LTP Group

THE INNOVATORS OF CONSCIOUSLY CRAFTED TEXTILES AND GARMENTS

FUTURE FACING TEXTILE MANUFACTURING

Aiming to become a manufacturer that sets the benchmark for consciously crafted textiles and garments, LTP Group is the production partner embodying the marriage between functionality and longevity. We find out more from the co-CEO Executive Management team; CEO and CFO, Jeannett Hvidkjær, CEO for the Furniture Division, Henrik Holmgaard Olsson, and CEO for the Garment Division, Hans Maasbøl

Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Dennis Morales

Vita Baltic

Only courage leads us to greatness, but it is only achieved by those who put aside any contradictions and stay true to their values and vision. In line with this belief, our vision and future goals can be summed up by one word – sustainability.

Whether looking at long-term strategy development plans or smaller daily activities, we always see sustainability as an ultimate goal. We realise that we cannot change the world by ourselves, therefore, we do everything we can to involve our partners and colleagues in driving this goal forwards and making it a reality.

We promote integrated, sustainable production, consumption and recycling, and in these areas the focus on our people comes before all else. After all, everything starts with the employees in our company, and recognising this, we foster stable relationships based on openness and respect.

LTP is overseen by a modern leadership structure, including CEO and CFO Jeannett Hvidkjær, CEO for the Furniture Division, Henrik Holmgaard Olsson, and CEO for the Garment Division, Hans Maasbøl, who collectively form the three part Executive Management team.

Employing more than 2,700 people in 12 modern factories across six countries, LTP works with sport, outdoor and contract furniture brands whose ambitions marry with its own, as an industry innovator demonstrating an ambitious commitment to quality through world-class manufacturing practices, combined with both functionality and innovation.

Since its foundation as a Danishowned company in the 1980s and its subsequent trajectory of expansion to become a global production partner,

LTP has kept pace with an ever-changing marketplace, and continues to occupy the vanguard of garment and OEM furniture manufacturing.

“LTP excels in a constantly evolving environment. We strive to be the number one preferred manufacturer in the market,” opines Hvidkjær.

UNCOMPROMISING QUALITY

From ideation to creation, LTP boasts unparalleled expertise honed through years of experience in both garment and furniture manufacturing. The latter division comprises over 600 employees with production and innovation centres in both Lithuania and Mexico, covering a vast product range across sofas and soft seating, bed and sofa covers, upholstery chairs and textile solutions.

Over 50 percent of UAB “Vita Baltic International” employees have been with us for 10 years, with some even exceeding 25 having remained with the company since day one. In a certain sense, we are all like one big family, therefore we are convinced that achieving anything productive and sustainable is impossible without respect, open communication and mutual trust within the organisation. vitabaltic.lt

“WE ARE COMMITTED TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVING LTP’S OVERALL SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE AND TO DRIVING POSITIVE CHANGE ACROSS OUR INDUSTRIES”

– JEANNETT HVIDKJÆR AND HENRIK HOLMGAARD, OLSSON, GROUP EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT, LTP GROUP

Hans Maasbøl

POSITIVITY AT EVERY STEP Production of polyurethane foam

Our foam factory, located in the suburbs of Alytus, belongs to one of the world’s largest polyurethane manufacturers, VITA GROUP.

Our goal is to take sustainability into account when making daily company management decisions and developing long-term strategic expansion plans.

Moreover, we understand that we cannot change the world on our own. That is why, with all our heart, we do our best not only to set an example to inspire our clients and partners, but also to promote integrated sustainable production and consumption as well as recycling.

We are part of Vita Group and together we have achieved gold certification from EcoVadis, the world’s most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings.

Now Vita Group is ranked among the top three percent of global companies assessed on sustainability performance by Ecovadis.

+370 315 55 405

info@vitabaltic.lt

Jurgiškės, Alytus district, LT-62181, Lithuania

vitabaltic.lt

“Every year more than two million made to order products are produced using over 5,000 various fabrics,” Olsson elaborates. “LTP is a global leader in furniture outsourcing and we support customers from product development to mass production, including assembly, packaging, logistics and direct-to-customer delivery.”

Within this area, LTP has access to more than 600 suppliers/specialists and over 300 material/trim suppliers. In addition, its customers can benefit

THE LTP ADVANTAGE

FLEXIBLE - As an agile manufacturer, LTP specialises in made to design and made-to-order products. This means it can operate with small or large-scale production orders and can handle many variants.

CUSTOMER CENTRIC – LTP does not own any of its own branded products. Being a 100 percent subcontracting partner gives dedicated focus to all brands.

FAR-SEEING – LTP maintains control over its strategic outlook, long-term business priorities and investment as a result of being privately owned.

INNOVATIVE – LTP has invested significantly in digital transformation across the board, aligning with its commitment to having seamless and transparent communication with its customers.

INDUSTRY EXPERTS – Strong R&D set up across divisions, supporting customers in development and leveraging many years of experience.

COMMUNICATORS – LTP maintains a high level of communication with its customers, developing long-term relationships built on trust.

from the consignment stock of more than 200 fabrics, ensuring a very fast turnaround and savings on transportation cost.

Meanwhile, LTP’s Garment Division consists of over 2,100 employees with production and innovation centres across Lithuania, Vietnam, Romania, Belarus and Ukraine, catering to product groups within outdoor, cycling, active sport, performance running, urban performance and organic apparel and lifestyle.

“In Lithuania we have an expert garment development team possessing more than three decades of experience, which makes LTP an expert in construction, materials, cuts and sewing technologies required for production of high-performance garments,” shares Maasbøl. “LTP is a specialist in handling textiles.”

Across both divisions, LTP occupies a strategic position in the supply chain between material suppliers and the brands themselves, and plays a critical role from the idea stage through to the delivery of the final product.

As a true agile manufacturer, LTP’s cutting edge, lean production facilities are instrumental in maintaining the astute approach of its wideranging capabilities in catering to the demands of its clients and unlocking a pathway to innovation.

INNOVATORS OF INDUSTRY

Innovation is the lifeblood of LTP - a concept that is firmly woven into the company’s DNA and stands as a key differentiator. Indeed, LTP is one of the few global manufacturers with regional innovation centres in both Europe and Asia.

Maasbøl identifies the Garment Division as “a proactive innovation leader” in supporting its customers through the combination of in-house specialists and new technologies and equipment. These technologies include ultrasonic, laser cutting, quilting, sublimation, seam-sealed and glued garment manufacturing techniques. This is bolstered by a dedicated team of fabric and trim experts specialising in innovation, performance and sustainable materials.

This garment manufacturing prowess creates an avenue for LTP to venture into value-added services for the benefit of its customers, fuelling future innovations.

“LTP is more than garment production, since we offer valueadded services specifically designed to provide our customers with tools to take next steps towards new and exciting product developments,” he affirms.

A few examples of such services include a 360°Innovation Book, 3D product visualisation, trend analysis, the Sport & Outdoor Apparel Network, and the LTP Crafted App.

Elsewhere, the LTP Furniture Division has been the focus of significant investment into digital solutions, to the extent that it can now support direct IT integration from order flow and stock to warehouse/transport management and shipping via a partner portal.

The latest innovation in this field is the new offering of a Development Acceleration Centre, which includes in-house furniture wood frame building and foam cutting. Offering 3D development capabilities, this streamlines new product development by significantly reducing the lead time to market.

PEOPLE-CONSCIOUS

As evidenced by this latest development in the Furniture Division, LTP

leverages digital innovation to drive improvements on behalf of its clients. Whether clients, employees or partners, LTP demonstrates a commitment centred on communication to its people, complementing its social outlook as a responsible corporate citizen.

In this respect, LTP strikes a fine balance between cherishing its own talent despite industry-wide labour shortages, and adopting digital transformation that points toward revolutionary automation processes.

“As with most other industries, LTP has been experiencing difficulties in getting the required workforce for production, which has accelerated the need for the company to focus on automating its production processes, beginning with the Furniture Division,” Olsson elaborates.

Although automation is welcomed within manufacturing processes as a step forward in innovation, this is not at the expense of human capital.

“Our manufacturing services are a form of craftmanship that require skilled employees to service premium brands,” he continues. “Even though automation is moving fast, there is still a high need to attract and retain skilled employees. The same goes for skilled employees and managers who will drive the digitalisation and sustainability agenda.”

With regards to furthering this agenda, LTP recognises the responsibility and potential it has to be an influential voice to its partners across leading furniture and garment brands.

“The textile industry is transforming, and the brands, manufacturers and material suppliers must unite in

strategic partnerships to invest in the future, achieving agility and visibility in reducing environmental impact,” observes Hvidkjær.

As such, LTP uses its partnerships to collaborate with brands and suppliers on materials substitution, product development and innovation for design for durability, and design for disassembly. These commitments also extend to minimising production waste and optimising waste recycling.

Consequently, partners are approached as a means to further LTP’s own goals in driving change as a collective and share the best practices it has refined over years of operation to make the industry more sustainable.

“We promote knowledge sharing to actively participate in the transformation of the industry,” she affirms.

DRIVING SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING

In the transformation of the industry that LTP envisions, both digital and environmental evolution can flourish symbiotically.

This concept is embodied by the LTP ‘Consciously Crafted’ initiative, echoing the company’s sustainability standpoint and enshrining its commitment to drive conscious manufacturing, with environmental and ethical accountability determining its choices in producing

durable, functional, premium products.

A tangible example of consciously crafted manufacturing processes being put into action within the Garment Division can be seen with one of LTP’s key trim suppliers - YKK.

“YKK is one of LTP’s main suppliers in the garment industry,” she continues. “The YKK Fastening Products Group is trusted worldwide for their impeccable production standards and thorough quality control processes for slide fasteners, plastic hardware, hook and loop fasteners and much more.

“They include a sustainable and recycled product range called ‘Natulon’, which are recycled zippers that LTP is also consuming for a lot of products. The demand from customers for using sustainable and recycled trims is increasing and it’s of the utmost importance for us to be able to provide the best range of trims from world known suppliers like YKK,” surmises Maasbøl.

A GROWING IMPRINT

Looking to the years ahead, LTP is continuing to spread its net wide with

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HENRIK HOLMGAARD OLSSON, CEO, FURNITURE DIVISION: “This is our commitment to drive conscious manufacturing, with environmental and ethical accountability determining our choices in producing durable, functional, premium products.

“In 2021, we signed the Science Based Target Initiative as a way for LTP to measure, in order to act. Since then, LTP has worked systematically on scoping the focus areas by conducting materiality assessment, defining our four commitment areas: Care for People, Embrace Circularity, Fight for Climate and Unlock Transparency, and setting actions and targets for the years towards 2025. Each area is of equal importance and requires continuous improvement.

“This applies from the development phase where the design takes into account how the product can be reused, to the creation phase where the manufacturing process is key to prolonging product life and supporting the consumer-friendly approach of ‘who made my product’.

“We are seeing a big move towards removing greenwashing in our industry, and we need to take a stand with the younger generation and emphasise that ‘less is more’. We need to reinvent fashion, and act towards accommodating their needs – by thinking smarter, optimising all processes in the supply chain, building concepts and tools to help them better understand the impact and how to care for a product, and by communicating to them equally and transparently.”

an ever-growing footprint. Although the last five years alone have seen LTP grow the business by more than 75 percent, this pace to drive long term growth shows no sign of slowing.

The company has a new production

plant for the garment industry opened in Romania last year, while the Furniture Division is pursuing expansion in North America thanks to the recent establishment of a new factory in Mexico.

“INCLUDING A CONSCIOUS MINDSET APPLIES TO ALL PHASES IN CREATING A PIECE OF FURNITURE OR GARMENTS. ‘DESIGNED TO BE WORN OUT’ SHOULD IDEALLY BE THE MANTRA”

– HENRIK HOLMGAARD OLSSON, CEO, FURNITURE DIVISION, LTP GROUP

“As we serve premium brands, LTP will look further to other European countries in search of high technical skilled capabilities. We are met with increasing requests from our Scandinavian and North European customers demanding the products

to be made in Europe,” Hvidkjær says. This growth is set to meet the burst of consumer demand that has risen from the ashes of the COVID19 pandemic, particularly for the garment industry. However, with the current economic climate, impacted

by the ongoing energy crisis across Europe, and the conflict in Ukraine, the market for both divisions is defined by both volatility and uncertainty.

Despite these uncertain times, the priorities that define a global leader in quality furniture and textiles manufacturing for the world’s premium brands remain steadfast.

“We are committed to significantly improving LTP Group’s overall sustainability performance and to driving positive change across our industries,” OIsson closes.

NATULON is a fastening product made of recycled materials.

LTP GROUP

LTP Group Blox, Bryghuspladsen 8C 1473 Copenhagen, Denmark Tel: +45 34101009

lt.sales@ltpgroup.com www.ltpgroup.com

PRODUCED BY EME OUTLOOK MAGAZINE