SSM Boosts Textile Performance with Automation and Digital Solutions
Interview: Tuğba KARADEMİR
Bringing together efficiency, quality, and process stability in filament yarn and winding machines, SSM continues to make a difference in the textile industry with its digitalization- and automation-focused solutions. Innovative products such as Thread King III and Nema Digital Suite enhance production speed, consistency, and sustainability, while improving operational efficiency and optimizing machine fleet performance.
2025 stood out as a challenging balancing year for the global textile industry; cost pressures and a shortage of skilled labor pushed manufacturers toward smarter, digital, and automation-driven solutions. In this context, SSM Managing Director Roman Haefeli shared in detail the company’s latest innovations in filament yarn and winding machines, as well as its digitalization-focused strategies. Solutions like Thread King III and Nema Digital Suite increase production efficiency while strengthening quality and process stability, and simultaneously support sustainability. The interview highlights SSM’s technological vision and close collaboration with its customers.
How was the year 2025 for SSM? What were the main challenges and opportunities in filament yarn and winding machine sectors during the year?
2025 was a year of gradual market stabilization, with continued demand for precision winding, dye package preparation and filament processing solutions. Key challenges included cost pressure and a lack of skilled operators, pushing customers toward more automation and digital oversight. These needs aligned well with SSM’s focus on efficient, reliable winding systems and advanced monitoring tools, supporting customers in navigating in a challenging market.
SSM Develops Technologies That Boost Productivity and Enhance Quality Consistency
Your latest yarn processing and winding solutions, including Thread King III and Nema digital suite, are designed to improve efficiency and quality. Could you explain the tangible benefits for users and share any customer feedback received so far?
SSM’s latest solutions continue to deliver clear, measurable value in efficiency, quality and process stability. Thread King III delivers higher winding speed, improved tension consistency and excellent package build, supporting fewer downstream stoppages and greater profitability.
Nema Digital Suite provides real time transparency across machine fleets. A strong customer reference is AMANN Group, which achieved over 5% efficiency improvement within only three months by using Nema to optimize workflows, reduce downtime and duplicate optimal settings across multiple sites.
Together, these solutions demonstrate SSM’s commitment to delivering technology that boosts productivity, strengthens quality consistency, and supports customers in meeting rising performance expectations.
Digitalization enables faster, fact‑based decisions. With Nema, customers gain real‑time machine‑health insights, clear dashboards and early warnings. This helps reduce downtime, stabilize quality, and ensure consistent operation across large machine fleets. Optimized settings also reduce waste and prevent unnecessary energy consumption, supporting sustainability objectives.
What are the main requests and expectations from your customers, particularly regarding winding machines? Are there any new technologies or features SSM is planning to develop to meet these demands?
Customers increasingly expect higher flexibility, simpler operation, and greater autonomy from winding systems. They request faster setup, more integrated quality controls, predictive maintenance features and automation that reduces manual interventions. SSM is enhancing software intelligence, advancing yarn‑path technologies and expanding automation modules to meet these market needs and support more stable, scalable processes.
The shortage of skilled personnel continues to challenge the global textile industry. How does SSM address this issue, and what training, services, or automation solutions have you implemented to support customers?
SSM supports customers by combining intuitive machine operation with smart automation features that significantly reduce manual workload. User‑friendly interfaces and guided settings shorten operator training time, while functions such as automated or optimized doffing cycles help minimize manual interventions on the shop floor. Remote diagnostics, digital guides and structured training programs further enable mills to operate efficiently even with limited skilled staff.
does SSM evaluate its presence in Türkiye, and what strategies or collaborations are planned to strengthen relationships with Turkish textile companies?
Türkiye remains a strategically important market with strong expertise in filament and winding applications. SSM continues to invest in local collaboration while codeveloping solutions with leading mills, particularly in automation and digital monitoring.
