VAN CLEWE (Gerhard van Clewe GmbH & Co KG)

With more than 200 employees and around 50 production machineries, Van Clewe could be established among today’s most successful family-run textile finisher in Germany, resp. Europe. Ansgar, could you tell us about the most important milestones and how this success story developed from your point of view?

That’s correct, we went through some crisis in the last 30 years. Flexibility and the ability to innovate is definitely important in order to respond quickly on unexpected changes in the market. I guess nowadays, to be successful in the field of contract-work it is essential to increase the level of specialization. For example, we decided to focus on specific core competences to be able to offer the best products within the fields of e.g. interior solar shading, stage and display fabrics as well as care products. 

Strong Partnerships with the focus on building a long-lasting customer relationship could definitely be highlighted. We have always followed one essential approach, that could be also understood as our company motto “FROM THE FIRST TO THE LAST METRE” – by means of offering the best possible quality for our customers, though an awareness of the environment and strong focus on sustainability. Therefore, we have positioned Van Clewe not as the cheapest but rather as the most reliable and trustworthy supplier of high quality products. We are producing 100% in Germany and got several certifications that go far beyond industry standards in the fields of environmental protection and quality. And our long-term partners and customers value this very much.

Our most important customers rely on our ability to deliver products on a constant high-quality level, since more than 20 years. In order to build such a long-lasting partnership, we also need to rely on durable machinery to achieve the desired specifications. This lead us to ZIMMER AUSTRIA.

To deliver 100% quality you have to work with 100% quality. For achieving this, you need to invest strategically in the best machine parks. We have chosen to make our decision towards proven and established quality, as this really matters in the fields of textile printing as well as coating. And with ZIMMER AUSTRIA we have found a trustworthy and reliable partner. For example, Van Clewe is printing in the application areas of sun protection, clothing and technical prints. And in this area high flexibility by means of fast and easy handling during design changes is as important as printing with maximum accuracy and in highest quality. Therefore, we are working with the ZIMMER ROTASCREEN.TU printing machine with open bearing system. Because this system allows us to achieve the necessary high quality and flexibility even at a large printing width of 2.40 meters as screens, color pipes and roll rods can be pre-assembled and changed simultaneously. This saves time and minimizes costs, while constantly achieving highest quality results without any problems or many machine downtimes. (more about ROTASCREEN.TU)

We are very pleased that the technology of ZIMMER AUSTRIA could help you to fulfill your aim of supplying your customers “FROM THE FIRST TO THE LAST METRE” with top quality products. Are there any specifications that you appreciate in particular?

Recently you have also invested in a new coating machine, is that correct?

We offer a wide spectrum and high level of expertise in various applications, from dry and wet finishing through dyeing and pre-treatment to tumbling, coating, laminating and much more. But we have always specialized in delivering high quality results among our core competences. This is only possible due to our investments in high quality machinery, but on the other hand even more through our well trained, dedicated and high qualified employees. 

When you plan everything in detail, the chance of not meeting any set goals is pretty high. That’s why we rather focus on constantly delivering high quality products by investing in the best machinery, optimizing efficiency, enhance sustainability and we make large investments in environmental improvements, as we perceive that as our responsibility. For example we’ve pioneered with our own waste water recycling system. Furthermore, we produce partly with self-generated electricity and got just recently in August 2013 certificated with the ISO 50001 in the field of energy management systems. The aim of all these efforts is to prepare the Van Clewe group for the next possible unpredictable events or external events such as an economic crisis. The textile industry was hit every 10 to 12 years by external events and we want to be prepared in the best possible way to lead our company also through the next rough time, as we did in the past.

You really must be in there with heart and soul. The strong willingness to be able to hand all this over to the next generation was always motivating the entire company as well as myself. In my opinion, you cannot lead through numbers only, or technology – what really matters is a strong willingness, eagerness and most of all good partnerships, where you can rely on in any situation. In the same way as we can rely on high quality machines from ZIMMER AUSTRIA, or our customers rely on our proven quality since decades. Maybe it’s because family-run businesses are operating differently. They are putting high efforts in long-term partnerships, sustainability and delivering of high quality products instead of operating from quarter to quarter for various shareholder interests. It’s all based on long held traditions and know-how that was taught from generation to generation. Personally, I’ve started to work for the family business as a machine operator and that’s one reason why I know exactly what I can require and expect from our dedicated employees.