Nyobe located in Kruishoutem (Belgium) is the first Belgian producer of carpet yarns to obtain the STeP by Oeko-Tex® certificate.

OOn April 20th, 2017, the SteP by Oeko-Tex® certificate was delivered to Nyobe nv - Kruishoutem. Nyobe nv is the first carpet yarn manufacturing company in Belgium to successfully complete the audit and the fourth Belgian company that is allowed to use the STeP by Oeko-Tex® mark in its communication. Nyobe can now demonstrate in a transparent and documented manner that its production takes place under sustainable conditions in the field of management of chemicals, environmental performance, environmental management, occupational health and safety, social responsibility and quality management.

What is STeP by Oeko-Tex®?

STeP is a certification procedure that assesses and evaluates existing production processes on their use of eco-friendly technologies and products, the respect of fair working conditions and the environmental impact of the production site. STeP is short for “Sustainable Textile Production”. Through a modular analysis of all relevant company areas such as management of chemicals, environmental performance, environmental management, health and safety, social responsibility and quality management, the STeP certification allows a comprehensive and reliable analysis of the extent of sustainable management provided by a production facility. The STeP certificate guarantees that the company takes the rules of responsible and sustainable entrepreneurship at heart and that it engages itself in a process of continuous improvement. Because the STeP certification has been developed for the textile and clothing manufacturing industry, it can support the companies in a targeted way in their continuous process to improve their production conditions. To obtain the STeP-certificate, a company has to successfully complete an audit that is performed by one of the institutes, recognized by OEKO-TEX®, such as Centexbel. The audit assesses the measure in which a company is operating in a sustainable manner. The result is represented by a score from level 1 to level 3.

Who is Nyobe?

(© Nyobe nv) On the Nyobe website we read the following story: “Greek myth tells the tragic tale of proud Niobe, the Queen of Thebes, who suffered the wrath of the gods when she boasted the beauty of her six sons and six daughters to the jealous Titaness Leto. Queen Niobe lost her children and was transformed into a weeping rock, perched high on Mount Sipylus in the heart of Anatolia. Since that fateful day, Niobe's tears have streamed down the snow-capped mountain as waterfalls and rivers and transformed the valley below.” In the very same way, the nylon 6-yarns are now streaming down in the Nyobe company, named after her. NYOBE’s success story began in Kruishoutem in 1976 under the name BEAULIEU NYLON NV. Ever since, the story of Niobe has lived on in the company, which transforms a snow-white fountainhead into virgin polymer tears, and then spins these teardrops into white PA6 BCF yarns that will animate untold applications in downstream businesses worldwide. The company employs 166 people who are working in a full-continuous shift system, 365 days a year, 24/7. Nyobe nv manufactures high-grade nylon 6 polymer and PA6 BCF yarns for the textile industry (floorcovering). The name change in 2013 was accompanied by a “facelift” of the quality insurance system and by obtaining the ISO 14001 certificate. The increasing efforts in the field of environment and sustainability of Nyobe are now translated in the STeP certificate, in which the company obtained a level 3.

Contacts:

Centexbel Dirk Weydts is STeP by Oeko-Tex® auditor - dw@centexbel.be http://www.centexbel.be Nyobe nv Bert Decoene is environmental manager at Nyobe nv - Bert.Decoene@nyobe.be http://www.nyobe.be/