Interview with Mr. Tommaso Cumerlato (CSO)/ INTERVISTA MIC COMETEX
About Cometex Company, history and success story…
MIC Spa incorporated Cometex Thread Sae in 2011 in Alexandria public industrial zone, installing there a full-operative dye house with hanks-dyeing, cones-dyeing and mercerizing Italian machinery, an up-to-date chemical laboratory, a complete set for cotton-yarn preparation starting from doubling, twisting, gassing, reeling and post-dyeing hank-to-cone winding.
Since its start-up Cometex yarns are Oekotex Class I, Standard 100 certified, in 2014 we obtained the first 9001 ISO certification, and in 2021 our mercerized and dyed cotton yarns reached also the GOTS certification.
Kohan Textile Journal: Let us know about your range of products and yarns.
Mr. Tommaso Cumerlato: Since its beginning, Cometex Threads have been dealing with Egyptian top-of-class spinning mills, collaborating with them in sourcing the best GIZA-fiber cotton yarn for knitting, weaving and, above all, Cometex’s speciality: gassed & mercerized cotton sewing thread.
MIC’s technical department has selected the Giza-fiber cotton for all its sewing threads dedicated to the garment dyeing industry since when, in the eighties, it was among the first pioneers using this kind of cotton sewing thread for the typical Italian just-in-time production method.
Especially MIC’s Supercromo cotton thread, made only of Giza 92 extra-long staple fiber, represents a top-of-class product in terms of resistance and stitching performance, adopted by premium brands in the fashion industry.
Besides mercerized cotton sewing threads, Cometex produces internally mercerized yarns for knitting and weaving and limited production of 100% polyester sewing thread.
Kohan Textile Journal: MIC is a leading company in the sewing yarn market, why did MIC select Egypt and Alexandria for this great investment?
Mr. Tommaso Cumerlato: Egypt is the motherland of extra-long fiber cotton, thanks to the climate that is ideal for growing cotton of the highest quality.
MIC’s shareholders decided to invest in the most populated North African country, exporting there its 40-years-old know-how and the best Italian textile technology for dyeing and mercerizing, believing in Egypt’s potential made of a mixture of young generations and ancient expertise in top quality cotton growing and yarn spinning.
The target was to obtain a “100% made in Egypt by Italy” mercerized & dyed cotton yarn, combing the well-known Italian mastership in yarn mercerizing and finishing together with the best-of-class GIZA fiber cotton yarns.
Kohan Textile Journal: How many percent of your products use in Egypt’s domestic market and how many percent export to international markets?
Mr. Tommaso Cumerlato: Cometex threads is also collaborating with Egyptian top-spinners to enhance the quality of their yarns offering them an extreme-dedicated service for gassing, mercerizing & hank-dyeing, which led them to conquer an important share in the mercerized cotton yarn, in particular sewing threads.
An important part of Cometex’s turnover is coming from local producers of socks and garment makers, representing more than 30% of sales. The rest is exported out of Egypt, mainly to Italy, but also to Portugal, Germany and Emirates.
Kohan Textile Journal: What are Egypt’s Textile and Garment industry’s Potentials and advantages in the international market?
Mr. Tommaso Cumerlato: Proximity to the EU market and special customs agreements with Europe and US represent important leverages for the Egyptian textile expo-oriented industry.
Egyptian cotton has traditionally enjoyed a high international reputation, particularly among older generations and quality-conscious consumers. The trend towards lifestyle and products that have a background story present opportunities for Egyptian producers in the EU market.
The establishment of the Egyptian Cotton trademark initiative in 2000 has contributed to increasing quality awareness, particularly with respect to retailers and producers, but the profile of Egyptian cotton with producers, retailers as well as consumers in Europe could still be expanded considerably.
Cometex is there to catch all the aspects of these potentials.
Kohan Textile Journal: MIC is a reliable partner for manufacturing sustainable and green products, How we can improve sustainability in the yarn and textile industry? and what is Cometex sustainability policy?
Mr. Tommaso Cumerlato: The adoption of high and long-lasting quality products is for sure a way to limit wastage and the short life cycle in the fashion industry.
A more conscious consumer for sure will rely on more durable and natural material, especially if reassured by a third party entity, like the GOTS certification. For this reason, mercerized and dyed cotton yarn can also come in 100% organic cotton with GOTS official certification.
Kohan Textile Journal: Cometex gather Italian technology and art of textile with Egyptian high quality raw material, how do these two factors make your products different in the market?
Mr. Tommaso Cumerlato: The perfect yarn to represent the peculiarity and the excellence-oriented attitudes of Cometex is, without doubt, its 100% mercerized sewing threads. This technical product is perfectly balanced and enhanced the mix between Italian excellence in textile and the unique performance-oriented characteristics of the long-staple Egyptian cotton fiber.
For sure each of the yarns and threads produced in Cometex represents a benchmark for the industry, from the knitting and weaving of cotton yarns to the 100% polyester sewing thread, but only its mercerized cotton yarn for stitching, a perfect mixture of tenacity and luster esthetics, represents the best synergy between Italy’s and Egypt’s DNAs.
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