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Ogre Knitwear is one of the leading manufacturers of knitwear in Europe.[ citation needed ] It has 390 employees. Turnover for 2011 was $15,093,775. It is based in Latvia
The construction of the Ogres Knitwear factory began in 1965. The decision to go forward with such a project was made by the United Counsel of Peoples Economy on 30 May 1964, and by the committee of Building and the Architectural committee of the ministry on 20 June 1964. From March 1965 until October 1968, the company bore the name of Ogres Knitwear factory. By the decision of the cabinet of ministers of Latvias SSR from 23 October 1968, and by the order of the ministry of light industry of Latvias SSR from 5 November 1968, Ogres Knitwear factory was renamed as Ogres Knitwear Factory of 50th anniversary of All-Union Leninist Young Communist League. The construction of the factory lasted five years. The funds spent on the project totalled 40 million rubles(US$1 – 1 Rub : 1–0,9000). The investment was recovered in 3,5 years. The factory possessed spinning mill and sowing equipment which was made in Italy, as well as knitting equipment from the United Kingdom. The completion of the factory was broken down into stages. The first stage of the spinning mill was completed on 28 February 1968, the second stage followed on 30 September 1969. On 30 July 1970, all stages of the project were completed. The main form of activities of the factory were determined to be spinning pure wool and half wool yarn mix, knitting fabrics, and manufacturing of knitted garments.
Slowly, the structure of the company began to take form. In 1965 there were four structural units (accounting, building, HR, equipment specialists), but in 1971 there were already 29 structural units. During those times, the factory was building momentum and adding new work force. The training of young employees took place in a professional technical institute in the city. The acceptance of the graduates was in a form of a special ceremony.
Later, during the work years, there were many motivation programs in place. There were professional contests. The winners received diplomas and other awards. In the summer, there was a festival where workers showed off their skills. From 1972, the company began publishing its own newspaper, Ausam. It was published every week in Russian and Latvian. The publication contained information about best performing workers and social news. Development continued in the 1980s – in 1981 a branch plant in Preiļi was built and put into operation. It was responsible for sewing knitwear garments. In the mid-80s the company again underwent a name change – by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Latvian SSR, 12 October 1985, it was renamed Ogre spinning and knitting union. The company worked under this title for the next 5 years. On 8 August 1990 the consortium of Light Industry "Latlegprom" on Presidium meeting endorsed the working unions request to rename the company – Enterprise Production Association "Ogre." On 10 June 1991 State Production Enterprise "Ogre" was registered in the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia. In the early 1990s there was a partial reconstruction of the spinning factory and an introduction of a new processing of wool fibers, using "Superwash" equipment. Wool which undergoes such processing is softer and wears longer. At the same time, the International Wool Secretariat presented the company with the right to bear the "Woolmark". In 1992, the company produced 3500 tons of yarn and 5 million units of knitwear. Yarn was mainly used for the operation of the enterprise, as well as being supplied to other companies in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, in turn, the knitwear produced was sold in Latvia and abroad – in Germany, Sweden, Finland. The changing socio economic structure of the state affected the factory. It transformed from a state-owned factory to a private company. In 1997 it belonged to the holding company, "Baltin Holdnig" and from 2004 continues its successful development within the holding company, "Mono."
The company's products include: Sweatshirts, Sweaters, Jumpers, Vests, Tunics, Cardigans, Dresses, Sundresses, Skirts, Shorts, Scarves, Gloves, Hats, and Bags.
The basic range is complemented by Exclusive knitwear collections from designers of Latvia.
The following designers had made collection exclusively for Ogres: Natalia Jansone, Irina Koshakova, Anna Ledskalninya, Alice Trautmann, and Madara Puce.
The Clothing is made from natural materials and their mixes. The company uses: Cashmere, Angora, Mohair, Cotton, Merino, Lambs Wool, Silk, and Linnen.
In the process of production of goods the latest yarns are used from such companies as LANEROSSO, RAUMER & E.MIROGLIO, GTI Ricignolo un Z.HINCHLIFF & SONS LIMITED.
Ogres Knitwear is a producer of knitwear for such brands as: Ungaro, Pierre Cardin, Braх, Glenmuir, and Marks & Spencer.
At the present time, technical capabilities of Ogres Knitwear allow it to handle a wide variety of customer requests. Knitting machines 21.gg, can produce finished parts, which need to be put together by hand to produce finished garments; capacity- 240,000 units per year. These machines are compatible with merino, cotton, wool, acrylic, viscose. Knitting machines 15.gg, can produce finished parts, which need to be put together by hand to produce finished garments; capacity- 180,000 units per year. These machines are compatible with wool mixes, lambs wool and cotton. Shima Seiki 12 Knitting machines, can combine several types of patterns in one product, capacity – 200 000 units per year. Stoll 7 Knitting machines, can combine several types of patterns in one product, capacity – 100 000 units per year. Shima Seiki 5 Knitting machines, can combine several types of patterns in one product, capacity – 50 000 units per year. Shima Seiki 18 Knitting machines, which produce exclusive models in small lots of cashmere, merino wool, have the capacity of 25 000 units. Production capacity of knitting machines RTR 10–12, SPI 8 and 16 MSI is 20,000 items per year. The factory is also equipped with large sewing capabilities.
Since 2003 the company has started the development of a network of its own retail shops in the premium segment of the knitwear market. At the moment, the company has 16 stores in Riga, Jurmala and Ogre. In 2011 some of the shops took part in the competition for the best Christmas window decorations in Riga and received great feedback.
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or other lubricants to withstand the stresses involved in sewing. Embroidery threads are yarns specifically designed for needlework. Yarn can be made of a number of natural or synthetic materials, and comes in a variety of colors and thicknesses. Although yarn may be dyed different colours, most yarns are solid coloured with a uniform hue.
Woolen or woollen is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast to worsted yarn, in which the fibers are combed to lie parallel rather than carded, producing a hard, strong yarn.
Angora hair or Angora fibre refers to the downy coat produced by the Angora rabbit. While the names of the source animals are similar, Angora fibre is distinct from mohair, which comes from the Angora goat. Angora fibre is also distinct from cashmere, which comes from the cashmere goat. Angora is known for its softness, thin fibres, and what knitters refer to as a halo (fluffiness). It is also known for its silky texture. It is much warmer and lighter than wool due to the hollow core of the angora fibre. It also gives the wool its characteristic floating feel.
Cashmere wool, usually simply known as cashmere, is a fiber obtained from cashmere goats, pashmina goats, and some other breeds of goat. It has been used to make yarn, textiles and clothing for hundreds of years. Cashmere is closely associated with the Kashmir shawl, the word "cashmere" deriving from an anglicization of Kashmir, when the Kashmir shawl reached Europe in the 19th century. Both the soft undercoat and the guard hairs may be used; the softer hair is reserved for textiles, while the coarse guard hair is used for brushes and other non-apparel purposes.
Knitting is the process of using two or more needles to pull and loop yarn into a series of interconnected loops in order to create a finished garment or some other type of fabric. The word is derived from knot, thought to originate from the Dutch verb knutten, which is similar to the Old English cnyttan, "to knot". Its origins lie in the basic human need for clothing for protection against the elements. More recently, hand knitting has become less a necessary skill and more of a hobby.
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry.
Acrylic fibers are synthetic fibers made from a polymer (polyacrylonitrile) with an average molecular weight of ~100,000, about 1900 monomer units. For a fiber to be called "acrylic" in the US, the polymer must contain at least 85% acrylonitrile monomer. Typical comonomers are vinyl acetate or methyl acrylate. DuPont created the first acrylic fibers in 1941 and trademarked them under the name Orlon. It was first developed in the mid-1940s but was not produced in large quantities until the 1950s. Strong and warm acrylic fiber is often used for sweaters and tracksuits and as linings for boots and gloves, as well as in furnishing fabrics and carpets. It is manufactured as a filament, then cut into short staple lengths similar to wool hairs, and spun into yarn.
The term "gauge" is used in knitting to describe the fineness size of knitting machines. It is used in both hand knitting and machine knitting. The phrase in both instances refers to the number of stitches per inch rather than the size of the finished article of clothing. The gauge is calculated by counting the stitches or needles across a number of inches, then dividing by the sample's width in inches.
John Smedley Ltd is an English luxury clothing brand specialising in knitwear like polo shirts and sweaters for men and women. The company applies a “Made in England” tag to every garment made. John Smedley has remained a family business since 1784, and is now managed by the 8th generation of the Smedley family. Historically, four generations of men named John Smedley owned Lea Mills, near Matlock, Derbyshire. The most famous of these was John Smedley (1803–1874), who is considered the namesake of the brand. The John Smedley company sells clothing in over 30 countries; its largest export market is Japan. In the UK, John Smedley has concessions in branches of Flannels and Fenwick.
The manufacture of textiles is one of the oldest of human technologies. To make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fiber from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving, which turns yarn into cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. For decoration, the process of colouring yarn or the finished material is dyeing. For more information of the various steps, see textile manufacturing.
Animal fibers are natural fibers that consist largely of certain proteins. Examples include silk, hair/fur and feathers. The animal fibers used most commonly both in the manufacturing world as well as by the hand spinners are wool from domestic sheep and silk. Also very popular are alpaca fiber and mohair from Angora goats. Unusual fibers such as Angora wool from rabbits and Chiengora from dogs also exist, but are rarely used for mass production.
Alpaca fleece is the natural fiber harvested from an alpaca. There are two different types of alpaca fleece. The most common fleece type comes from a Huacaya. Huacaya fiber grows and looks similar to sheep wool in that the animal looks "fluffy". The second type of alpaca is Suri and makes up less than 10% of the South American alpaca population. Suri fiber is more similar to natural silk and hangs off the body in locks that have a dreadlock appearance. While both fibers can be used in the worsted milling process using light weight yarn or thread, Huacaya fiber can also be used in a woolen process and spun into various weight yarns. It is a soft, durable, luxurious and silky natural fiber.
Textile manufacturing is one of the oldest human activities. The oldest known textiles date back to about 5000 B.C. In order to make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fibre from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving to create cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. Cloth is finished by what are described as wet process to become fabric. The fabric may be dyed, printed or decorated by embroidering with coloured yarns.
Dimensional stability pertains to a fabric's ability to maintain its initial size and shape even after undergoing wear and care, which is a desirable property. Dimension stability in fabrics or Shrinkage is the change of dimensions in textile products when they are washed or relaxed. The change is always expressed relative to the dimensions before the exposure of washing or relaxing. Shrinkage is also called residual shrinkage and measured in percentage. The major cause of shrinkages is the release of stresses and strains introduced in manufacturing processes. Textile manufacturing is based on the conversion of fiber into yarn, yarn into fabric, includes spinning, weaving, or knitting, etc. The fabric passes through many inevitable changes and mechanical forces during this journey. When the products are immersed in water, the water acts as a relaxing medium, and all stresses and strains are relaxed and the fabric tries to come back to its original state.
The textile industry is the largest manufacturing industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is the eighth largest exporter of textile commodities in Asia. Textile sector contributes 8.5% to the GDP of Pakistan. In addition, the sector employs about 45% of the total labor force in the country. Pakistan is the fourth largest producer of cotton with the third largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India and contributes 5% to the global spinning capacity. At present, there are 1,221 ginning units, 442 spinning units, 124 large spinning units and 425 small units which produce textile.
Yak fiber is the term commonly used to refer yak fiber wool produced from the coat hair of yaks, a long-haired bovine mainly found in the Himalayan region, Tibetan plateau, and some areas of Mongolia and Central Asia.
Barrie is a Scottish company specialising in the production of cashmere collections. Founded in the Borders in 1903, Barrie was acquired by Chanel. in 2012. A “Barrie” brand was launched in 2014.
Kraemer Textiles Inc. is a privately held American yarn manufacturing company founded in 1887, based in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. It produces its own handicraft yarns under the Kraemer Yarns brand, and spins natural and manmade fibers for carpets, industrial use, and home furnishings. It was one of the companies partnered with the Ralph Lauren Corporation to produce the distinctive outerwear for the 2014 Winter Olympics team representing the United States.
The Textile Industry Museum is a museum in Salhus, Bergen, Norway. It is within the former knitwear factory Salhus Tricotagefabrik, a national industrial heritage site. The museum was founded in 1992, and officially opened in 2001. It focuses on education, documentation of and research into the Norwegian knitwear- and textile industry. In 2020 the factory buildings were protected by The Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
