“Turkish Carpet Mills Rely On Stäubli Technology”

Fritz Legler, Head of Marketing and Sales of Stäubli

 

Under the brand Schönherr Stäubli develops and produces high-quality double carpet rapier weaving machines. Rooted in tradition and based on more than 150 years of experience in product development, the company is committed to offering highly flexible carpet weaving machinery incorporating state-of-the-art technology.

Delivering the proven ALPHA series of machines around the World; Schönherr carpet systems is renowned as the supplier of the most flexible carpet weaving machines available. Schönherr carpet machines provide maximum flexibility in the production of single or double pile or bouclé carpets. Double rapier carpet weaving machines are available to industry with Staubli eccentric or dobby machines and Jacquard machines.

We interviewed with Fritz Legler, Head of Marketing and Sales of Stäubli for our Special Issue of Carpet Industry and Technologies. We talked about trends, challenges and the latest technological innovations of Schönherr in the carpet industry with Fritz Legler.

What developments in carpet weaving machinery has Schönherr seen over the past few years? What advantages do Schönherr systems offer to carpet weaving mills?

Since Stäubli acquired the Schönherr company, the ALPHA carpet weaving systems have undergone many technical advancements and refinements. The Schönherr Carpet Systems, both the 4m system (ALPHA 400 series) and 5m system (ALPHA 500 series), were launched and have become first-choice solutions for weaving a wide variety of products, whether rugs or wall-to-wall carpeting. Stäubli is a leading global solution provider for shed formation (electronic rotary dobbies and Jacquard machines) with extensive experience building first-class machines. We have supplied the ALPHA systems with state-of-the-art technology and top-quality components for a very long service life and flexibility to adapt to future needs.

What challenges does the carpet weaving machine industry face? What are your solutions to overcome them?

Being able to quickly respond to emerging market demands is a watchword at the moment. So we have to swiftly deliver machinery that perfectly suits the mills’ current needs and can be ideally adapted to handle future projects. This requires not only flexibility but also perfectly fitted machinery. To meet these requirements, our teams analyze the mill’s specific needs in great detail, of course in collaboration with the customers’ project teams. Our aim is to deliver weaving equipment that meets the customers’ needs in terms of productivity and flexibility to handle a range of various carpet applications – including optimization possibilities of rug sizes across the weaving width – and to provide an interesting return on investment (ROI) for the customer.

Our ALPHA machinery range offers a complete package of solutions that enable carpet mills to realize their overall market approach. Whether rugs or wall-to-wall carpeting, from loop to low- or high-cut pile and a very wide range of binding solutions with weft effects for realizing attractive and modern carpet designs, we offer good solutions for every desired carpet design and level of carpet quality. In summary, you could say that we deliver flexibility at its best.

What are the key trends you see emerging in the carpet weaving machinery sector? What new innovations can one expect in carpet machines?

Driven by consumer demand during the pandemic to continually beautify the home and get good value for the money, the current market is the middle segment. These carpets are typically in the 300-500 reed density range. Our customers want and need alternatives in the procurement of weaving machinery. They want the greatest flexibility, the highest productivity, and the best carpet quality. Furthermore, service support and availability of parts also play a key role.

What are your major markets? How important is the Turkish market to your company – and how much business is conducted here?

The Turkish market is one of the most important markets in the world for Stäubli, particularly at this time, when the pandemic is causing strong demand for home staging articles, including carpets. This trend is especially pronounced in the United States. High investments in home decorations, and especially carpets, are driving the Turkish carpet weaving industry – and along with it, demand for our ALPHA carpet weaving systems.

Egypt is also flourishing as a well-known carpet supplier, and China is showing increasing interest as a market player. Stäubli has already received numerous orders from Turkey this year, which indicates that 2021 should be an encouraging and successful business year. Our teams are prepared to fulfil every order on time and to consistently meet our high standards for top quality.

How was 2020 for your company?  How was your company’s reaction to Pandemic?

The pandemic affected our worldwide business, as it did for all globally active companies. It brought many different challenges, and we are glad to see from our customers’ reactions that our global network, our responses, and our adaptations have been highly appreciated. One of the greatest challenges was that we were prohibited from traveling to customers’ mills, especially those abroad.

So we had to find other ways of handling machine servicing and on-site support. We relied heavily on our well-established global network of local offices and partners – and the positive feedback from many customers confirms the success of this strategy. This is a decisive advantage of Stäubli and a key to successfully satisfying our customers with reliable service and support. Our local reps in the world’s leading weaving regions played a major role, enabling us to act and react in line with our customers’ expectations.

Regarding Schönherr, what are your expectations for 2021? Are there plans to launch any new products for the textile industry? Do you plan to further invest in or expand your manufacturing facilities?

Our corporate tagline “fast moving technology” stands for significant investment in innovative technologies. This constantly benefits all our textile machinery product lines and Schönherr Carpet Systems too. We had been planning to meet our customers and partners at the Domotex shows in Hanover and Gaziantep in 2021. These shows are very attractive events that provide inspiration to the whole industry. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, these shows have been cancelled, along with many others.

In terms of investment plans, as a leading provider to many industries, the Stäubli Group is constantly monitoring developments in all its units and investing to stay at the forefront of the markets to best serve customers with a very high level of competency and availability.

An example is the company’s site in Bayreuth, Germany, where Schönherr carpet systems are produced. This site hosts partially the Stäubli Group’s three activities: Robotics, Connectors, and Textile – and here we have seen major investments in recent years. The site is equipped with state-of-the-art production facilities, offices, and showrooms. A team from Textile recently moved into their own new building there, making for even easier exchange and collaboration among all textile-related services – including direct accessibility to our weaving labs, which are equipped with complete weaving systems for R&D purposes.

Interview: Dilek HAYIRLI