaning: we develop and produce a full range of products for the professional cleaning sector, also private label. All of our high-quality cleaning products and products for post-treatment have been developed to achieve very specific results and always with safe working methods as a top priority.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
B.d.V: A new successful product launch is related to mono materials to improve recycling. Today almost all carpets, rugs and mats are dumped or incinerated after life due to the use of different materials that are inseparable at the end of life. Schmits has developed new back coatings that make carpets, rugs and mats recyclable. If the carpet is made of one material (mono carpet), it can be reused more easily. If the backing has to be made from other materials, Schmits will check whether those materials can be separated easily. This means that the carpet is still easily recyclable at the end of its life.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
B.d.V: Our solutions for the technical textile industry can be divided into 6 products groups: flame retardancy, (fluorine-free) repellency, polymer solutions, adhesives, specialty coatings and additives. We are specialized in various coating techniques.
Our highly efficient operating procedure and exceptional flexibility make Schmits the ideal toll-partner for waterborne formulations. We have clients across various industries (e.g. cleaning, semicon, water treatment). We can think along with batch size, temperatures and packaging. Toll-manufacturing has the same priority as our other business units.
Our Schmits Professional cleaning products are able to remove oil/grease, stains & odours and organic debris from surfaces like floors, glass, facades, sanitary, vehicles and machine parts in areas such as building sites, schools, car washes, offices, swimming pools and industrial environments. Next year, we are planning to release a completely new range of extremely environmentally friendly solutions according to the highest European standards, Ecolabel.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
B.d.V: When we focus on technical textiles, the market is widely spread across all sectors and is globally networked. Technical textiles are products which have higher performance qualities as compared to traditional textiles. The market is segmented based on material, process, application and region. Technical textiles are for example being used in automotive sector, medical industry, construction sector, packaging industry and others. The market for technical textiles is growing rapidly, mainly caused by more stringent material requirements (stronger, lighter, fluorine-free repellent, flame retardant, etc.) and the versatile possibilities with technical textile. Constant innovation and an ever-changing market will continuously lead to demand.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
B.d.V: Sustainability is definitely a hot item across all our business units. New laws and regulations accelerate the urge to develop and use more environmentally friendly chemistry. Recyclability, circularity, phasing out raw materials of concern (fluorine) are more and more part of discussions.
Other goals are to reduce the footprint through the reduction of resources such as electricity, water, and gas. With energy prices reaching new heights the development of new and more economical friendly processes is accelerating.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
B.d.V: We have a lot of experience in the field of flame retardancy, offering halogen & antimony free flame retardants with a wide range of possible applications. In recent years we’ve developed intumescent flame retardants, producing a foam to protect combustible materials. Another innovation is related to fluorine-free repellents. For many years fluorine (PFAS) has been used as a water/soil repellent. The use of fluorine will be restricted more and more in the nearby future. Because of the early adoption of fluorine-free chemistry, Schmits developed a lot of experience and know-how. That’s why we can advise and support our clients in the best way possible with the transition to fluorine-free repellents. We are also proud of our new back coatings that make carpets, rugs and mats recyclable.
E.E: What estimations do you have for the rest of 2022?
B.d.V: Because of geo-political and macro-economic developments – which are also intertwined – in general it is expected that the economy will slow down. It is quite difficult to predict what will happen in the coming months and in 2023. Because Schmits is active in several market areas, which are also geographically spread, there will always be opportunities.
Schmits International B.V.
Bedrijvenpark Twente 48
NL-7602 KB Almelo
T: +31 546 57 40 60
E: info@schmits.nl