Textiles, Leather and Paper
David Thompson is the Industry Manager for Leather in New Zealand. David holds an NZCS in Chemistry and BioChemistry and has over 26 years’ experience.
David is heavily involved in the leather industry supporting numerous customers in New Zealand and abroad with not only their selection of processing aids, but assisting in the development of new processes and refining the way leather is produced.
Recently David has been instrumental in the development of a process to significantly reduce the use of salt in the preservation of woolly sheep skins, thereby reducing the impact of salt on the environment downstream.
Philip Dickey is Applications Laboratory Technician for the Leather lab in New Zealand. Philip is NZLASRA certified and has over 40 years’ experience in the industry. His area of expertise is in leather colour matching, as well as textiles and surface coatings.
Philip is involved in the New Zealand leather industry, supporting both internal development at Azelis and numerous customers with technical support. He is also an integral part of the quality control team for the Azelis’ blending facility, looking particularly at colour matching and waste water testing.
Andre Mihelcic is Development Manager based in Melbourne. Andre has over 34 years’ experience and holds a BAppSc in Chemistry. Andre has particular experience in phenolic and acrylic based polymers (from synthesis to application), as well as lubricants and pigment dispersions, leather processing and colouration, and wax emulsions. He is a member of the Leather Guild Association of Australia, and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.
Andre has helped assemble and maintain development and technical applications labs, and organised an upgrade of a control system for a chemical reactor in the production facility. Andre has also developed high performance synthetic tanning polymers and lubricants for Leather, keeping the Azelis position in the market strong.
Frank Zakrajcek is Technical Manager of the laboratory based in Sydney. Frank has over 33 years’ experience and holds a BSc HonsChemistry and a Dip Technology Management. Frank is involved in many segments such as food additives, polymers, agchem, steel, FMCG, paper, mining and building products. Areas of capability include instrumental analysis, analytical chemistry, R&D, market intelligence, production support and product development. Frank is a member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.
Frank attends numerous laboratory and instrumentation courses and workshops to maintain and expand his knowledge base. Collaboration with academic institutions and customers has furthered his experience.
Danielle Pepper is an Applications Technician based in Melbourne. Danielle has over 20 years’ experience and holds a BSc and a Certificate in Textile Technology. Danielle set up the laboratory colour matching computer system which has enabled us to have a strong position in the Australian market. She is a member of the Society of Dyers and Colourists of Australia and New Zealand.
Danielle matched all the shades required for iconic Australian brand Akubra hats. All colourants are now supplied by Azelis and ongoing colour requirements are continually supported through Danielle’s application support.
Thang Ngo The is Lab Technician for Textiles in Vietnam and joined Azelis in May 2018. Thang has extensive knowledge of colour formulations and has a degree in Chemical Engineering.
After his graduation, Thang worked in a dye mill as the laboratory and production technician. He was responsible for making colour formulations to meet customer requirements and solving any problems that appeared in the production process.
Thang’s speciality is in the dyes and auxiliary areas. At Azelis, he liaises with the sales teams to coordinate customer projects. He is supported by colleagues with over ten years’ technical and sales experience.
Thang has taken part in several university science research projects. This involved sequestering and dispersing agents, water treatment as well as researching dyeing process of natural dyes in materials such as cotton and silk.
Loc Pham Phu is Business Manager for Textiles in Vietnam and leads the activities in the lab. Loc has a degree in Chemicals Engineering and over 18 years’ experience in the industry include 13 years in a textile factory.
Loc’s area of expertise is in dyes, auxiliary, dyeing and printing. Some of his recent projects include technical advise on dyeing and colour matching for a main customer.
During his previous position in a textile factory, Loc was responsible for all technical aspects of processes such as dyeing, printing and colour mixing. He solved any technical issues during production time, and offered continuous support to customers. In his current role, Loc works with the sales team to present new raw materials to customers, supporting new product developments and organising bulk trials at customers’ sites.
Loc worked for two years with Adidas on CMG (Chemical Management Guideline) and CMA (Chemical Management Audit) at dyeing factories in Viet Nam, Taiwan and China. This was in support of Adidas’ commitment to ZDHC (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals), of which Adidas is a member. ZDHC is an industry initiative by a group of major brands and retailers committed to help lead the industry towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020.