Issue 12 : 15 Sept 2014

For thousands of years, silk and cotton have been two of the world's major commodities. Pilan Dhammongkol, the owner of Thailand’s 112-year-old silk and cotton company Thanapaisal tells Horizon how Thailand keeps pushing the business forward.

Pilan Dhammongkol, the third genera-tion in his family's silk and cotton com-pany –Thanapaisal

Like so many other industries, the world of textiles has undergone massive changes in recent years. The invention of cheap synthetic materials has placed increasing strains upon manufacturers who use traditional materials such as silk and cotton.

“My family used to do on-demand bleaching and dyeing,” says Pilan Dhammongkol the third generation in his family's silk and cotton company –Thanapaisal. “[To expand our business], we decided to manufacture our own fabrics. This made me realised that I needed to invest in RDD – research, design, and development – for our business to grow.”

Usually, when designers want to create a piece, they have to choose a material from limited varieties, but Dhammongkol decided to adopt a more radical approach. “Why don't we first think of the product we want, and then develop a fabric that would serve that need?” he asked.

Take a collection of scarves for example. The Thanapaisal’s researchers would first consider the desired characteristics of the scarf– whether soft and smooth, or shiny and strong. Then they would delve deeper into details, such as the pattern and dyeing technique to be adopted, and from that develop the right materials for the product.

Although it may seem easy in theory, in reality it proved much more complicated. Dhammongkol struggled to find the right researchers. Although he established his laboratory 20 years ago and his research and development division 10 years later, it’s only in the past few years that his labour has borne fruit. Thanapaisal has recently created a collagen and silk fabric, which is extraordinarily smooth while retaining the reflective property of silk. Dhammongkol has presented this new material at many trade shows around the world to positive feedback.

Through his research, Dhammongkol hopes to help the development of Thai fabric industry as a whole. Together with the Thai National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Thanapaisal is researching the possibility of applying nanotechnology to push the boundaries of fabric technology. Dhammongkol plans to use coating lamination to give cotton a leather-like surface, something he feels has great potential for a new collection of cotton bags.

However, businesses do not become financially successful from laboratory work alone. Dhammongkol stresses the importance of joining trade shows around the world, and encourages Thai business people to do likewise. “It is important to reach out to our customers,” he says.

Words by Ratipol Opasjaroenkij

For further information, please visit http://www.thanapaisal.com.