“Picanol Sets a New Benchmark in Terry Weaving with New TerryPlus-i”
Picanol, a manufacturer of advanced technology weaving machines and accessories, will present its new terry machine TerryPlus-i to its customers with its launch on September 17th.
We interviewed with Picanol Marketing Communication Manager Erwin Devloo for the “Weaving Special Issue” of our Tekstil Teknoloji magazine. Explaining the latest trends in weaving machines, the difficulties in the industry and their new products, Devloo said that they will launch the new TerryPlus-i on September 17th. Devloo said, “With this launch Picanol sets a new benchmark in terry weaving.”
In weaving machinery industry what are the developments that Picanol has seen over the years, and what advantages the machinery that Picanol offers over that of its competitors Technologies?
When starting the design of a new machine, we have to do better than just a few picks faster than the previous generation. Today’s world is all about connectivity, user-centric design, intuitive controls, self-learning capacities and sustainability… to name just a few. These are the benchmarks for a future-proof design.
Smart Performance
Performance is the first requirement for any machine or feature, and the obvious indicator is the theoretical maximum speed. Very often, however, the gap between this theoretical speed and the effective speed under real-life conditions is huge.
Sustainability Inside
When it comes to preventing waste and reducing energy consumption, Picanol has long faced up to its responsibility. Our machines are designed with a built-in capacity for sustainability. When starting the design of a new machine, we have to do better than just a few picks faster than the previous generation. Today’s world is all about connectivity, user-centric design, intuitive controls, self-learning capacities and sustainability to name just a few.
Driven by Data
We all know that digitization will become ever more important in the next decades. Data have to be captured and made availablefor artifi cial intelligence, making production more efficient.
Intuitive Control
Kids nowadays handle new technology eff ortlessly and intuitively. That’s what we want for our machines as well. Just like your smartphone or your car, the machine display is the interface that controls nearly all the machine functions.
In weaving sector what will be next level of technology expected in future?
To be fully complient with Industry 4.0.
Smart Performance, Sustainability Inside, Driven by Data and Intuitive Control are the basic principles of any Picanol weaving machine. They allow to thrive in today’s world of Industry 4.0: connected, digital and sustainable.
That’s why we at Picanol design our machines around the principle of ‘Smart Performance’: intelligent machine design combined with self-setting software, allowing the highest possible practical speed and best performance under all conditions.
We have demonstrated this with our pioneering Sumo drive. Introduced back in 1996, it is still the most energy-efficient main drive available.
Sustainability is also about waste management. We not only reduce waste but also try to avoid it completely.
Ever since the first introduction of electronics on weaving machines in the 1970s, Picanol has been at the forefront of digitization. With every new machine, we continue to be a trendsetter in this field and to further deploy Industry 4.0 in the weaving industry: the self-setting machine is just around the corner!
Wireless-ready, robust and designed for instant readability: new generations will not accept anything less! This user-centric approach is also embedded in the design of the overall machine, making all operations easy, intuitive and self-explanatory.
What would be the size of the market for weaving machines? What is the pie that Picanol would claim for itself?
As Picanol is a stock listed company we cannot divuldge information on market sensitive subjects.
“We Received 112 Air-Jet Machine Order from Ada Fios Company”
In the weaving machinery industry what are the major challenges faced by Picanol and how do you propose to overcome them?
Picanol’s baseline is: Let’s Grow Together. It is obvious that we want to grow. But very important in this is: together. Being close to the customer, listening to his needs and expectations and fullfilling the commitments we made. The success of our customers is the ultimate goal. This not only by offering the best weaving machines on the market but also by going that extra mile when a customer is in trouble. A nice example is Ada Fios.
Ada Fios is without doubt one of the leading producers of medical gauze fabrics in Europe. Based 30 minutes from the city of Porto, Portugal, it was hit by a devastating fire at the end of June. Unfortunately, one of the most modern mills – not only in Europe but also in the world – which included spinning and weaving machines, was completely destroyed.
When the irreversible happens, there is very little time to lose in order not to jeopardize the continuity of daily operations and – most importantly – ensure the high level of service for the customers. Less than one week after the fire, Sr. Luis Andrade, CEO of Ada Group, was sitting around the table with the Picanol Sales team to discuss the different options available. Following this meeting, Ada Fios signed a contract for the purchase of 112 units of the most modern airjet machines currently available on the market.
Not only is Picanol making a huge effort to guarantee a record delivery time for these machines, with deliveries scheduled to start in September, but also the Picanol Service team – which has a local presence in Portugal – is already making the necessary preparations to have the 112 brand new OmniPlus-i machines in full operation within the shortest possible time.
In good times everybody has friends. But it is only in the worst of times that you get to know who your very best friends are. They are the ones who are willing to go the extra mile. ‘Let’s grow together’ is more than just a slogan for everyone at Picanol
Are there any plans for launching new products targeted at textile industry?
As you know, most of the tradeshows where Picanol was scheduled to be present are being cancelled or postponed. But that will not hold us back to launch our brand new airjet weaving machine: the TerryPlus-i. The new TerryPlus-i will be presented to our terry customers during a virtual launch show on September 17, 2020. With this launch Picanol sets a new benchmark in terry weaving.
As you know, the whole world is struggling with the coronavirus pandemic recently. How did the pandemic affect Picanol? What are your plans for the post-pandemic period?
The recent global lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is clear proof of the importance of having local presence and ensuring we are close to our customers. With borders closed and air travel shut down, service activities are basically impossible to deliver if you don’t have experts strategically positioned throughout the world.
This deliberate choice was made by Picanol not just recently but several decades ago. We heavily invested in building service centers in all of the important textile regions in the world. Now more than ever before, this is really paying off for our customers. Most of our technicians are local people, well-trained and, as we like to say: “just a phone call away”. Put simply, we don’t have to fly any of them in from overseas to provide assistance to our customers. Of course, in light of COVID-19, when assisting customers nowadays, our technicians take all of the necessary health measures such as social distancing, the use of a face mask, disinfection, etc.
This means that in total approximately 150 technicians made up of more than 30 different nationalities are on standby to help our customers. They are well-versed in the local customs, they speak the local languages, and they know their counterparts at all of the mills on a personal level. They are also familiar with the functioning of each and every weaving shed in their region and they come to our headquarters in Belgium at least once every year for an in-depth training program on the latest technological evolutions of our weaving machines.
Interview: Dilek HAYIRLI