Sciessent, a global leader in antimicrobial, anti-odor, anti-pilling, and water-repellent technologies. Textile South Asia talked with Paul Ford, CEO at Sciessent to find out what his company is doing to remain competitive in such a challenging market.
Textile South Asia – Tell us a brief description of your company?
Paul Ford – Sciessent provides environmentally responsible products that benefit and enhance people’s lives and the world we share. Our company develops new generations of safe, sustainable solutions through creative and continuous innovation. We are driven by the guiding principles of protection, cleanliness, and comfort that our core technologies deliver.
Textile South Asia – What type of Product Company serves to market?
Paul – Sciessent is a leading US-based manufacturer of antimicrobial, anti-odor, anti-pilling, and water repellent technologies for a variety of industries worldwide.
Textile South Asia – What is the latest in product development?
Paul – We are constantly looking at ways to enhance our technologies, as constant innovation is very important to us. However, as the industry’s wants and needs shift, a new type of product may be necessary to address specific consumer concerns or brand requirements.
Sciessent is currently developing new technologies centered around advanced odor control tailored to the end customer use; these products fit into the growing push toward more sustainable, environmentally responsible solutions.
Textile South Asia – What is the importance of anti-microbial solutions in the textile industry and how has it changed over time?
Paul – Antimicrobials continue to be a key component of high-performance apparel and home goods; this peaked during the pandemic. There is now a trend to move to non-antimicrobial odor solutions where Sciessent is particularly ahead of its competition with its fifth-generation odor control product Lava 360.
Textile South Asia – What is the size of the global market for antimicrobial, anti-odour, and water repellent technologies? Of this, what is the share of the textile/apparel industry?
Paul – Without including disinfectants, the antimicrobial market size as built-in product protection for hard or soft surfaces is hundreds of millions of dollars. Textiles/apparel make up a significant portion of that market share, but water/food contact applications and medical devices are also significant. The durable water repellent (DWR) market is also large and currently in transitioning to non-fluorine-free technologies; Sciessent offers its Curb® FF DWR as a high-performance solution for demanding applications.
Textile South Asia – In which segments of the textile/apparel industry are these technologies widely used?
Paul – Our odor-control technologies are widely used among athletic/athleisure, hunting, and home textile brands for their long lifecycle and high durability. Water repellency is a necessity for outerwear and hunting apparel.
Textile South Asia – Where are the products made? And what is the capacity? Who designs these products?
Paul – As we are based in the US, all our formulations are produced in a lab at our headquarters in Beverly, MA. We have a team of experts dedicated to enhancing current products and developing new, innovative technologies.
Textile South Asia – What are the future growth and expansion plans for Sciessent?
Paul – We plan on continuing to enhance our current product offerings, as well as developing new technologies to keep up with industry trends toward increased sustainability.
