Xefco has shipped its first commercial-scale Ausora system to Indonesia, marking the first deployment of a waterless plasma textile dyeing machine at commercial scale anywhere in the world. The milestone is backed by a USD 5 million grant from the Australian Government’s Industry Growth Programme (IGP), awarded to support Xefco in manufacturing its Ausora systems and commercializing technology that eliminates water dependency and wastewater treatment from the textile dyeing process, consuming 90% less energy than conventional wet dyeing methods and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 94%.
“The existing water-intensive processes used to put color and functional finishes on fabrics carry the highest cost and compliance burden in the textiles supply chain,” said Tom Hussey, chief executive officer and co-founder of Xefco, which is based in Geelong, Victoria. “That recognition from government reflects what we’re already seeing in the market – strong commercial demand, with twelve units already committed, and active installations underway in key manufacturing regions including Indonesia and Vietnam.”
First market
Indonesia is one of the world’s largest garment manufacturing hubs, with a textile industry employing more than 3.7 million people and supplying global fashion brands across the US, Europe and beyond. The industry is under pressure to modernize, as rising costs, tightening environmental regulations and growing brand demand for supply chain transparency push manufacturers to find new ways to compete, while brands reconfigure supply chains around resilience, responsiveness and efficiency. Ausora is designed to address these challenges.
Xefco’s Indonesian launch partner is a garment manufacturer supplying fashion brands.
The deployment marks a transition for Xefco from an Australian R&D operation to a company deploying proprietary hardware into international manufacturing supply chains. Designed in a modular form, a single Ausora segment processes up to 2.2 million metres of fabric per year. Under Xefco’s embedded manufacturing services model, Ausora operates at cost parity with conventional processes, removing the capital barrier for factory partners and delivering operational benefits.
Xefco provides on-the-ground technical support through a locally registered, Australian-owned Indonesian entity staffed by specialist engineers. The company has also established a presence in Vietnam to support future deployments in the pipeline, with further deployments to manufacturers in China and the United States also in progress.
The Ausora unit, roughly the footprint of a shipping container, runs fabric through a continuous roll-to-roll process. At its core is plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technology that operates at atmospheric pressure. Visible as a soft purple glow, the process uses plasma to simultaneously embed and fix pigments into the fibers while depositing an ultra-thin coating that delivers functional effects, all in a single pass. According to the company, Ausora works across all synthetic and natural fiber types, including cotton, nylon, polyester and blends, unlike competing waterless technologies.
“Twelve units are already commercially committed, and we have a strong pipeline beyond that,” said Hussey. “The industry has made its position clear and our focus now is on building the manufacturing capacity to keep pace with demand.”
The Ausora technology was developed through applied research at Deakin University, and each unit is manufactured in Geelong. Xefco’s 47-person team spans Australia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Canada. With a deployment target of 200 systems globally within five years, the company projects approximately 300 advanced manufacturing jobs in Geelong and around USD 200 million in domestic manufacturing expenditure.
