How Texia Reinvented a Century of Textile manufacturing with Epson Monna Lisa Technology
A Century of Textiles, and an Ever-changing World
Few companies can trace their roots back more than a century and still count themselves among their industry's innovators. Texia, headquartered in Monistrol de Montserrat, Spain, is one of them.
But the story of Texia is not simply one of longevity.
It is a story of continual reinvention. As the textile industry has grown more global and competitive, Texia has repeatedly reshaped its business, investing in technology, developing its own brands, and placing sustainability at the centre of its mission. In doing so, it offers a compelling example of how a heritage manufacturer can lead rather than follow through a period of profound industry change. Image Credit: Texia
WRITTEN BY DEBBIE McKEEGAN | CEO | Texintel
Since 1917, Texia has faced an industry transformed by globalisation, rising competition, and ever-higher expectations around quality, customisation, and sustainability. By reinventing itself around its own brands and pioneering technologies like SeamlessTEX and DigitalTEX, the Spanish manufacturer has moved from low-margin textile finishing to a specialised, innovation-led business.
The result: a customer base of more than 3,000 clients, expanding international reach, and a model built to keep adapting for generations to come.
A century of textiles, and an ever-changing world
Few companies can trace their roots back more than a century and still count themselves among their industry's innovators. Texia, headquartered in Monistrol de Montserrat, Spain, is one of them.
Founded in 1917 as a textile finishing company, Texia today serves professional clients across the globe with luxury hotels, restaurants, airlines, and cruise companies among them. Roughly 80% of its sales are exported internationally, supported by a subsidiary in North America and a commercial network that understands the nuances of each local market.
But the story of Texia is not simply one of longevity. It is a story of continual reinvention. As the textile industry has grown more global and competitive, Texia has repeatedly reshaped its business, investing in technology, developing its own brands, and placing sustainability at the centre of its mission. In doing so, it offers a compelling example of how a heritage manufacturer can lead rather than follow through a period of profound industry change.
The problem: Low margins and a shifting market
The textile industry that Texia operates in today looks radically different from the one it was born into. "The textile industry has changed significantly since Texia was founded in 1917 - It has become much more global and competitive, with increasing pressure from lower-cost manufacturing markets, while customers now expect greater quality, flexibility, customisation and more sustainable solutions."
That pressure created a clear strategic dilemma. As a textile finisher working for third parties, Texia occupied "a business with relatively low margins and limited control over the final product and the customer relationship." In an industry where large-scale, low-cost production was migrating to markets such as China and India, competing on price alone was neither sustainable nor viable in the long term.
At the same time, demand was shifting. Clients - particularly in the exacting luxury hospitality sector wanted shorter, highly customised runs delivered quickly, alongside credible sustainability credentials. Increasingly, customers began asking for "certifications and evidence to support the sustainability claims we make." Meeting these demands with traditional manufacturing methods presented a fundamental tension: how to balance the efficiency of standardisation with the flexibility of customisation, all while reducing environmental impact.
For a company committed to leaving the business "in a better position for the next generation," standing still was not an option.
The solution: Brands, patented technology and a partnership with Epson
Texia's response unfolded on two fronts: building its own brands and investing heavily in the technologies that would set those brands apart.
Moving closer to the customer. The turning point came with the decision to move beyond textile finishing and develop proprietary brands - Roll Drap in 1995, MyDrap in 2010, and later Athos. "Launching our own brands completely changed the company" Marcos Guasch, CEO at Texia explained, and continued. "Working directly with B2B customers such as hotels, restaurants, airlines and cruise companies allowed us to improve our margins and, more importantly, develop new products specifically adapted to their needs."
Epson and Texia have jointly developed a project that enables any design or logo to be precisely positioned within the frame of a MyDrap napkin. This has opened up an almost limitless range of possibilities for the design and personalisation of napkins.
“The most revolutionary innovation we have developed with Epson Monna Lisa technology is the Digital Jacquard kit. Initially, Epson developed this kit to apply colour to jacquard designs in fabrics for the fashion industry. The system first "reads" the fabric and then prints only on specific, predefined areas of the textile”.
Investing in proprietary technology. Underpinning this shift is a commitment to reinvest 10% of turnover in R&D. That investment has produced two defining technologies. SeamlessTEX, a cutting technology patented in the 1990s, eliminates the sewing stage "one of the most complex parts of the textile manufacturing process" while saving around 30% of material. As Texia puts it, "SeamlessTEX is at the heart of our competitiveness… Without this technology, our current business model would not be viable."
More recently, DigitalTEX has opened up new possibilities. Developed in partnership with Epson using their Monna Lisa machinery and digital pigment printing, the technology allows Texia to offer "shorter and more personalised runs" through positioned digital printing for MyDrap. Crucially, it also helps resolve the standardisation-versus-customisation tension: traditional production handles larger volumes efficiently, while digital printing serves smaller, bespoke orders with a wider range of colours and faster turnaround.
Marcos Guasch, CEO at Texia added “We chose Epson Monna Lisa - because it offers the best pigment digital printing technology on the market. Together, we developed a tailor-made DigitalTEX project specifically designed around our products - something that is only possible with pigment inks.”
“The biggest reward so far has been the creation of an entirely new product category for Texia. This innovation will enable us to expand into the B2C market through our e-commerce platform, opening up new commercial opportunities while maintaining the quality and sustainability standards our customers expect.”
Embedding sustainability into the process. Rather than treating sustainability as a marketing message, Texia built it into its operations - using natural and recycled fibres, reducing water and energy consumption, cutting waste and packaging, and backing progress with certifications including GRS, OEKO-TEX, and ISO 14001. Its technologies reinforce this. "We don't see sustainability and competitiveness as opposing goals," the company explains. "Reducing water and energy consumption can also reduce production costs."
This approach was put to the test with Eurostar, in collaboration with Railrest and Momentum Services. For Eurostar Premier's new onboard culinary experience, Texia developed a bespoke trayliner with a special die-cutting process to create rounded corners. The final solution "incorporated recycled fibres, was fully compostable and used our patented SeamlessTEX technology to help reduce material waste." Tellingly, the innovation didn't end there: "A solution developed in response to one customer's specific requirement later opened up new possibilities with other clients."
Results: A transformed business
The transformation from textile finisher to innovation-led brand owner reshaped the entire company. Reflecting on the single most influential decision of the past decade, Texia is unequivocal: the move to develop its own brands within the luxury hospitality sector "has allowed us to build a customer base of more than 3,000 clients, move away from the concentration and dependency of the fashion industry, generate more added value and ultimately transform the company from top to bottom."
Key outcomes include:
A diversified, expanding client base of more than 3,000 customers, spanning hotels such as Shangri-La, Fairmont, and Cheval Blanc, as well as airlines and cruise companies.
Strong growth in North America, where the subsidiary generated €6.07 million in sales in 2025 up 21% year on year, with a forecast of €7.25 million in 2026.
New sector momentum, with the airline business growing 12% last year.
Material and resource efficiencies, including around 30% material savings through SeamlessTEX and reduced water consumption via digital printing.
Beyond the numbers, the shift has energised the organisation itself. It has, in Texia's words, "made the business more creative and dynamic for our teams, giving them the opportunity to work on a much wider variety of projects and customer needs."
Conclusion: Adapting for the next generation
Texia's journey demonstrates that the pace of change in the textile industry is not a threat to be weathered but an opportunity to be seized. By combining more than a century of manufacturing expertise with continual investment in technology, the company has built a model that delivers on every front that matters today - productivity, product, people, and planet.
The gains in productivity are clear, from material savings to the flexibility to serve both high-volume and highly customised orders. The products have grown richer and more responsive, shaped directly by client feedback. The people - both Texia's own teams and the customers they serve - benefit from a more dynamic, collaborative way of working. And the planet is central to it all, with sustainability treated as a process of continuous improvement rather than a box to tick.
