Biancalani celebrates 25 years of Airo® finishing. And it establishes itself on the international markets for its original solutions, conceived for ennobling and perfect finishing of any type of fabric, for any type of application

The Italian textile industry is the result of a close collaboration between all players involved in the process, from power loom industry to finishers and stylists. The power loom industry is the essential ring, which, with its equipment, is always able to provide new creativity stimuli for designers and work with them in order to achieve always new results.

«It happens more and more often – says Rossano Biancalani, owner of Prato-based Biancalani together with his brother Massimo and sister Rossana – that customers turn to us to ask if we have new ideas to offer, or if we are willing to study with them new kind of finishings».

Set up in 1957 in the district of Prato, Biancalani has a company with a long history in industry. Founded by Fiorenzo Biancalani, it started its activities by designing and manufacturing finishing machines for woven fabrics and wool blends.

«Over the years – says our interlocutor – we have developed new machinery capable of processing not only woolen fabrics, but all textile products, becoming a reference point for the whole industry. What has always distinguished the history of our company is R&D to which we have always dedicated our resources in order to offer our customers always new products».

Among the company strengths there is the presence of a technological office. «Our customers – says Biancalani – have the ability to contact this office to ask how to perform certain treatments. Often, before buying a machine, they send us their fabrics to check what results can be achieved».

A success lasting for 25 years

With this type of finishing, achievable both with and without chemicals, it is possible to obtain a great variety of results on fabrics for applications in clothing, furnishings and decoration, on many types of knitted fabrics, up to non-woven fabrics and fake-leather. It is possible to treat in a perfect manner both natural fibers (cotton, linen, ramie, silk, jute, wool, and mixed) and artificial fibers (viscose, cupro, polynosic fibers, polyamide, Tencel, Lyocell, Modal) as well as the synthetic ones (PES, nylon, acrylic, PP, PU, PVC), including also their many mixed fabrics.

Airo® discontinuous tumbler has been the biggest success for the Tuscan company, a real highlight that, continuously updated to customers’ latest needs, continues proving its worth as a universal machine, extremely versatile and easy, capable of providing new finishing effects.

Biancalani has continued its R&D which has led in recent years to marketing a new tumbler, Airo®24, a machine designed to offer the possibility to obtain the same unique high-quality finishing of woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, sponges, synthetic leather and non-woven fabrics, both continuous and open. The new machine also allows saving by at least 30% on heat and electric consumption traditionally needed for treatment.

Instead Milla® has been conceived for the wool industry: a combined washing roller press which guarantees maximum efficiency with excellent quality results.

Novelty for the knitted fabrics industry

The latest product launched on the market in 2011 by Biancalani is Brio®, a discontinuous plan tumbler in the form of semi-rope, capable of imparting dimensional stability to knitted fabric. Exploiting the combined result of an intensive mechanical shaking simultaneous with drying, this new machine guarantees perfect relaxation, permanent dimensional stability for each type of knitted fabric, in each composition, and substantial reduction of spirality. All without pilling due to the absence of friction and rubbing, and also ensuring good hand, softness, and volume to knitted products.

Nowadays Biancalani is an international scale reality, allocating 70 to 90% of its production for the foreign market, through a network of agents in over 80 countries worldwide, and its participation in major international events mainly in China, India, Turkey, and Brazil. «In these countries – says Biancalani – which have become our major markets, we are organized with an on-site customer service for technical and technological issues, although it must be said that there is little need for technical assistance, as our machines have the particularity of being subjected to very rarely fault».

Meanwhile, we are focusing on research and development activities for innovative solutions to be proposed to the textile world. «We are about to launch a new type of finishing – says Biancalani – dedicated to the field of knitted fabrics, because very specific demand from all over the world comes from this area».

by Maria Pia Longo