TMC Ltd., the owner of Nuyarn spinning technology and a proven innovator in the performance fiber and apparel space, has introduced Herculan, the world’s first product that offers improved performance benefits of wool coupled with unmatched durability and sustainability for the apparel sector.
A result of more than three years of R&D, Herculan is a patented technology that was developed by making ground-up modifications to TMC’s proprietary Nuyarn spinning machines, enabling them to accommodate strong wool – the coarsest and most durable grade of wool fibers (>38 microns) historically suitable only for interior textiles, like flooring and upholstery. This “carpet wool” as the industry coins, has a low market value, and during recent bearish years, is often cost-prohibitive to process, package, and ship, and therefore discarded into landfills. According to the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) it is estimated that anywhere from 40-50% of the global wool yield is Interior Textile Wool. With the new innovative technology, these coarse long wool fibers are drafted around a performance filament, creating an extremely fine yarn – Herculan – which pound for pound, outlasted some of the industry’s leading synthetic textiles in the Martindale abrasion tests.
Due to its unique durability and performance benefits, Herculan is an emerging technology that opens the door for wool to be used in high abrasion and high impact zones in apparel such as socks, footwear, gloves, pants, outerwear, and thousands of other potential applications, without succumbing to wear. In addition to its extreme durability, Herculan has significantly better performance and comfort benefits to both natural wool textiles (that is twisted) and synthetic fibers alike, efficient moisture management and quicker dry times, higher volume, aeration, elasticity, and thermal retention, non-reflective, quiet, and naturally odor resistant.
Sustainable manufacturing processes like Herculan, which take advantage of materials that are often cast aside, simplify supply chains and encourage end-users to waste less by making natural fiber garments that last longer and have performance comfort benefits.
