Stäubli’s Jacquard Machines are Highly Prized by Turkish Weavers
In 1996 in terms of serving the Turkish industry more intimately, Stäubli Group established Staubli Sanayi Makine ve Aksesuarları Ticaret Ltd. Şti. branch. In 2002 in addition to traditional textile machinery activities, Stäubli also established a Connec- tors division to serve the fast growing local industry.
In 2004 The Stäubli Robotics division has started its activities in Turkey. Since 2009 Staubli Istanbul is the official represantive of Multi-Contact in Turkey. In January 2018, Stäubli started production of Junction Box for solar panels at new facilities in Tuzla, Istanbul. We made an interview with Fritz Legler, Stäubli Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service for the ‘Weaving Special Section’ of our Tekstil Teknoloji Magazine. Legler, said Turkey is one of the main markets for Stäubli. We talked with Reinwald about that the importance of Turkey’s market for their companies, the most requested products, their expectations and new projects in 2019.
TURKEY, ONE OF THE STÄUBLI’S MAIN MARKET
If you assess in terms of export markets what is the importance of Turkey market for your company?
Turkey is one of our main markets, surpassed only by the global lead- ing textile-producing countries such as China, India, and Bangladesh. Turkey is a strong fabric supplier for shirting, denim and home textiles, but carpet and sock production are key business sectors as well.
How was the year 2018 in Turkey’s market for your company?
During the first quarter we saw very high investment activity. By midyear we experienced a slight downturn in orders. Currency issues that arose last summer exacerbated the downward trend. By autumn the decline in investment activity was clearly visible – and it is still lingering.
How is the demand of Turkish companies to your products?
It is lower than in the same period last year, but in line with the global investment situation, which shows a significant decrease.
What are your most demanded products?
Stäubli Textile offers a broad range of machinery that is perfectly suited to future-oriented weaving mills. Amongst the products in highest demand are the weaving preparation equipment, which provides perfectly prepared warps, allows quick style changes, and supports a continuous weaving process and increased first-choice fabric production. Weavers are convinced of the performance of the SAFIR automatic drawing-in machines, so investments in this automation solution are still growing.
Also amongst the most important products for the Turkish market are our renowned S3000/S3200 series rotary dobbies for patterned fabrics. These machines deliver the performance required by the weaving machine, taking the weaving parameters into account. They can be installed either low or high on all types of weaving machines (water jet, air jet, and rapier weaving machines), and they are equipped with latest maintenance-free harness motions. Every mill can find a model perfectly suited to its needs – and profit from long-lasting machin- ery that runs reliably event at the highest production speeds.
In order to supply the home-textile sector with first-class fabrics on schedule, weavers need robust and precise Jacquard machinery. This is where Stäubli excels with its renowned SX and LX/LXL Jacquard machine series. They are highly prized by Turkish weavers. The recently launched LXL model in particular has been met with resounding success amongst forward-oriented weaving mills.
The LXL is available in formats up to 14,336, and two machines can be coupled to accommodate formats up to 28,672 hooks. This machine, like all in the series, is easy to integrate, boasts compact construction with perfectly balanced vibration-free kinematics, and is suitable for weaving at very heavy loads. In the knitting sector, we have seen an increase in demand for the D4S automatic toe-closing device. This automation solution significantly shortens the sock production process.
What are your predictions and your expectations for 2019 in terms of the market of Turkey?
The textile machinery industry is strongly coupled with the global economic climate. In light of current social and economic developments we are seeing around the world, we expect the Turkish market to be affected by a downtrend. Nevertheless, we expect ITMA Barcelona to lend a positive im- pulse to weaving mills, including Turkish ones.
Do you have any new technologies you will introduce in 2019?
As a leading supplier of future-oriented solutions for the textile industry, Stäubli will be introducing new technologies in 2019. ITMA Barcelona will be the next platform for interested visitors to receive information and discover Stäubli’s systems, devices, and installations that can be perfectly adapted to customers’ needs and bring textile mills greater advantages.
Interview: Dilek Hayırlı
