Madurai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 16 (ANI/NewsVoir): Coats, the world's leading manufacturer in thread and structural components for apparel and footwear, has officially opened a new state-of-the-art Sustainability Hub - a spinning and twisting pilot plant in Madurai, India to further progress its sustainability commitment.

Over the last 4 years, Coats has achieved strong progress against ambitious targets in the areas of Energy, Materials, Water, Waste and People. Coats has now announced new targets for 2026 across the same material areas and these provide the next horizon towards its 2030 commitments. Emissions reduction across the company's entire value chain is at the heart of these new targets.

The new Sustainability Hub in Madurai will sit alongside the Coats Sustainability Hub in Shenzhen, China, accelerating the material transition to recycled and renewable materials. The two hubs will work together to innovate new-generation materials for sustainable sewing threads for apparel, footwear and performance materials. This material transition journey is fundamental to the delivery of Coats' emissions reduction targets.

The Sustainability Hub in Madurai will support customers and other stakeholders in creating sustainability in the industry, enabling Coats to streamline sustainability innovation, enhance brand collaborations and facilitate faster sustainable product offers and market entry capabilities.

It is part of a 10 million USD investment planned over next five years in scaling up the development of green technologies and materials to accelerate the achievement of Coats' ambitious sustainability targets.

Rajiv Sharma, Group Chief Executive, said, "I am pleased to announce the launch of this state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Madurai, as the 'Centre of Excellence' for spinning and twisting in Coats. We are firmly committed to a journey towards net zero and alongside our energy transition strategy, materials transition is fundamental to this."

The new state-of-the-art spinning and twisting pilot facility is located in the heritage site of Coats in Madurai in a sprawling area of 10,000 square feet. It has the infrastructure to process multiple fibers, blends & high-performance fibers like aramids.

Coats is a world leader in thread manufacturing and structural components for apparel and footwear, as well as an innovative pioneer in performance materials. These critical solutions are used to create a wide range of products, including ones that provide safety and protection for people, data, and the environment. Headquartered in the UK, Coats is a FTSE250 company and a FTSE4Good Index constituent. Revenues in 2022 were USD 1.6bn.

Trusted by the world's leading companies to deliver vital, innovative, and sustainable solutions, Coats provides value-adding products including apparel, accessory and footwear threads, structural components for footwear and accessories, fabrics, yarns, and software applications. Customer partners include companies from the apparel, footwear, automotive, telecoms, personal protection, and outdoor goods industries.

With a proud heritage dating back more than 250 years and spirit of evolution to constantly stay ahead of changing market needs, Coats has operations across some 50 countries with a workforce of over 17,000, serving its customers worldwide.

Coats connects talent, textiles, and technology, to make a better and more sustainable world. Worldwide, there are three dedicated Coats Innovation Hubs, where experts collaborate with partners to create the materials and products of tomorrow. It participates in the UN Global Compact and is committed to Science Based sustainability targets for 2030 and beyond, with a goal of achieving net zero by 2050. Coats is also committed to achieving its goals in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, workplace health & safety, employee & community well-being, and supplier social performance.

To find out more about Coats visit, www.coats.com.

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