From the Sector

Das bulgarische Tochterunternehmen der Textildruckerei Mayer aus Meßstetten-Unterdigisheim hat zum Jahresbeginn 2020 sein Portfolio erweitert. Während der Schwerpunkt bisher auf textiler Lohnveredlung lag, hat Amcotec nun seine Kapazitäten für Montage- und Fertigungsaufträge ausgebaut und Mitarbeiter in den Bereichen Prüfen, Montieren und Veredeln geschult. Für Maschinenbauer und Elektronikunternehmen schafft Amcotec damit ein Angebot zur Auslagerung lohnintensiver Arbeitsschritte. Gleichzeitig stellt das Unternehmen mit diesem Ansatz erneut seine Fähigkeit unter Beweis, bestehende Kompetenzen schnell neuen Marktchancen anzupassen.
 
Nachfrage formt Dienstleistungsangebot
„Die aktuelle Lage der Weltwirtschaft macht dem gesamten Maschinenbau zu schaffen“, so Michael Steidle, Geschäftsführer der Textildruckerei Mayer, „das Auftragsvolumen ist zurückgegangen und die Hersteller stehen unter großem Preisdruck. Für sie kann die Auslagerung ausgesuchter Montage- und Fertigungsschritte ein wichtiger finanzieller Vorteil sein.“

Den Markt, über den er spricht, kennt Michael Steidle gut: Er ist ausgebildeter Elektromechanikermeister und hat seine Lehrzeit beim Waagenhersteller Bizerba absolviert, bevor er über seine Frau zur Textilindustrie kam. Die Entscheidung, im Werk in Bulgarien einen Arbeitsbereich für Montagedienstleistungen aufzubauen, ist deshalb so naheliegend wie fundiert.

Amcotec, das Tochterunternehmen der Textildruckerei Mayer in Petrich besteht seit 2011. Ziel der Ausgründung war es, ausgewählte textile Aufträge günstiger bearbeiten zu können. Außerdem begleitete die Textildruckerei Mayer damit einige ihrer wichtigsten Kunden bei deren eigener Produktionsverlagerung. Diese Zusammenarbeit vor Ort in Bulgarien besteht vielfach bis heute.

Jedoch ist das Land mit dem niedrigsten Lohnniveau der EU nicht nur ein attraktiver Standort für Textilveredlung. Der Vorteil kommt bei allen lohnintensiven Arbeitsschritten zum Tragen – auch bei Montagedienstleistungen. Deshalb umfasst das Portfolio der bulgarischen Amcotec seit Jahresbeginn 2020 auch Baugruppen- und Kleinmontagen, Baugruppenfertigungen, Kunststoffbearbeitung und Kommissionierung. Kurzum: Das Team in Petrich prüft, montiert und veredelt, was der Kunde wünscht.

Vorteilhafte Rahmenbedingungen
Ein baden-württembergisches Elektronikunternehmen ist bereits Kunde bei Amcotec. Michael Steidle: „Je geringer das Gewicht der Teile, die in Bulgarien weiterverarbeitet werden sollen, desto größer der Vorteil für den Kunden. Dasselbe gilt, wenn mehrere Arbeitsschritte an einem Teil vorzunehmen sind. Dann kann der Kunde von den Lohneinsparungen profitieren, ohne diese durch einen aufwendigen Transport, den wir ebenfalls koordinieren, wieder zu schmälern.“

Seinen Preisvorteil kombiniert Amcotec mit der Tatsache, dass das Werk seit jeher unter Leitung des deutschen Geschäftsführers Volker Hildebrand steht. „Kunden aus Deutschland und Baden-Württemberg dürfen sich auf jeden Fall gut verstanden fühlen“, sagt Michael Steidle mit einem Augenzwinkern.

The 2019 World Textile Forum closes its doors after two successful and exciting days.

On September 9 and 10 renowned speakers and experts from the textile business gathered in Zurich to discuss opportunities in the changing textile world. Exciting talks and keynotes illustrated new possibilities for a more sustainable and digital textile industry. While one part of the versatile program focussed on “Sustainable Sourcing” with speakers such as Robert van de Kerkhof (Lenzing AG), Heinz Zeller (Hugo Boss), Daniel Gemperle (Calida) and Anna Maria Rugarli (VF), the topic of “Digital Production” became the centre of attention later thanks to experts like Torbjörn Netland (ETH), Maximilian Kürig (Karl Mayer), Maria Neidhold (Spoonflower) and Holger Max-Lang (Lectra). They offered new perspectives on the sustainable future of the textile industry, presenting innovative sustainable production and business models. The subsequent panels furthered the knowledge exchange between both attendees and speakers and led to lively discussions.

Swiss Textile Federation, Swiss Textile & Fashion Institute STF and Gherzi Textil Organisation would like to thank all attendees and look forward to the next World Textile Forum!

At this year’s ITMA Mayer & Cie. presented its new OVJA 2.4 EM mattress machine. Fully electronic, it produces up to 30 kilograms of fabric per hour, which demonstrably makes it the most productive  machine of its kind in the world. It also scores points for ease of use and the variety of patterns it can produce. The highly productive mattress machine was a perfect match for this year’s Mayer & Cie. ITMA focus on sport. To be at the top in the long term you need to strike a balance between peaks of physical performance and phases of regenerative recovery.

Mayer & Cie.’s new MJ 3.2 E makes a tailor-made job of body mapping

Mayer & Cie. (MCT) is showcasing a mesh and body mapping specialist at this year’s ITMA in Barcelona. Specially developed for sporting use, the electronic single jersey machine MJ 3.2 E is a cornerstone of the manufacturer’s trade fair concept and its slogan “Stay a Winner: With Mayer & Cie.”. Because the new electronic jacquard flagship is based on a 3-in-1 concept it is capable of much more. Its 3-way technology enables the MJ 3.2 E to knit a wide range of patterns while its 2-way technology ensures high productivity.

Albstadt-based circular knitting machine manufacturer Mayer & Cie. (MCT) is exhibiting at this year’s leading textile and garment technology trade fair ITMA with the slogan “Stay a winner. With Mayer & Cie.” The focus of the company’s presentation will be on sport. Sportswear, active leisurewear and sports shoes are increasingly made of circular knitted fabrics and the long-established German firm has the right machines to cater for this trend. Mayer & Cie. is also going for the improved customer experiences that consistent digitization makes possible.

For years global demand for circular knitted goods has increased continuously. An important growth driver is the sportswear and sports fashion sector, including sports shoes. According to Euromonitor the market segment grew by about seven per cent per year between 2013 and 2017. By 2017 Euromonitor estimated its total market value to be around USD 78 billion. Lightweight synthetic fibres, new patterns and attractive functionalities are the key requirements in this area.

Mayer & Cie. can already fulfil many requirements with a portfolio of machines considered to be the largest in the industry. Lightweight mesh structures, often requested for running shirts, are a speciality of the IG 3.2 QCe interlock machine, for example. Jacquard machines from the OVJA family, in contrast, are suitable for the manufacture of shoe uppers. Compared with the conventional methods flat knitting and warp knitting, circular knitting scores points for productivity and significantly shorter set-up times.

Series production of the Spinit 3.0 E spinning and knitting machine has been under way since the end of 2018. It combines two previously separate processes – spinning and knitting – in one machine. That saves time, space and energy compared with conventional manufacturing processes. Mayer & Cie. has already won several awards for this approach, the latest being the Innovation Prize for the Climate and the Environment (IKU) that the Federal Environment Ministry and the Confederation of German Industry (BDI) award every other year. The company is presenting at ITMA its further developments of this machine.

Along with machine development Mayer & Cie. has set itself another target for ITMA and thereafter: to improve the customer experience, a task of which Sebastian Mayer is in charge. His responsibilities at Mayer & Cie. are for corporate development and digitization. Digitization of the company’s extensive customer and machinery know-how is currently under way. Customers will be able to see and test the initial results at ITMA. Available for testing will be the new Web shop, linked with an analogue model of the high-bay warehouse in Albstadt-Tailfingen, and machine maintenance by means of HoloLens.

• Innovative Textile Processes

Innovations are welcome. Based on innovations, many changes in textile processing are leading to more efficiency in process workflows. At the International Cotton Conference in Bremen on Wednesday, March 21st, Session IV Textile Processing, which takes place from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, is dedicated to this subject area and attractive examples.

Sustainable
Michael Tuschak, Mayer & Cie., Germany, informs about the 3-in-1 concept of Spinitsystems. Spinning, cleaning and knitting are all combined in one machine. This enables the production process of high-quality single jersey knitwear to be shortened significantly, which saves energy costs and reduces CO2 emissions.

Indigo.
An old dye returns to glory. Dr. Dean Etheridge of Texas Tech University, USA, talks about a new, innovative indigo dyeing process for cotton yarns using foam. This saves large amounts of water and is now increasingly being used by major brands in jeans production.

Efficient.
Amin Leder, Trützschler GmbH & Co. KG, Germany, presents a technique in which the stretching process for rotor yarn production does not take place in a separate machine, but is integrated into the carding. This makes it possible to efficiently process even cotton with a higher waste content.

Overview.
Harald Schwippel, from Rieter, Switzerland, summarises all four major spinning technologies for cotton – ring spinning, compact spinning, rotor spinning and air-jet spinning. His talk provides an overview of the possibilities that each of these processes currently offers for the manufacture of different yarns and the most efficient options for different applications.

More to know
In the run-up to the International Cotton Conference, the Fibre Institute Bremen and the Cotton Exchange are organising a specific seminar for spinning mills on Tuesday, dealing with the efficient handling of contaminants in cotton, from elimination in production to removal in winding. On Friday morning, Expert Session IX deals with the exchange of the latest research results, e.g. in the field of ginning in relation to cotton quality, or the important issue of checking the traceability of GMO-free cotton.