It is difficult to imagine the complexity of manufacturing the innovative textiles developed by Payen.
It is only by visiting the group's three Ardèche factories that one can really grasp the added value of this unique manufacturing process.
Here is a quick tour.
This first step of the process, carried out in a refurbished two-century old silk factory, consists in giving the polymer its intrinsic resistance properties by heating it at high temperature.
These textured yarns, in various thicknesses, are the basic ingredient of the elastic materials manufactured by Payen.
At this second industrial site, the covering operation is carried out. An elastane yarn (the core) is surrounded and protected by one or more textured yarns.
Part of the secret of manufacturing is hidden here, because by playing with the speed and direction of the winding, we give the yarns their elasticity but also their resistance properties.
Once the spools of yarn have been made up, the weaving operations are carried out at a third industrial site.
To do this, a preliminary warping step winds the threads parallel to each other to form the weft.
This is probably the most impressive part of the process, as positioning the 800 threads parallel to each other by hand requires rigour and meticulousness.
The weft thread is passed perpendicularly to the warp in an entanglement specific to each material. The successive round trips of the weft thread gradually build up the canvas.
Once the fabric is finished, the next step is dyeing and finishing. This is carried out in a closed circuit in an autoclave that recycles more than 99.9% of the dye water.
For this process, only colours with the highest resistance and durability ratings should be used.
It took between 4 and 6 weeks to complete the entire painting.
The complexity of this process makes it 5 to 10 times more expensive than a conventional sports material.
But it is also what allows us to offer you materials of incredible quality!
