“ITM Exhibition is an Invaluable Opportunity to Show Our Commitment to the Turkish Market”
Interview: Özge Çağıl Sütcü
Toros Greenhalgh, General Director of Karl Mayer Turkey: “ITM represents one of our premier international events. With numerous innovative partners in the region, this exhibition provides an invaluable opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to advancing technology and fostering collaborations within the Turkish market. “
Karl Mayer, a worldwide manufacturer in the fields of warp knitting and flat knitting, technical textiles, warp preparation and digitization for weaving, continues to invest in new warping machines and smart software solutions. As Tekstil Teknoloji magazine, we interviewed Karl Mayer Turkey General Manager Toros Greenhalgh for our special issue on ‘German Textile Machinery Industry’. Greenhalgh who gave his first interview to Tekstil Teknoloji Magazine shared details about their preparations for ITM 2024 and the product portfolio they will exhibit, and talked about their activities in the Turkish market.
How was the year 2023 for your company? Can you evaluate it in terms of your production volume, orders and export markets?
2023 was a difficult year for us with many challenges. Above all, the clouding of consumer sentiment due to the weakening global prosperity trend has caused us problems. The reluctance to buy is affecting our new machinery business, as less textile consumption also means less demand for textile machinery. The effects of Covid, the current wars and increasing geopolitical tensions further unsettled consumers. Added to this were national crises such as deflation in China, currency devaluation in Türkiye and foreign exchange problems in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Even in this situation, we were able to build on a robust strategy and a highly committed, loyal workforce. We have also set the course for future success in recent months. At the ITMA in Milan in June 2023, we were able to consolidate the trust of our customers and present them with numerous innovative solutions for coping with the changes of our time. Our trade fair presence was very well received. ITMA 2023 was one of the most visited trade fairs in our company’s history.
Other activities focussed on strengthening our regional presence in our key future markets. For example, we established a location in Türkiye in September. We also showed our colours in North America with the launch of a series of conferences for textile experts at Karl Mayer North America, also in September. The last milestone last year was a product show at Karl Mayer (China), which took place during ITMA ASIA in November and at which a whole series of new machines for the tricot and lace sector celebrated their premiere. This event was also very well attended.
As you know, the lack of qualified personnel in the global textile industry. Do you also encounter this problem?
We face similar challenges as other industries. With a mixture of a professional vocational training, partner cooperations with universities worldwide, a continuous learning of our employees, a global talent development and external recruitment we develop our workforce and build up our competencies for the future.
“Our ITM Show Presence Provides Answers to the Challenges of This Time”
This year is ITM 2024 year, which will held at June, you will attend. Which will be the products you exhibit?
Our ITM show presence provides answers to the challenges of this time! Our solutions are all about profitability despite cost pressure, sustainability, fast, flexible reactions to market requirements, new market opportunities and the issue of a shortage of skilled labour. Among the products on show will be a new member of the HKS 3-M ON family with an extended range of articles, stylish warp-knitted fabrics made from various materials, including natural fibres, and fabrics made on warp knitting machines with weft insertion for technical applications, particularly for the construction sector. We will also be presenting innovative Care Solutions offers for perfect all-round support for our warp knitting customers. For the knitting industry, we have selected machines from the All-in-One ADF machine series and the CMS family with its wide range of patterning options. New technical features as well as new knitting applications will be on show. There will also be a pioneering software presentation on the subject of design along with a wide collection of innovative knitwear patterns. KM.ON will present state-of-the-art software solutions to optimise key production processes and increase efficiency, including Digital Shopfloor Management (DPM), which uses IoT and advanced analytics to enable a range of functions for transparency, control and optimisation across the entire production process. Highlights for visitors from the warp preparation sector will include presentations on Bluedye, an innovative indigo dyeing system for an efficient and sustainable indigo dyeing process, and Cascade, an newly developed steam and condensation system that significantly reduces the steam requirements of sizing and indigo dyeing systems.
We will also be presenting the Multi-Matic® 32 Compact. The new warp sampling machine is more than twice as productive as the previous model with the same space requirement and enables a highly flexible response to the needs of the market.
“Turkey Stands Out as One of Our Key Markets Globally”
Can you talk about how ITM contributes to the textile machinery sector?
The ITM exhibition holds significant importance for us as it serves as a vital platform for showcasing our latest technologies, particularly tailored to meet the demands of the Turkish market. Türkiye stands out as one of our key markets globally, and ITM represents one of our premier international events. With numerous innovative partners in the region, this exhibition provides an invaluable opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to advancing technology and fostering collaborations within the Turkish market.
What do you think about digitalization and artificial intelligence transformation processes?
Digitalisation and artificial intelligence are important drivers of progress in our time. To utilise them, we founded our own company, KM.ON, back in 2017. This company understands the unique difficulties that textile businesses face and is specialises in smart software solutions for the warp knitting and flat knitting sector. This includes machine monitoring and control systems, data analytics platforms, software applications for production planning and management as well as for the digitalization of the knitwear design and development process. These solutions aim to improve operational efficiency, increase productivity, enable better decision-making in textile manufacturing and accelerate the design-to-market workflow. KM.ON’s vision is that anyone can run a knitting company.
What are your thoughts about the Turkish market? Are there any investment plans for Turkish textile market?
The Turkish Textile Market, characterized by its significant size and constant investment plans, has been affected by the prevailing geopolitical and financial challenges on a global scale. These crises have considerably restrained the market’s growth trajectory, falling short of the anticipated expansion. Despite this stagnant period, we have invested in our own subsidiary in Bursa, Karl Mayer Turkey in order to further support our customers in the Turkish market and increase our presence in the country.
What kind of activities do you carry out to increase your brand awareness and customer satisfaction? What are the special services and solutions you provide to customers? Can you tell us more about your portfolio of products and services offered exclusively to customers in Turkey?
With the recent establishment of Karl Mayer Turkey, we are strategically expanding our presence in the Turkish market. Our new location includes The KARL MAYER Academy, where we provide comprehensive training on the fundamentals of Warp Knitting alongside our cutting-edge machines and products, including digitalization and textile developments.
Karl Mayer Turkey is poised to become a key hub for our esteemed customers, offering enhanced after-sales support to cater to the growing Warp Knitting market. We are committed to promoting our Care Solutions products alongside digitalization initiatives to boost our customers’ operational efficiency across various aspects of machine management.
“With our solutions, we help to reduce the ecological footprint of our industry”
As you know, the textile sector consumes more energy and water than other sectors. What are your thoughts about sustainable projects?
Sustainability activities are important for the protection of our livelihoods, that is undisputed for us. For us, sustainability always means being environmentally friendly and economical at the same time. With our solutions, we help to reduce the ecological footprint of our industry and save costs at the same time. We focus on new textile developments, such as terry towelling products that use less energy and textile auxiliaries and produce less waste water, as well as our machines, such as their energy data management.
