#Denim

2022-10-13

KARL MAYER is looking forward to working with leading denim brands

Entrance to KARL MAYER's Denim R&D Center © 2022 KARL MAYER

KARL MAYER continues to be successful in the denim sector and is an important partner for the influential players in the industry. The company is establishing relationships with leading brands and recently signed an agreement to pursue a joint project with Levi Strauss & Co. for a more sustainable indigo dyeing process.

The innovation in indigo dyeing goes hand in hand with sustainability

KARL MAYER is already with its PRODYE®-S unit a leader in the fashion market, and its PRODYE®-R is increasingly establishing in the rope dyeing process. In 2019, KARL MAYER launched at the ITMA Barcelona its GREENDYE technology. The innovation is based on nitrogen dyeing system, and its advantages include highly reduced chemical consumption, best dyeing efficiency, and significant water savings.

The arguments for more sustainability and economic efficiency are convincing. This year, the innovative global player NIEN HSING was the first manufacturer to invest in GREENDYE by KARL MAYER. The premiere machine will be delivered to Taiwan by end of this year.

Denim R&D Center

The KARL MAYER Research & Development Center for Denim offers the opportunity to test the performance of GREENDYE by KARL MAYER on a pilot plant with individual trials. "The customer can come to us with his yarn. We dye and warp it and process it with our Italian partners into fabrics that he can compare with his previous goods," explains Stefano Agazzi, Chief of Technology and Products at KARL MAYER. The experienced denim specialist is also on hand to answer questions and help with his extensive network.

KARL MAYER's HKS 2-SE Expands Possibilities for Premium Stretch WARP KNITS

Warp knitted fabrics with a woven look are more in demand than ever in the fashion and apparel industries. Stretch WARP KNITS, in particular, impress with their freedom of movement, breathability, and virtually wrinkle-free wear – thereby opening up new style worlds such as smart casual or business casual. When it comes to the highly efficient production of premium-quality stretch WARP KNITS, the HKS 2-SE has long been the machine of choice. KARL MAYER’s best-selling tricot machine produces standard elastic fabrics characterized by high gauges, smooth, delicate surfaces, and a soft hand feel.

Footwear innovation enabled by warp knitting technology– insights from New Balance

The future of the athletic shoe is increasingly being shaped on warp knitting machines. For KARL MAYER, the footwear industry is one of the most important growth markets – and one of the sectors where innovative textiles can realize their full potential. In his keynote address at the opening of KARL MAYER’s TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTER in Obertshausen in April, Vishnu Prakash Muthusamy, Senior Textile and Materials Engineer at New Balance, explained the opportunities that warp knitting technology opens up for performance, sustainability, and faster development processes, and why textile manufacturers are transitioning from suppliers to development partners.

STOLL: Agreement signed for the divestiture of selected assets

In early 2025, KARL MAYER announced its strategic decision to focus on its core business areas of WARP KNITTING, WARP PREPARATION, and TECHNICAL TEXTILES. As part of this move, the flat knitting machine business under the STOLL brand was discontinued and the production site in Reutlingen was closed in October 2025.

Jeanologia brings “Billy” to China, the AI transforming denim design

The denim industry is turning its attention to Hangzhou this week, where a new edition of Kingpins, the leading international trade show for the sector, takes place on May 21 and 22. There, the Spanish company Jeanologia, a global leader in sustainable technologies for the textile industry, is introducing its latest innovation to the Chinese market: “Billy”, the first artificial intelligence specifically developed for denim finishing design.

ISKO unveils a new circular vision of color, texture and tactile innovation at Denim Première Vision Milan

At Denim Première Vision Milan (booth G3), ISKO introduces its FW27-28 Collection, built around three defining elements: color, texture and touch. This season, ISKO presents a vision where emotion and advanced textile innovation converge, rooted in a steadfast commitment to responsible material development by utilizing patented technologies and high-quality raw materials, powered by RE&UP.

Uster FiberQ excels for recycled raw materials too

Uster FiberQ is a complete solution for raw material utilization, supporting spinners to achieve consistent quality and profitability every day, building further growth for the future. The Turkish company ORTA relies on FiberQ with recycled yarn for its denim production. Data-driven knowledge puts the producer in control of raw material utilization – ready to make the correct decisions for process efficiency, quality and productivity.

TERIS reaches milestone: Fraunhofer consortium develops new standards for tire analysis

In the “TERIS” project, the Fraunhofer institutes ICT, IGD, and IWM—led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF—have reached a decisive milestone. For the first time, the teams aim to generate, analyse, and predict tire wear in the laboratory in a standardized and practical manner. As part of this milestone, results are now available on reference abrasion, particle analysis, tribological models, AI-based surface analysis, a test bench concept, and methods for accelerated aging and VOC detection. The tire industry, testing services, and environmental agencies will in future benefit from reliable, rapid laboratory procedures for emissions assessment.