Johan Vanwelden, Co-owner and Co-CEO of Lava Textiles admits that yarn products from Indonesia are known for their good quality. That fact is also the main reason for his party to import raw materials from the country. Moreover, the Belgian family-owned company, which was founded in 1925, wants to have the same thread for the production of quality knitted mattress ticking in all of its production centers.With the certification, Lava Textiles can also claim to its customers that the yarns used are of better quality and some yarns from other countries.

  “Until now, we have been importing mainly yarn, but recently we have also reduced it and exported finished fabrics to our facilities in the United States,” says Johan Vanwelden.

 Lava Textiles, which initially produced underwear, transitioned to produce quality mattress fabrics under the brand 'Lava' since 1997. Its products have been marketed to the United States, Hong Kong and the Middle East region.

To date, Lava Textiles has production centers in 4 countries besides Belgium, namely the United States, Romania, Indonesia, and Mexico. "Since 25 years ago, Lava Textiles has been using textile yarn (Yarn) from Indonesia and is believed to have good quality." Meanwhile, the purchase value of Lava for imports from Indonesia in 2019 reached IDR 8.18 billion, then in 2020 it continued to grow to IDR 17.32 billion, an increase of 111.7%.

By looking at consumer developments in the Asia and Pacific region, in 2018, Lava Textiles invested in building a 2,500 square meter factory in the Branta Mulia Industrial Complex, Citeureup, Bogor.

The facility is also expected to become a distribution center for the sale of Lava mattresses, especially for the Hong Kong, China and Australia regions. Even in 2021, Lava Textiles will expand its factory area in Indonesia to 5,000 square meters.

 The expansion of the Lava Textiles factory area in Indonesia, of course, not only opens up more job opportunities, but also provides opportunities for collaboration with Yarn suppliers from Indonesia and other components needed in the Lava mattress production process.

Despite facing several obstacles in the factory expansion process such as inconsistent licensing, Lava Textiles remains fully committed to continuing to collaborate not only with related suppliers, but also local residents who wish to work in factories according to their expertise.

“Yes, it's definitely not the easiest job for me to set up a factory from open land to become a production facility. We faced a lot of bureaucratic problems…Fortunately, we got good support from Jakarta, from BKPM and also from the Embassy,” said Stefan Van den Hende, Managing Director, Lava Textiles Indonesia. Johan Vanwelden also ensured that his party will continue to develop its production and the value of imported raw materials from Indonesia. "We have bought so far, yarn in natural colors but we also plan to buy yarn from Indonesia in colored (coloured)," he concluded. Thanks to its loyalty and support for Indonesian products, Lava Textile was awarded by the Indonesian government the 2021 Primaduta Award (Primaduta Award). for their support and loyalty, continue to buy Indonesian products, and contribute to efforts to increase national exports. This award is held by the Ministry of Trade every year.