Tonello presented its “Laundry (R) Evolution” at ITMA 2023. The company said it has redefined the garment finishing process to address the environmental issues around processing fabric to make jeans – which include heavy water consumption, wasted resources and hazardous additives. It aims to make laundry more agile, integrated, and truly sustainable in a process managed by two machines.
Firstly, the Laser replaces the manual abrasion processes. The selection ranges from the fixed table with a larger surface, (suitable even for alternate productions), to the oblique mannequin for 360° laser effects, and the conveyor belt for non-stop processing.
Then Tonello’s all-in-one system for washing incorporates four technologies into a single machine:
EGO
EGO enables garments to be treated with ozone in both water and air to achieve authentic-looking bleach effects without using hazardous chemicals. It is also said to reduce water consumption by up to 80% over traditional bleaching methods and simplify wastewater purification operations, thus lowering treatment costs.
NoStone
NoStone® is the abrasive drum that achieves authentic stone-washed effects without using pumice stone. It is reusable, installable on all existing Tonello machines, and removable in minutes. It resets the emissions associated with pumice stone supply to zero, generates no dust, sludge, or micro-particles, and saves water because it can skip steps required in traditional stone-washing.
UP
UP is the patented system that consists of a continuous and regular flow of water, injected inside the machine, then recovered and recirculated. This reduces the amount of water needed, while the liquor ratio reaches a low level (LR 1:2). In addition to saving water, this reduces energy consumption, and in filling and draining times.
Core
Core is an automatic system operated by the machine that produces a fine mist inside the basket, resulting in uniform or contrasting effects on the garments. The process is rapid and no special preparations are needed. It is said to reduce the use of water by up to 96% over bath application and enables the use of a wide range of products to optimise consumption.
A patented process called OBleach has been integrated to achieve an authentic bleach effect using ozone and avoiding the use of chlorine and permanganate. Tonello’s team has designed three software programmes to preside over the operation of the technologies.
Firstly, Crea “drives” and powers the system, simplifying operations and making work more creative and flexible. It works in tandem with Tonello’s automatic garment detection system B.O.P., which enables the garment to be placed on the worktable without any particular accuracy or precision on the part of the operator. Tonello machines are then connected with Metro software, which measures the laundry’s authentic consumption, including that of the machines, the garments and the processes. It reports data on water and energy consumption for each individual garment and the carbon footprint of the washing or dyeing process.
