With the catchphrase ‘Innovating for Sustainability,’ Zydex was established in 1997 in Vadodara in Gujarat to provide specialty chemical sustainable solutions to the Indian market. Zydex touches the basic necessities of Roti (agriculture), Kapda (textile printing), Makaan (construction), and Sadak (roads) of the common man. The company is primarily focused on innovative, environment-friendly patented solutions with over 200 unique products and a presence in 40 countries globally.
Zydex has branch offices in almost all major textile centers including the south Tirupur and Delhi NCR regions, Kolkata, and Ludhiana, and is now expanding its presence in Bangladesh as well. The firm also has a significant presence in the Ahmedabad and Solapur regions.
Moulik Ranka, director, Zydex shared his views with Indian Printer & Publisher’s Priyanka Tanwar at the recently concluded Screen Print India 2021 in December, “Sustainability is very important for us going forward because we cannot keep on polluting the planet and using excess energy which we cannot regenerate over a short timescale. The ideal vision would be to use a material that is of biological origin and ultimately to biodegrade at the end of its lifecycle but unfortunately, the real world is not so ideal.
“Another approach is to minimize the use of synthetic materials as much as possible and whatever synthetic materials that we do use should be very very long-lasting to reduce the overall consumption. This sort of balanced approach is what we try to use for maximizing the sustainability profile of our customers.”
Zydex & the Covid-19 crisis
Zydex introduced a host of new products into the market during the Covid-19 pandemic, which have been received well and kept the firm’s finances stable in these troublesome times. Ranka adds, “The economic recovery of Zydex was okay. Although we did not show any growth last year (2020) we didn’t degrow either.”
Zydex showcased its entire line of garment and fabric printing solutions at Screen Print India. “We are particularly very excited about the fabric printing solutions because we have introduced a range of ultrasoft binders that allow customers to expand pigment printing into the light to medium designs associated with reactive inks. This is very significant because approximately 30 to 40 % of the reactive designs, if they are converted to pigments, is a significant cost saving for the processors for energy and water consumption,” Ranka justifies the sustainability benefits of the newly launched products.
According to the company, these products have been received well by the market and it is estimated that there will be a growing demand for these products in the near future.
Zydex’ product range for fabrics & garment printing
In its product line for garment printing, Zydex has had the K2 inks range widely available in the market for the last 20 years. The company claims to be the pioneer in this segment with the introduction of plastisol-free water-based inks. On the fabric side, Zydex has two product lines – one is Zytrol – regular binders for pigment printing, but softer, and the flagship product Epricon.
Epicron is Zydex’s range of ultrasoft binders, thickeners, and finishing agents. With soft and smooth handling, the range offers exceptional wash and rub fastness, high color yield with reduced bleeding tendency, and improved drape and lubricity. “The unique selling point of our fabric printing solutions is the hand feel. So, as far as the hand feel is concerned, globally I think we are probably the best. As far as garment printing solutions are concerned we are exceeding the global benchmarks in terms of washing-fastening properties as well as stretch properties,” Ranka elaborates.
“As far as textiles are concerned, we are in the future, looking to develop a much more global presence moving forward and that will also call upon us expanding our capacity significantly,” he concludes.
