Archroma celebrates a century of sulfur dye innovation at its Castellbisbal site in Spain

The milestone was marked at an on-site ceremony attended by more than 250 guests, including authorities from the Catalan government, senior Archroma leaders from Spain and overseas, current and former staff, key customers and suppliers and other important stakeholders.

“Delivering consistent product quality and breakthroughs that have shaped the development of sulfur dyes, Archroma Castellbisbal has a heritage of excellence that has stood for a century. The expert team here is now poised to lead the next wave of advancements in the textile industry with a goal to continue to enhance the effectiveness and eco-friendliness of sulfur dyes and dyeing processes,” Mark Garrett, CEO of Archroma Group, said. “Archroma remains committed to maintaining Castellbisbal’s high standards and to investing in our people and facilities here.”

The Castellbisbal site traces its roots back to 1921, when Joan Cardoner Vidal founded a dye manufacturing company that was eventually bought by Sandoz, which was subsequently acquired by Clariant, and later, SK Capital to create Archroma. Its breakthroughs have helped sulfur dyeing technology become a staple in the production of denim, casual wear and workwear fabrics over the past 100 years, with excellent color fastness and cost-efficiency.

Home to a leading research center that has contributed numerous innovations, Castellbisbal is particularly known for the creation of Archroma’s DIRESUL® RDT range in the 1980’s, which entered the market as the first low sulfide pre-reduced sulfur dyes.

Recently, Archroma developed the cutting-edge DIRESUL® EVOLUTION BLACK which enables a significant impact reduction in the dye synthesis, allowing for the creation of new black denim styles.

Among patented technologies from the Castellbisbal-based research team are the DIRESUL® EarthColors and FiberColors dyes, which use waste from the food and textile industries respectively as raw materials. These revolutionary innovations manufactured at Castellbisbal for customers, brands and retailers, help to advance circularity in the textile industry.

The Castellbisbal site also leads the industry for its rigorous quality control measures, and contributes to the local community by partnering food banks and social service organizations, and collaborating with academic institutions specializing in chemistry. Castellbisbal also produces dyes used for the paper market, including DIRESUL® NATURAL BROWN P and DIRESUL® BLACK PFT.