These were three good reasons for customers to visit KARL MAYER on its spacious stand, which was showcasing many interesting applications.

Turkey is making a comeback on the market for classic warp-knitted textiles

The latest generation of the HKS 3-M formed the focus of the presentation of the company and its products. This flexible, high-speed tricot machine was introduced onto the market at the turn of the millennium and was upgraded in 2007, which involved changing it over to using CFP components.

Integrating lightweight components, among other things, increased the speed by 25%, but the most recent modifications have increased the operating speed by another 15%. The HKS 3-M can now reach speeds of up to 2,800 min-1 at a working width of 210" – a production rate that definitely secured the machine’s place on the stand at ITM Texpo Eurasia 2012.

For some time now, Turkey has again been emerging as an important market for KARL MAYER, and demand there has been increasing surprisingly well. “Turkey was one of the five most important sales regions for our warp knitting machines in the last financial year,” explained the sales director, Oliver Mathews, in an interview with Engin Buz, the editor of the magazine, Tekstil Dunyasi, which took place during the fair.

KARL MAYER used to have a large customer base in Turkey, especially in the net curtain sector. After excellent financial results in 2006 and 2007, demand declined rapidly in the wake of the global economic crisis – a decline that lasted until about 2010. “Now the Turkish market is back in business,” declared Oliver Mathews optimistically.

It is difficult to predict what will happen for the whole of the 2012 financial year, but demand did increase during the first quarter. Sales are expected to rise over the next few months – in complete contrast to the general trend. “Business on the Asian market declined this year compared to 2010 and 2011.

On the other hand, the number of orders from Turkey and India has increased surprisingly,” said Oliver Mathews. The HKS 3-M has proved to be a particular best-seller. Manufacturers of embroidery grounds, net curtains and upholstery fabrics, as well as producers of stretch lingerie and semi-technical textiles, are expressing great interest

KARL MAYER