|
 |
Dreco sells both private-label products and its own brands. One of its main private-label detergents already contains Mannaway.® The plan is that Dreco’s light-duty detergent (shown here) will also contain Mannaway in the future. Marcus Peterek is in charge of quality assurance at Dreco |
Based in Dusseldorf, Dreco is a German detergents company supplying private-label products primarily for the German market. The company was founded in 1966 and has just celebrated its 40th anniversary. Dreco makes a whole range of detergents for both laundry and dishwashing but has found a special niche in light-duty detergents for delicate fabrics such as linen, wool, silk, and blends of cotton and polyester.
One of Dreco’s detergents for delicate fabrics now contains no less than five enzymes from Novozymes: Polarzyme,® Stainzyme®, Lipex®, Carezyme®, and now Mannaway®. This detergent is being sold as a private-label product at one of Germany’s leading chains of supermarkets. Dreco has been supplying different versions of this particular product brand for more than 20 years.
Tough competition
In Germany, the competition among private-label detergents is tough and there is a challenge to gain additional market share from the established branded products. Standing still in the private-label business is just not an option according to Dreco, who pride themselves on delivering high-quality products at a reasonable price.
“We have to be proactive because it is a very competitive market. Some of our customers want their own label detergents to perform as well as the big brands. We aim to go to our customers with improvements almost every year,” says Marcus Peterek, Head of Quality Assurance and Quality Management at Dreco, a chemist who is also the acting R&D Manager at the Dreco site in Dusseldorf.
These improvements often result from the introduction of new enzymes. Dreco has always been willing to adopt the new enzymes launched by Novozymes. Mannaway, a mannanase developed especially for detergents, is the latest Novozymes product that Dreco has incorporated into one of its detergents.
“Mannaway is not just a new version of an existing enzyme in this formulation. It is a completely new enzyme type. It removes stains that consumers could not remove effectively before,” comments Petra Salzmann, Account Manager at Novozymes for the detergent industry in the German-speaking parts of Europe. “I believe Mannaway will become a standard enzyme for laundry detergents.”
Proven improvements
Dreco is a fast-acting company – the case of Mannaway is an example. The company received samples of the product in late 2006 and was quick to test
Mannaway and present the findings to one of its main customers, a big German supermarket. By August 2007, the improved product was on the supermarket shelves.
Dreco was able to present convincing proof of the improved performance to its customer. They commissioned tests with the famous Hohenstein Institute in Germany.
|
 |
|
Dreco has a factory for powder detergents in Dusseldorf and a factory for liquid detergents in Bitterfeld in the former East Germany. The Trabant car outside the factory in Dusseldorf is a reminder of days gone by in East Germany. |
“Mannaway gave a great improvement in our light-duty detergent when tested on a chocolate ice cream stain,” comments Marcus Peterek.
Chocolate ice cream is an ideal stain for testing Mannaway’s effect because ice cream often contains guar gum. Mannanase works on mannan – a general term for galactomannans, often simply referred to as gums. Many everyday foods contain gums because mannan is widely used as a thickener. Personal care products such as shampoos and lotions also contain mannan.
“People are buying more convenience foods with sauces so the mannan-based stains are an increasing problem. You can clearly see the effect of Mannaway in removing these stains,” says Marcus Peterek.
Mannaway has been tested by the Hohenstein Institute in other commercial European detergents using its standard range of mannan-based stains. The results are shown in the graphs. As can be seen, Mannaway has a significant effect on stain removal even in detergents already containing a number of enzymes. This confirms the specific findings in Hohenstein’s test with Dreco’s light-duty detergent.
Effect of Mannaway® on six Hohenstein swatches in European color detergents
Effect of Mannaway® on six Hohenstein swatches in European bleach-containing detergents
Low pH, low dose
A light-duty detergent does not contain such strong chemicals as a heavy-duty detergent. “The role of enzymes is more important in a light-duty or color detergent because there is no bleach and you have a lower pH,” argues Petra Salzmann of Novozymes.
The typical pH for Dreco’s light-duty detergents is 9.5, which is lower than for a heavy-duty detergent. The dosage per wash is also lower – 50 g compared with around 70 g. A light-duty detergent should also be able to wash effectively at low temperatures such as 30 °C (86 °F).
The protease Polarzyme and the amylase Stainzyme both work well at low temperatures. Carezyme is a cellulase for fiber care and color care so it is ideal for light-duty and color detergents. Lipex is a lipase giving an effect in the first wash on stains containing fat and grease. Last but not least, the fifth enzyme Mannaway removes troublesome gums.
Dreco is convinced about the Mannaway concept. In the near future, they plan to include the enzyme in other products in their light-duty detergent range. If customers wish, it can also be incorporated into private-label heavy-duty detergents.
Back in 1963, Novozymes manufactured the first commercial detergent enzyme, called Alcalase.® In the early days, detergents simply contained one enzyme – a protease. The range of detergent enzymes available has expanded over the years. New enzymes enhance wash performance and have allowed Dreco to steadily improve its products from year to year – ever since 1966.