#Knitting & Hosiery

2021-01-14

The STOLL brand demonstrates strength in China

STOLL Customer at KARL MAYER In-house Show in China © 2021 KARL MAYER STOLL

The first presentation of the STOLL brand during an in-house KARL MAYER product show ended in great success on December 19 after a three-day run. In China, the current infection development allows face-to-face events again. Around 380 visitors from 170 companies took advantage of the opportunity to meet on site. Most of them travelled to KARL MAYER (CHINA) in Changzhou from the Great Shanghai area, and a few others came from the north of China, despite the exceptionally cold winter weather.

STOLL exhibitor premiere at KARL MAYER In-house Show in China a complete success

Many of the guests came with the question of how the STOLL flat knitting machine business will continue after the acquisition by KARL MAYER, and left with increased confidence. „The first impression was great. Our high-tech production in Changzhou with the group-wide high quality standards, the excellent operational management, the just established STOLL development, our expertise, all this left a very good impression on our customers," says Liu Xuran, Chief of Sales & Product of the STOLL Business Unit.

The STOLL brand will continue to operate independently as part of KARL MAYER with the same contacts but with the support of the strong group of companies. It will guarantee customers successful business more than ever before. An exclusive selection of the innovations which will continue to ensure full order books in the flat knitting sector was on show in Changzhou. All the machines exhibited impressed with their excellent price/performance ratio and various automation solutions. They were the subject of numerous concrete investment inquiries and project discussions. Area Sales Manager Thomas Streicher and Simon Ma from regional partner Chemtax expressed their satisfaction with the feedback and the sales successes. „Some customers came twice to check the performance of the machines“, says Thomas Streicher.

Sophisticated automation solutions?

A highlight of the machine show in Changzhou was the topic of knit & wear®. In the seamless knitting of sweaters, eliminating almost all downstream finishing processes, STOLL is setting standards in terms of patterning possibilities and price/performance, as demonstrated by the ADF 830-24 ki W knit & wear® and CMS 830 ki knit & wear®. The ADF model is designed for the high-level market segment and implements innovative fashion patterns with inverse plating and Intarsia among other things, which cannot be easily copied. With its production versatility and flexibility, the machine particularly impressed the brand manufacturers from the high-end segment in Changzhou. The CMS-version manufactures for the basic-level volume market and scores with an extremely good price/performance ratio. New to the in-house show was gauge E 10.2. The CMS 830 ki knit & wear® with the new gauge will allow customers to participate in the lucrative but highly competitive market of fine knit & and wear articles in the future.

As a further contribution to automation, an ADF machine with a knitrobotic®-kit was presented for the first time in Asia. The robotic functions make it possible to integrate materials and parts into the knitted product without manual intervention. As one example, an everyday mask was produced during the in-house show, with the nose bracket inserted fully automatically. The performance show inspired numerous new application ideas.

Solutions for creatives

An innovation for the creative process was presented with the new Connective Pattern Software (STOLL-CPS®). The solution combines a full-featured, advanced programming system with an easy-to-learn user interface and significantly expands knitting possibilities. Features include an authentic fabric view, many smart tools and open interfaces that allow CPS to be perfectly embedded in upcoming digital workflows. Among the most important advantages of STOLL-CPS® is the reduction of time-to-market. With an integrated grading system, additional sizes or size approaches can be created quickly and changes can be made across all sizes and/or patterns in a project in the shortest possible time. As an inspiration for designers and product developers, the current STOLL collection "FASTER from Concept to Store" showed which creations can be realized with knitelligence® software solutions and how complex designer pieces can be transformed into commercially producible goods for the mass market through small changes. The extravagant fashion items were a real crowd puller.

KARL MAYER (China) celebrates its 30th anniversary

On February 6, KARL MAYER (China) celebrated the new year and its 30th anniversary. Employees and the management team at the Changzhou location, as well as representatives from management in Germany, Italy, and Hong Kong, were invited to the festivities. A special highlight was the visit by Lutz Wolf, CEO of KARL MAYER.

KARL MAYER at JEC: Multiaxial reinforced CFRP pultrusion profiles are picking up speed in the mobility sector

KARL MAYER Technical Textiles will be showcasing exciting new application potentials for multiaxial non-crimp fabrics in combination with the pultrusion process at the upcoming JEC in Hall 5, Booth C 46. The advancement of the tried-and-tested pultrusion process enables the cost-efficient production of complex CFRP multi-chamber profiles, which are used in the CETROVO high-speed metro. The world's first carbon-intensive lightweight rail vehicle of this type is designed for speeds of up to 140 km/h.

Huixing acquires insolvent Mayer & Cie.

Insolvency proceedings for the circular knitting and braiding machine manufacturer Mayer & Cie. were opened on December 1, 2025. Immediately following the opening of proceedings, the complete cessation of business operations was initiated. Most employees were subsequently given notice effective the end of February 2026. The production of the remaining orders in the circular knitting segment is expected to be completed by the end of the month. As early as December 2025, Mayer & Cie.’s braiding machine division was sold to an Italian investor.

SHIMA SEIKI to exhibit at GMMSA Expo India

Leading Japanese computerized flat knitting technologist SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Indian sales representative Universal MEP Projects & Engineering Services, Ltd., will participate in the upcoming Garments Machinery Manufacturers & Suppliers Association (GMMSA) Expo India 2026 exhibition to be held in Ludhiana, India next month. Through its lineup at GMMSA, SHIMA SEIKI aims to further strengthen its presence within the Indian market with an exhibit that caters to diverse needs, consisting of seam-free WHOLEGARMENT® knitting technology as well as a brand-new shaping machine with high productivity and excellent cost performance.

KARL MAYER opens a new TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTRE – a new era of textile innovation begins

KARL MAYER is opening its new TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTRE (TIC), sending a strong signal that it is driving textile innovation forward and opening up new perspectives for the textile industry. The TIC brings together the latest developments in Warp Knitting, Technical Textiles and Warp Preparation – KARL MAYER’s core areas of expertise.

Proven performance, optimised costs – the new RE 6 EL

Nowadays textile companies increasingly need to produce small production runs and respond to market changes with instantaneous pattern changes in order to operate profitably – meaning they require machines that offer maximum flexibility, reliability and cost efficiency. KARL MAYER understands the challenges of the market and is launching its new RE 6 EL. The Raschel machine offers the core strengths of the classic RSE 6 EL and essentially the same performance parameters, but has been further cost-optimised largely due to local production advantages. This makes the newcomer an efficiency champion in production, especially when it comes to frequent pattern changes.

Barmag presents the next generation of POY production – energy-efficient and partial-automated

With POY 2.0, Barmag is introducing a completely redesigned spinning concept that takes the production of partially oriented yarn (POY) to a new level in terms of technology and economy. The solution, which was presented to a selected audience of experts for the first time at ITMA Asia + CITME 2025, was met with great enthusiasm: several yarn producers worldwide immediately expressed their interest in a pilot plant.

Textile‑to‑textile recycling leader Circulose joins Spinnova’s ecosystem to accelerate technology scale‑up

Textile‑to‑textile recycling leader Circulose joins Spinnova’s ecosystem (consortium) to help advance the scale‑up of Spinnova’s technology. Spinnova has actively sought partners to accelerate commercial scale‑up, and Circulose, as a key player in textile recycling, strengthens the ecosystem by providing a raw material that is in high demand across the industry.