Finnish design house Marimekko said it is investing in a new washing machine at its textile printing factory in Helsinki and will be investing around €1 million for the same and is expected to start operations in August 2016. According to a Marimekko press release, the investment is important in modernising the factory where about one million metres of fabric are printed yearly. “Printed fabrics and related design expertise have always been the core of Marimekko’s brand and a point of difference globally,” president, Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko said. “We believe that pioneering in print pattern design goes hand in hand with in-house production, and it’s extremely important that the designers are able to do their work close to the manufacturing,” Kasko added. “That’s why investments in the printing factory are important and we take pride in continuing our heritage of textile printing in Finland,” Kasko informed. Marimekko had updated most of the machinery and equipment used in the textile printing factory during the period 2004–2008 and in 2011, the company acquired a new rotary printing machine.
