“We Will Continue to Invest and Offer the Best Solutions in 2022”
We talked to EFI Reggiani Senior Vice President and General Manager Adele Genoni about 2021, the targets for 2022 and the achievements of the ITM 2022 for the textile industry. Emphasizing that they miss meeting face-to-face with their customers, Genoni said, “We look forward to showcasing our latest Technologies but also to learn and hear feedbacks and insights on the industry from our customers. we will display new solutions that will further revolutionise the market and support our customers’ business through the digital transformation and growth at ITM 2022.”
First of all, how was 2021 for EFI?
Although the textile market was hit hard at the start of the pandemic in 2020, we have seen great recovery and growth in 2021. There is more and more interest in EFI Reggiani solutions, and customers are on the lookout for innovation and sustainability – which is exactly what we offer. We have launched three new machines in 2021, a great result in terms of product innovation, as well as celebrated our 75th anniversary of heritage and innovation.
What are the latest innovations are coming up by EFI Reggiani considering sustainability particularly chemical, water, environment and energy?
Sustainability is perhaps the biggest, and most important trend, especially given the enormous amount of water consumption and pollution attributed the to the textile industry. Manufacturers that print using analogue methods want to move to solutions that have much less waste, and businesses looking to enter the textile space are more inclined to do so now that greener, short process solutions like the EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver are available.
The EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver is a 1.8-metre-wide printer operating with EFI Reggiani’s unique TERRA pigment ink with binder solution for high-quality, highly sustainable, direct-to-textile printing without steaming or washing. The pigment ink and binder solution ensure users have a greener, smarter, short process to enter the textile space. The printer, which we presented for the first time at the recent Fespa tradeshow in Amsterdam, has a new recirculating ink system for superior reliability and minimum maintenance, a new, time-saving image processing capabilities, that eliminates time spent in image pre-calculations, and several additional enhancements.
Our TERRA platform printers are important step for the future of textile and sustainability. We have entry-level, mid-volume and high-volume TERRA models, and they all give users a distinct advantage, replacing water-intensive steaming and washing with using a highly efficient polymerization process that goes into effect as printed textile goes through this special printer’s on-board dryer.
During the pandemic process, companies focused on R&D and new product development. What are your new products and technologies that you have developed as Efi in the last two years?
2021 year has been one of our most active years in bringing innovation to market.
During a worldwide virtual event and at the TME exhibition in Istanbul early September, we launched the world’s most productive scanning textile printer, an EFI Reggiani HYPER model that – in a 3.4-metre size printing on 2 1.5-metre rolls in parallel – can produce up to 20 linear metres per minute. That level of throughput is comparable to what some low-end single-pass textile printers produce. But it’s not just about speed. For EFI Reggiani, printing quality is a trademark, and it is key for this product too. HYPER delivers outstanding printing quality as well as extreme design possibilities thanks to multi-pass printing at unparalleled speed, to answer the demand for versatility. Thanks to the 72 new recirculation print heads, today integrated on HYPER only, and the legacy EFI Reggiani continuous ink recirculation system, this new printer is also a champion for uptime and reliability, maximizing the printer’s availability for production with excellent printing results and very low maintenance needs.
Besides EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver pigment printer, we have also launched another new industrial entry-level solution: EFI Reggiani BLAZE printer. BLAZE has been designed to give textile companies the opportunity to enter the digital textile printing market with a compact solution. Thanks to EFI Reggiani’s state-of-the-art technology, it guarantees cutting-edge printhead reliability and low maintenance costs for a competitive TCO (total cost of ownership) and smooth and precise material handling of knitted and woven fabrics.
The printer has eight 300-dpi dual channel printheads and can print in up to eight colours with full variable drop size, reaching a speed up to 125 linear metres per hour. Thanks to an extended range of printing modes, including our high uniformity printing modes, BLAZE ensures maximum flexibility on the widest variety of designs, to satisfy an extensive array of customers’ needs.
“We Do See Growth Globally in 2022”
Can you tell us about your expectations, goals, new products and investment plans for 2022?
EFI Reggiani is very conscious of, and respectful of, the challenges and requirements that must come about for the global textile community to recover from Covid. Our facility in Northern Italy was among the hardest hit by Covid early in the pandemic and we recognize and appreciate the challenges so many of our customers have faced.
From a business perspective, we do see growth globally, and we are thankful for the opportunity to help customers persevere and move back into full production through a difficult global crisis.
Ink volumes can be an important leading indicator of where the market is heading, and our ink manufacturing volumes recovered several months ago – a clear sign that digital production activity is ready for another upswing.
The ITM , which was postponed due to the pandemic, will be held after 4 years. Could you share with us your views on the ITM Exhibition, which will bring the textile machinery industry together after such a long break?
We believe that ITM 2022 will be filled with excitement and joy as we finally get to meet our customers and partners face-to-face and also see the printers in action. Although business was able to be conducted online, there is no replacement for meeting in person, where you can network, as well as demonstrating the performances of new printers directly on the exhibition floor. We look forward to showcasing our latest Technologies but also to learn and hear feedbacks and insights on the industry from our customers.
“We will display new solutions that will further revolutionise the market at ITM 2022”
Do you have new products or new technologies that you are planning to exhibit at the ITM 2022?
Also, for 2022 we are fully committed to invest and offer to our customers the best technology and solutions. We at EFI Reggiani are committed to sustainability and green processes, so new sustainable digital printing solutions to use less water, less energy and less waste to accelerate the digital transformation and build a more sustainable Textile industry will remain a key focus.
A second significant 2022 driver of development will be workflow and end-to-end digital solutions, to offer an optimised and smooth experience to our customers thanks to software innovation.
And lats but not least, this new year we will continue exploring new applications to expand the possibilities offered with our products and processes to help our customers grow their businesses through new opportunities enablement.
So, at ITM 2022, we will display new solutions that will further revolutionise the market and support our customers’ business through the digital transformation and growth.
Interview: Dilek HAYIRLI
