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MAGAZINE www.furpile.it - info@furpile.it

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Realizzato da: Prato Press srlvia Frediani 51/2, 59100 Prato tel. 338/7435000Progetto Grafico: morganadesign

F ar more than a mere business strategy, Furpi-le Idea’s initiative for the new season is a real and proper quality project, an undertaking

which will distinguish the company from the traditional industrial textile mills which made the fortune of Prato and its citizens between the 1960s and the end of the 20th century, but have since proved unable to cope with the challenges of globalization. Rather than playing on the defensive and protecting the position his company has worked so hard to achieve, An-drea Cavicchi, chairman of Furpile Idea, has decided to attack, focusing on innovation and the creation of new openings for the Prato textile industry in order to forge his company’s future. Hence the idea of concentrating on quality, a concept which not only regards the standard of the products manufactured by Furpile Idea and the company’s ability to interpret future mar-ket demands and anticipate cu-stomer needs, but which is also synonymous with safety, with certification and with guarante-eing every stage of the produc-tion system from the first tuft of wool to the finished textile. Naturally, a company which en-sures this level of quality wants to publicize its achievements. Thus the Furpile Idea quality project also includes various initiatives focusing on communications and the identi-fication of the best means of conveying the company’s focus on quality to its public of reference. These initia-tives include tools such as the magazine you are curren-tly reading or the video documentary Furpile Idea has commissioned to explain the everyday business of the company, both of which are means of supporting Furpi-le Idea’s entrepreneurial activity. However, the company has also backed projects organized by Prato Textile Mu-seum, the Prato Campus of the University of Florence and Istituto Polimoda, with a view to pursuing research

and innovation by setting up direct relationships with young designers and researchers.In addition to continuing its core business as a manu-facturer of fleeces and faux furs, Furpile Idea also aims to establish its name as a laboratory, offering a “wor-king” example of how the companies of Prato textile district need to adapt in order to continue playing a leading role in the national and international econo-mic arena. Indeed, the only competitive advantage left to western manufacturers, who are no longer able to compete as far as price or speed of production are con-cerned, is the quality and safety of their products. For-tunately, as far as the quality and safety of the products of Prato textile industry are concerned, Furpile Idea is already leading the way.

A quality project looking toward the future

A video-documentary where a cartoon character shows us Furpile Idea’s world.

the movie

Cooperation with the important Florentine Institute with a prize given to young fashion designers.

Polimoda

The challenge of competitiveness can be won only with the assurance and authenticity guaranteed.

reliability

Updating courses for our staff to be always ready to catch market’s tendences.

training

in this issue

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C ontaining information, interviews and a 15 minute film explaining every stage of the entire textile production system, from the

collection of the first tuft of wool to the finished tex-tile, this one-hour video documentary is far more than a mere promotional tool. As Andrea Cavicchi, chairman of Furpile Idea and the driving force behind the ma-king of the video, explains, “our aim is to raise people’s awareness of the impor-tance of wearing clothing made from safe, guaranteed textiles. I am convinced that after the battle we have seen to ensure the genuine-ness of food products, the idea of guaranteeing the safety and quality of texti-les is the next step forward as far as consumer protec-tion is concerned. As a tex-tile entrepreneur working in Prato industrial district, I am convinced that only by ensuring product quality, safety and certification can we hope to remain compe-titive in the marketplace.”Both Matteo Querci and Fabrizio Dolfi, the founding partners of 25fps Video, a Prato company specializing in film products, were overwhelmed by Cavicchi’s con-viction. According to Matteo Querci, “the project pro-posed by Andrea Cavicchi was something out of the ordinary: its pace, style and contents make it more of a documentary than a corporate promo.” On the other hand, Fabrizio Dolfi is convinced that “it will un-doubtedly have an incredibly strong impact. The video lightheartedly reconstructs every step of the textile production system using a series of processes which, as far as I know, are completely new but which I am sure everyone, not just those in the industry, will find extremely interesting to watch. Although it obviously includes some technical material, it is an extremely en-joyable product.”

Explaining the message he intends to communicate via the video, Andrea Cavicchi emphasizes that “the issue I have at heart, an issue which I am sure lies in the hearts of all Prato entrepreneurs, is the question of product traceability. Traceability is a way of guaran-teeing the quality of a product and ensuring the end customer that everything has been made according to

the rules and the law of the land. It is a concept we must work hard to transmit,” he continues, “as, in the same way that we want to know exactly what we put in our mouths, we now also want to know what comes into contact with our and our children’s skin.”

Backstage pictures

Communication & marketing to leave a mark

The Character

Furpile Idea’s latest communications initiative, a video-documentary focusing on the work of the company, is just one of the many ways in which Andrea Cavicchi and his staff are aiming to highlight the company’s production and commercial activities. Indeed, although marketing is an activity which many traditionalists shun, Furpile Idea is well aware of the fact that it is now a fundamental means

of supporting the business of any company wishing to compete in the marketplace. In addition to the video, Fur-pile Idea has also embarked on a series of initiatives designed to support young people in-volved in the textile sector, in-cluding sponsorship of the Play Trend competitions organized by Prato Textile Museum and, more recently, the furnishing of a grant designed to enable a young designer to study at Isti-tuto Polimoda in Florence. As far as the company’s publishing ini-tiatives are concerned, of which this magazine is the second, Furpile Idea has also produced a series of notebooks similar to the legendary Moleskine notebooks used by many of the world’s most famous artists and thinkers, the aim of which is to facilitate the drafting of “travel notes for the development of a collection”.

While the first, fundamental step to commercial success is undoubtedly the quality of the product, it is also ne-cessary to make the public aware of the product and its points of excellence. In the words of Henry Ford, “a man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops the clock to save time.”

Created by 25fps Video on behalf of Furpile Idea, the video documentary focuses on John McPile, an amusing cartoon figure created by the graphic designers of Short Cut Studio in Florence. John McPile is a tuft of wool from the Scottish highlands who comes to Furpile Idea University in Prato to study textile production. Having passed exams regarding every aspect of textile manufacturing, quality certification and product safety, he graduates from the univer-sity with a degree which certifies his being a genuine tuft of wool.As Matteo Querci and Fabrizio Dolfi, the makers of the documentary, explain, “the idea of desi-gning a cartoon figure was based on the need to find an entertaining way of accompanying our viewers through the various stages of the textile production process. The result was this delightful character who makes even the most detailed technical explanation enjoyable.”Although the story of John McPile is undoubte-dly the central feature of the Furpile Idea DVD, the video also contains studies of specific areas of interest and interviews with technical ex-perts and analysts. Having taken two months to complete, from commencement of filming to conclusion of the post-production stage, the hour-long, bi-lingual (English and Italian) video was filmed on location at Furpile Idea and in the facilities of its various suppliers, all of whom are certified businesses operating in the “100% Made in Prato” textile production system.

John Mc Pile guides us into the world of Furpile Idea

A movie-documentary about the textile processes with particular attention to relialability and genuineness of the product

Movie

45furpile idea adopts a young fashion designer

The winning formula of the relashionship between school and enterprise

“ The worlds of manufacturing and creativity walking hand in hand looking for new ways to re-launch the Prato textile industry” is proba-

bly the best way of describing the relationship between Furpile Idea, a Prato company whose core business is the manufacture of fleeces and faux-furs, and Johanna Katha-rina Maninger, a twenty four year old fashion design stu-dent from Istituto Polimoda. As winner of the Furpile Idea Innovation Award, a prize awarded at the 2010 Polimoda Fashion Show, Johanna Maninger will have the chance to attend a Masters Course at Istituto Polimoda and to col-laborate with Furpile Idea for an entire year. Furthermore, thanks to Furpile Idea, the young Austrian designer has al-ready shown her collection (Collezione Praise) at the Prima Moda Tessuto trade fair, an event promoted by the Prato-trade consortium in synergy with Pitti Immagine, during which the entire textile industry presented its Autumn-Winter 2011-2012 collections.As Andrea Cavicch explains, “the joint venture we have just started with Istituito Polimoda is part of a corporate strategy we implemented some time ago. Furpile Idea is very attentive to young people and training. Thanks to the

Innovation Award, each year Furpile Idea will further the training of one of the best graduates from Istituto Polimoda, helping them financially to continue their postgra-duate studies, but also enabling them to establish a relationship with our company in such a way as to generate a reciprocal exchange of information and stimulus. We are convinced that stylistic research will play an increasingly important role in the creation of finished products in the future, a role which can only be fully expressed when the manufacturer works in close collaboration with the designer”.

Using a wide variety of textiles including silk, wool, cashmere and cotton, Johanna Katharina Maninger’s col-lection is inspired by the concept of liberation from con-strictions. Her clothes are masculine in cut, but designed to be worn by women in such a way that they offer their wearer the chance to hide and feel at ease. The collection has received praise from both Raffaello Napoleone, mana-ging director of Pitti Immagine, and Linda Loppa, director of Istituto Polimoda.

R ecognized as one of the best fashion schools in Eu-rope, Istituto Polimoda is located in the grounds of Villa Strozzi in Florence. The institute was founded

in 1986 upon an initiative financed by the municipalities of Flo-rence and Prato and various entrepreneurial associations and is chaired by Ferruccio Ferragamo, chairman of the multinational company of the same name. Since 2007, the development of the institute has been managed by Linda Loppa, founder of the famous Antwerp Academy of Fashion.The wide range of courses offered by Polimoda Institute inclu-des preparatory, post-diploma and masters courses covering every aspect of the fashion industry - design, marketing, ma-nagement and communication – while the fact that it is rooted deep in the heart of the Italian fashion production system me-ans it enjoys a privileged relationship with various companies operating in the sector and is thus able to answer market de-mand for professional figures quickly and effectively, preparing

its graduates to the point that they are ready for immediate inclusion in the labour force. The fact that Istituto Polimoda keeps in constant contact with the world of enterprise means it is able to organize regular work experience initiatives, opportu-nities for its students to complete their training in loco which have proved fundamental to facilitating their employment in some of the fashion industry’s most highly respected companies on conclusion of their studies. Istitute Polimoda also collabo-rates on an annual basis with various local companies for the purpose of promoting young talent via the funding of prizes and study grants, the latest example being the Innovation Award furnished by Furpile Idea during the 2010 Fashion Show (a showcase of the work of the institute’s graduands in Fashion Design) which was won by Johanna Katharina Maninger. The success of the Istituto Polimoda’s work is reflected in the fact that, every year, 90% of its over 1000 graduates (of whom 50% are foreigners) find work within 6 months of graduation.

Award

Joint ventures

Interview“The chance to follow the creation of a texti-le from the very outset is an experience every young designer should strive for,” says Johanna Katharina Maninger, winner of the first Furpile Idea Innovation Award, a prize awarded at the 2010 Polimoda Fashion Show which will enable this young Austrian designer both to attend a Masters Course at Istituto Polimoda and, on the express wishes of the chairman of Furpile Idea, Andrea Cavicchi, to collaborate with his com-pany for an entire year. “My experience at the Prima Moda Tessuto and Pitti Immagine Filati trade fairs was extremely positive,” says the 24 year old design student, “and, although I had al-ready participated in the fair with the school, experiencing it from the other side of the stand was completely different and certainly enriched my professional skills”. Similarly, Johanna’s visit to the Furpile facilities, a tour of every stage of the company’s textile production and marketing system brought her into contact with “nume-rous new, very innovative textiles I had never heard of before. It is fundamental for fashion designers to have a detailed knowledge of the type of textile they are working with, otherwi-se they risk designing one thing and seeing so-mething very different when it is made up.” Jo-hanna Katharina Maninger has lived in Florence for over three years, speaks fluent Italian and Russian in addition to her mother tongue Ger-man and majored in theatre before commencing her studies at Istituto Polimoda.

Polimoda is the heart of fashion training with a thousand students each year

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T he title of Edoardo De Filippo’s play, Exams Never End, perfectly sums up Furpile Idea’s approach to staff training. Indeed, over the

last couple of years, the company has invested conside-rable resources in improving the professional skills of all its employees via the organization of training courses in collaboration with Prato Industrial Union, the Prato Campus of the University of Florence and the Universi-ty of Florence. As Andrea Cavicchi, chairman of Furpile Idea, explains, “the courses are the result of a strategic decision based on the concept that a company can only grow if its employees grow with it. Our staff are quite happy to attend training initiatives as they know that each course offers them the chance to increase their professional skills.”All the company’s employees, be they members of the administrative, sales or technical department, are ex-pected to participate in training initiatives, many of which are interdisciplinary. Indeed, Andrea Cavicchi is “convinced that it is necessary for each of our employe-es to have some kind of specialization in a sector other than his or her own. For example, our sales staff now have sufficient technical and design skills to be able to advise a customer on exactly the right choice of textile for their needs. If you want to stay afloat in this busi-ness, you have to be able to ensure top level service. This is only possible when all your employees are highly trai-

ned.” Furpile Idea’s openness to ongoing training initia-tives means it is often the subject of university research, one of the most recently completed studies being an analysis of Furpile Idea’s logistics and handling activi-ties by the LogisLab research team of the Department of Engineering of the University of Florence, during which a researcher spent three months with the staff of the warehousing department, analyzing every step of their work and highlighting any down times, errors of programming and so on. The results of the analysis were then used to reorganize the activities of the company’s inter-nal logistics department.As far as IT is concerned, all the company’s employees attend re-gular refresher courses regarding the use of computer programmes and internet. This not only enables them to provide the company’s customers with quicker, more accurate answers but also has a direct effect on productivity. Fur-thermore, following participation in a series of courses on credit management and financing in collaboration with the Italian Cre-

dit Insurance Association, Furpile Idea’s administrative staff have set up a highly efficient customer manage-ment system which has practically eliminated the pro-blem of bad credit.“Our company is like a team,” Cavicchi concludes, “and thus training is an integral part of our work. Indeed, the personal development of each member of staff contribu-tes to the development of the company.”

A guaranteed product with Prato brand

Continuous training to stay on the market

P rato textile industry’s competitive advanta-ge no longer lies in price: quality, service and product safety are the new keys to its

success. This is the Copernican Revolution to which Prato textile industry must react in order to continue playing a leading role in the international arena. A landmark shift wholeheartedly supported by Giuseppe Bartolini, director of Buzzi Laboratory, one of Prato’s leading centres of excellence, a school-hosted textile laboratory (the only one of its kind in Italy) which em-ploys 15 fulltime technicians but which Bartolini says “could employ far more, seeing the amount of work we’ve got to do”.Bartolini’s aim is to enable full traceability of all textile products made in Prato. “Product safety is an increa-singly central issue,” he confirms, “an issue which over 70% of our tests regard and which Prato textile indu-stry can play an important role in promoting, especially if we agree to work together with the fashion system. Putting it plainly, it is a question of certifying the entire

production system, from the spinning stage to the we-aving, dyeing and finishing stages. Of course, this will only be possible if our customers agree to support us”. The aim of the project is not only to certify the quality of the products manufactured by Prato textile industry but also, and perhaps more importantly, the safety of the entire manufacturing process. Buz-zi Laboratory is recognized as one of only two indepen-dent bodies (the other being Brachi Labora-tory, another centre of excellence of the Prato industrial di-strict) accredited to guarantee and certify the quality and safety of textiles and the en-tire textile production process in Italy.

New frontiers

Updaiting

Quality and InnovationFurpile Idea’s production process has always focused on quality and product safety. Indeed, Furpile Idea was one of the first companies in Prato to set up its own in-house laboratory, a facility which now certifies products on behalf of some of the world’s leading fashion labels. Although it may have seemed like a daring ini-tiative at first, the laboratory is now generating extremely positive results. Indeed, the company hardly receives any complaints and its custo-mers enjoy the added value of a product whose quality is guaranteed by the systematic testing of every step of the production system (be the activities performed in-house or entrusted to third parties). Yet Furpile Idea’s research initia-tives do not end here. The fact that the com-pany has also established a close relationship with the Prato Campus of the University of Florence means that the Furpile catalogue is always brimming with new ideas. Furpile Idea offers its customers a range of pro-ducts which is able to satisfy every need, some of the most innovative being an antibacterial textile treated with Polygiene (a special odour-free technology which prevents the develop-ment of bacteria), a luminous textile which lights up via an ingenious system of optical fibres, a shower and flameproof textile for use in the manufacture of firefighting equipment and Tencel, a biodegradable fleece entirely ge-nerated from an eco-sustainable wood fibre certified by the Oeko Tex standard 100 label.