ACA THREADS

With over 60 years’ experience, ACA Threads is a pioneer in the sewing thread industry.

Founded by the Marshing family in 1953, ACA conducts business with competence, integrity, and a commitment to innovation by implementing the latest and most advanced technologies to meet global standards, according to the company’s website.

This sentiment was echoed by Hennie Groenewald (pictured below), the company’s national sales manager, during a recent visit to the ACA Threads manufacturing plant in Brackenfell.

Our philosophy is that instead of being seen as a thread manufacturer and supplier only, we provide the technical assistance and additional services to the industry. Sustainability, constant innovation and doing business with integrity are aspects that are extremely important for us.

New technology has a huge impact on the way ACA runs its business. “Data is power,” says Groenewald. “New technology is helping us manage and monitor production. It has also helped us reduce the amount of water used in the thread dyeing process.”

Through equipment automation and process adaptation, ACA Threads managed to reduce its water consumption by up to 70% over the last five years.

GreenCape, the City of Cape Town and Western Cape Government’s special purpose vehicle (SPV) driving the adoption of economically viable green economy solutions, described ACA as a good example of a company in the textile manufacturing sector that has been able to significantly reduce its reliance on the municipal water grid. View the case study here.

“It was important for us to be self-sufficient as a result of the drought, to ensure consistency and a continuous supply to industry,” says Groenewald. “From an electricity point of view, we did the same with the photovoltaic cell (Solar PV system) installation on all the flat roofs on the premises. This investment resulted in massive annual savings in electricity costs.” View the case study here.

Other innovative ACA sustainability projects include the 1 000 Olive Trees initiative, whereby the company utilised the unused land on their factory premises to plant olive trees to help reduce the greenhouse gas CO2 from the air and offset their emissions; and the Zero Landfill Project, which has kept more than 300 cubic metres of polypropylene from entering landfills.

“Sustainability is very close to our heart, and it’s great to have customers who share the same philosophy,” says Groenewald.

ACA employs 114 people and supplies thread to a variety of apparel and non-apparel manufacturers across Southern Africa.

The company also invests heavily in skills development. “We’ve embarked on a process to continually empower our staff with knowledge,” says Groenewald. “Skills development is at the forefront of what we do. Each staff member needs to undertake at least one training intervention a year to keep them up-to-date and in-tune with what’s happening in the industry but also to stimulate personal growth and opportunities within the company”.

For more about ACA Threads, visit the company website.