We visited Moda21 and spoke with Hernâni Gouveia, the Managing Director since 2003. With a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Textile Production Engineering, he has taught at secondary school level, been responsible for maintenance and energy at a large textile company in Guimarães, worked in local government, and now returned to the textile industry.
Moda21
Moda21 was created by a group of businesspeople from Póvoa de Lanhoso who realised that they could not compete in the textile sector on their own. So they joined forces and created a number of companies to serve the group, including a knitting factory, a dyeing factory and a purchasing centre.
The dyeing factory, Moda21, was established in 2001 to provide the group’s companies with textile dyeing and finishing services. This meant that Moda21 could offer the group better prices and delivery times, which went from a few weeks to just over a week. According to Mr Hernâni, customers demand just-in-time production, in which the product must be delivered within the defined deadline and in the agreed quantity. Often, the knitwear is still on its way to Moda21 and customers are already asking if they can pick up their order the next day.
The day-to-day life of Moda21
Moda21 is the go-to solution for bridging the gap between the weaving industry and clothing manufacturers. After fabric production, it is sent to Moda21, where it is dyed according to the customer’s specifications and then sent to clothing manufacturers for production.
Engineer Hernâni draws a clear parallel between the activity of a dyeing factory and that of a corner bakery. “In bakeries, when the baker turns on the oven, he spends the same amount of money baking 100 or 1,000 loaves of bread (maximum oven capacity). If, for the baker, 500 loaves are enough to balance the books and maximise the use of the equipment, he can apply a discount of €0.02 on each loaf to sell more at a lower price, better spread the costs and create value. In a dry cleaner’s, as in other areas of business, it works the same way. When a customer has large quantities, they can negotiate the price and sometimes even dictate the price.
The dyeing service, Moda21, is sold by the kg, meaning that the more kg of fabric, the more profit Moda21 can make. For example, in 2003, the trend was for thick knitwear, where 1 metre of knitwear weighed almost 1 kg, while today the trend is for fine knitwear, where 15 metres are needed to obtain 1 kg of knitwear. According to Eng. Hernâni, although the drying process is faster, the operating costs are different.
Moda21 works only with the international market. Engineer Hernâni says that “Portugal has a small textile industry; it should be bigger. We employ around 176,000 people in the textile sector and contribute around €8 billion to GDP. We need more muscle to be able to compete with other markets.”
In addition, seasonality in the textile sector sometimes requires the creation of more shifts to ensure responsiveness, although Moda21 already works with the necessary resources to avoid overburdening its workers with overtime at weekends.
The importance of sustainability and energy efficiency
Moda21 initially used a natural gas combustion system in a boiler to produce steam for heating the machines. However, it quickly realised that this was not the most cost-effective way to heat the water for dyeing.
In 2008, Moda21 installed a cogeneration plant, where a 3200Kw natural gas engine produced both electricity and thermal energy. The steam from the combustion exhaust gases and hot water from the cooling of the engine’s internal circuits heated the water in the dyeing plant.
However, in 2022, the explosion in energy costs led to an increase in the cost of natural gas, which usually cost around €20/MWh and rose to €350/MWh, and electricity, which was around €50/MWh and rose to €600/MWh.
This increase had a strong impact on all energy-intensive companies, such as Moda21. Therefore, as energy is one of Moda21’s main expenses (energy, human resources and chemicals), this increase represents amounts that can exceed 25% of its turnover.
Moda21 had to rethink how it produces energy and how to reduce costs. It invested around €2 million in the creation of a biomass plant.
The Moda21 biomass power plant
Mr Hernâni had some reservations about the biomass plant due to the unsuccessful experience in the 1980s, but they decided to proceed with the project.
The biomass plant consists of two silos that operate in alternation to feed the system. When one silo is empty, Moda21 records and evaluates the steam production of that silo, while the biomass plant uses the other silo. This allows the performance of the process to be evaluated and monitored.
Another fundamental tool for accounting for biomass is the Truck Weighbridge. By weighing the biomass, Moda21 assesses its weight and, consequently, its quality, which is determined by the amount of water it contains.
Moda21 works every day to contribute to decarbonisation through solar field and energy storage projects. Moda21 takes one step at a time, because cutting-edge technologies are very expensive and it is necessary to find a balance.
Sustainability has always been a priority for Moda21. Although all environmental requirements related to emissions, water and energy are met, Eng. Hernâni states that energy certification can be an added value, but not a goal.
The Biomass Centre’s Weighbridge
Moda21 has been a valued customer of Barcelbal since 2015. In 2022, when the biomass plant project was initiated, Engineer Hernâni directly approached Barcelbal to purchase a Truck Weighbridge to ensure precise control of the biomass supplies to the plant.
According to Eng. Hernâni, it is the unwavering partnership and mutual assistance that has led Moda21 to continue working with Barcelbal.
The Truck Weighbridge installed at Moda21 boasts a robust mixed metal and concrete structure firmly embedded in the ground. With dimensions of 18x3m and a capacity of 60t, this advanced weighing equipment ensures precise control of the weight of various biomass transport vehicles.
To streamline the process of entering the biomass plant, a dedicated cabinet with a touch screen is strategically positioned next to the truck weighbridge, enabling drivers to weigh their loads with ease and independence.
Integration of the Truck Weighbridge into the biomass plant’s production process
When a biomass transport truck arrives at Moda21, it heads straight for the weighbridge – how clever is that! All the driver has to do is tell the system his code and one of the gates of the biomass plant opens straight away. Then the system checks the supplier’s ID and the truck’s weight, before sending orders to the biomass plant to make the silo available by opening the entrance gate. The lorry then goes to the silo with the gate open, where it unloads the biomass.It then returns to the weighing platform to be tared, and the system saves the weighing data and closes the silo gate so that the biomass plant can continue to operate as scheduled.
Barcelbal’s Truck Weighbridge plays a key role in the biomass plant’s process. The weighing equipment records the weight of the biomass, which Moda21 uses to assess the specific weight of the biomass and its moisture content. This will be reflected in the biomass’s yield.
Although Moda21 purchases biomass by the m³, this measurement does not allow it to account for the energy produced. This depends on other factors, such as the moisture level of the biomass. In turn, the more moisture the biomass contains, the heavier it will be and the more energy will be required to burn it.
The weighings collected at the weighbridge are recorded in the TruckinGest software and integrated into Moda21’s internal management software, which coordinates the opening and closing of the biomass plant gates. According to Mr Hernâni, the integration was quite simple.
“We have always had an excellent relationship, a spirit of partnership and mutual assistance. My experience with Barcelbal has been positive.”
Eng. Hernâni Gouveia
Managing Director
Moda21
The success of Moda21 is our success!