The Lycra Company, a developer of innovative solutions for the textile, apparel and personal care industries, is marking its first anniversary as a standalone subsidiary of the Ruyi Group on Jan. 31.
The company is sharpening its focus to create value through strategic investments in science and technology, given that innovation is a key enabler of its future success. Lycra is also exploring potential synergies with Ruyi, its majority shareholder, that include leveraging its spandex capacity and fully integrated value chain.
“Ruyi has been a strong partner that understood the challenges we faced as a new business, including the impact global economic trends had on our business performance,” Dave Trerotola, CEO of the Lycra Company, said. “This transition year also gave us plenty of wins, as we built a strong foundation for future growth by continuing our heritage of investing in innovation.”
The company recently opened a state-of-the-art research and development lab in Foshan, China, and launched several new solutions designed to add value to collections and meet consumer needs for comfort and performance.
This includes expanded its EcoMade portfolio of sustainable products and introducing its first print technology offering. The company, based in Wilmington, Del., recently introduced Lycra EcoMade fiber, its first branded spandex that offers the same performance as the original Lycra fiber, but is made with pre-consumer recycled content.
Lycra FitSense, which bowed last year, is a water-based dispersion that is screen-printed onto garments to deliver lightweight, targeted support. The new Lycra MyFit fiber creates apparel with greater shape tolerance to offer consumers a customized fit experience.
The company also rolled out an integrated marketing program to increase brand awareness and drive preference for Lycra fiber in China.
Looking ahead, the company noted that it has “a robust innovation pipeline full of new and improved products to help it win in the marketplace.” The company has also reaffirmed its commitment to its sustainability platform, Planet Agenda, which touches every aspect of the business, from corporate responsibility and manufacturing excellence to product sustainability.
“I’m really proud of everything we accomplished in our first year,” Trerotola added. “We’re very excited to be part of the Ruyi family and look forward to its ongoing support as we continue to transform our business and the apparel and personal care industries.”