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Bears – unadulterated pleasure From thread to plush – 100 years of Schulte mohair CO-OPERATIONS

From thread to plush, or “the stuff that Teddies are made on!”

einhard Schulte GmbH has been producing The realm of threads – R high-quality fabrics, primarily from the warping shop natural mohair and alpaca yarn, in Duisburg The mohair yarn is supplied by since 1901. Although the company’s main spinning mills in England and customers are the toy industry and the market France. The bobbins that come from the spinning mills for activity toys, the clothing and home textiles are small and easy to handle. industries also play an important role. Each one weighs around 2.5 Schulte employs 80 people and its sales figures kg, but they are completely for the year 2000 amounted to around 9 million unsuitable for large power looms. The yarn from the Euro with exports accounting for 45 %. small bobbins is wound onto a large bobbin (“warped”) in the warping shop.

This large bobbin is referred to as a loom beam. The loom beam can be used on a power loom and weighs an impressi- ve 500 kg. There are up to 6000 threads wound next to one another on this beam and if they were all tied together the overall length would amo- Warping shop with yarn beam unt to 10.2 million metres. Once wound onto the beams weaving process. The warp ready for the next stage in the threads are all arranged next production process, the to one another waiting to be mohair yarn then goes into the transformed into woven fabric. weaving mill. The warp threads are then rai- sed and lowered so that the weft thread can be shot bet- Every shot a winner – ween them. This is also quite the weaving mill harmless and has nothing to do with James Bond, but it’s The deafening noise from the still very interesting and excit- power looms can be heard ing! You see, this is where the miles away. All of the weavers gripper comes into its own. It therefore have to wear ear grabs hold of a weft thread or muffs. The special feature of shot, pulls it through the warp mohair yarn is its three-dimen- threads as far as the middle of sionality, i.e. unlike “normal” the loom, where another grip- flat woven fabric which is per takes over and pulls the made of two threads referred thread towards itself. The pile to as warp and weft, plush thread is woven in at the same fabric also has a third thread, time. The entire process takes A large number of individual production stages the “pile”. The pile thread is what turns mohair plush into a are necessary in order to process such a high- napped, grippable fabric. Spe- quality yarn as mohair. According to a company cial machines are required to spokesman, it is therefore important that the weave plush fabric. Schulte’s entire production process takes place on its own power looms are called “grip- pers”. Although the name premises. Schulte is one of few companies in the sounds rather dangerous, it world to have its own weaving mill, dye shop merely refers to the way in and all of the facilities required to manufacture which a thread is drawn its products “under its own roof”. 100% quality through the weaving machine from right to left. The warp made in Duisburg! So how is the “stuff that yarn is prepared in the power Teddies are made on” produced? loom as the first stage in the In the weaving mill

6 the tubs, ceaselessly pulling The final touch – finishing the fabric through water baths that have dye added to them. Once the fabric has been Thousands of litres of water woven and dyed to the desired are needed to dye a colour, the highly intensive 30-metre length of mohair precision work begins to give fabric. The winches continue the material its ing a piano doesn’t mean turning for 4 hours, pulling the final touch. The mohair fabric being able to play one”. Such fabric through the dye bath is brought to life during this high-quality mohair fabrics can again and again until the fabric final stage. only be made by members of has been completely satura- staff who know the machines ted by the dye which is now The mohair has to undergo and fabrics inside out, who are fixed in the fabric. Previously more than 20 different finis- real masters of their craft and mixed with dye, the water in hing operations before ear- have the necessary instinctive the bath is almost clear again. ning the title “Original Schulte feel for their work. At Schulte, Although the large winch Mohair”. The challenge of the supreme rule is therefore The loom dyeing machines are capable creating a really good mohair to train and look after loyal, of accommodating 6 lengths plush is therefore found in the experienced employees in of material, the smaller win- finishing. The fabric is ironed – order to be able to meet the place in a flash. A Schulte grip- ches that can take just one or to make it supple, cropped stringent quality requirements per manages “9,600 shots (levelled) – to make sure that in the future as well. per hour”. This explains why all of the fibres are the same it’s so loud in the weaving mill. length, napped – to open the When the finishing touches fibre and make the fabric den- have been added, the fabric Two fabrics are always woven se, dried, batted, dressed – to goes for a finished goods ins- simultaneously. This system ensure that Teddy keeps his pection. The fabric is inspec- is referred to as the upper and coat even when he gets older, ted over an illuminated panel, lower works. Soon after com- stretched and dampened – metre by metre, to ensure that pletion of the weaving operati- and all of these operations are only flawless materials leave on, the fabric is cut down the repeated several times! the premises with middle and the two webs are the “Original Schulte Mohair” wound up separately Apart from these standard seal of quality. at the loom. This terminates procedures, there are a num- the weaving process and the ber of variations in the finis- loom-state fabric has been In the dye shop hing process that are beco- produced. Work’s not over yet, though, by any means! Wea- ving is a purely mechanical 2 length of fabric are beco- process and can hardly be ming increasingly popular. influenced at all, whereas the After all every discerning Ted fabric has to go through the dy would like to have his own dye shop and the finishing personal note. Schulte specia- plant before being lises in dyeing mohair plush in given its final appearance. lengths as short as 30 met- res, which means the com pany can comply with the spe- No black looks in the dye cial wishes of its customers. shop There is no limit to the diversi- Finishing machines of colour. The current num- Having passed the first quality ber of recipes for different ming increasingly popular. inspections – checking weight colours exceeds 2,500 and After all, Teddy and flawlessness – the white new shades are added almost also want to be fashionable loomstate fabric then goes to every week. All dyes are gua- and follow the latest trends. the dye shop. ranteed free of formaldehyde, Machines that have been Quality control they are colour-fast and fast to custom-built for Schulte are There are enormous dyeing saliva, of course, as well as capable of producing special tubs on either side of the ais- being absolutely safe in ecolo- surface structures, such as Schulte intends to make sure le and steam produces thick gical terms, which means that wrinkling, ratinée, tipping, that its fur stays in fashion so clouds of mist that make it dif- they are completely safe in the wave and whirl effects, curly, that Teddy bears will continue ficult to see anything in the hands – and mouths – of child- antique or felting. But the fol- to feel happy and comfortable room. Large winches rotate in ren. lowing rule applies here: “buy- in the future. GiENGEN, JULY 2001 The Steiff centenary Teddy “Reinhard“. As a special editition to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Reinhard Schulte company in 2001: Dear Steiff Friends,

A well-known Duisburg company, Reinhard Schulte GmbH, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Margarete Steiff GmbH would like to take this opportunity to offer its war- mest congratulations and looks forward to continuing the harmonious co-ope- ration in the future. According to docu- mentary evidence, the business relati- onship between Steiff and the Schulte pile fabric weaving mill goes back as far as 1904. There is a let- CERTIFICATE

ter dating back to In 1902, , a nephew of this time, that Mar- Margarete Steiff, designed the first jointed . Mohair plush is an integral component of Teddy bear design garete Steiff wrote to even today. Now a bear is being offered in honour of the Reinhard Schulte, company that has manufactured the plush for Teddy bears for exactly one century: the Reinhard Schulte company, who founded the now celebrating its 100th anniversary. company in Duis- The friendly partnership between Schulte and the burg in 1901. This means that mohair Margarete Steiff GmbH is also exactly one century old. The founders of the two companies, Margarete and plush was already being pro- Reinhard, worked together very closely, and Schulte is duced industriously in Duis- Steiff’s mohair supplier even today. burg when the Teddy bear first The Teddy bear owes his name to the company founder himself: “Reinhard Schulte“. Like his namesake a hundred saw the light of day in Giengen years ago, Reinhard the bear exudes character and charm. But his “cheeky“ demeanour also shows that a company in 1902. We would like to pay such as Schulte didn’t always have it easy during the past tribute to the fruitful co-opera- hundred years and that reaching a ripe old age means tion with one of Steiff’s most keeping the eyes trained forward. Lovingly crafted by hand, this 35 cm Teddy bear is made long-standing suppliers in this issue of from the world-renowned “Original Schulte Mohair“. the Club Magazine. Read more about He comes in green, the company’s signature colour, which symbolises the natural composition and the “stuff that Teddies are made on” on 100% environmental compatibility of mohair as material. the following pages. The Schulte scal of quality, which the bear proudly wears around his neck, confirms this pledge. Apart from this, we will be carrying you off to the dream world of Ludwig II, inviting you to discover the new Steiff Club Internet pages and to listen to Since more than 100 years what a passionate bear collector has to say. your competent partner for Teddy plush Reinhard Schulte GmbH Holteistraße 8, D-47057 Duisburg Summery regards Phone +49 (0)203/99 39 80 Fax +49 (0)203/9 93 98 50 e-mail: [email protected] www.schulte-mohair.de Inge Zinnecker · Steiff Club Manager