Karl Mayer showcases latest innovations at ShanghaiTex

This leading event for the sector covered an area of roughly 100,000 m2 and was showcasing new developments and trends in textile machines from more than 1,000 companies based in 25 countries. An estimated 60,000 plus visitors attended the fair.

KARL MAYER was showing its latest innovations at ShanghaiTex 2013 on a stand covering 744 m2. These can be used in wide range of applications and offer a high level of precision to cater for market requirements. The tricot and raschel machines on show were a TM 4-T EL, a TM 4 EL, an HKS 2-SE and an RD 7/2-12 EL, and an MJ 42/1 B for producing lace.

The warp preparation sector was represented by a DSE 21/21 EC elastane warping machine for warp knitting and a size box. KARL MAYER MALIMO was showing a functional double blind made from a warp-knitted textile with an inserted magazine weft, as well as composite stitch-bonded fabrics.

These latest developments were being shown on a modern stand featuring sunken textile areas with decorative islands in-between and were extremely impressive. As soon as the fair opened, KARL MAYER’s stand became the first port of call for everyone interested in warp knitting and warp preparation.

Most of the visitors came from China, followed by India, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam (in descending order). But interested visitors from Turkey, Sri Lanka and Germany also attended the fair.

Tricot and raschel machines

During the fair, the TM 4 EL was producing a plain shoe fabric with directly integrated, filet openings, which were repeated in accordance with the pattern. This stylish yet functional design was the target of numerous enquiries, some of which came from manufacturers operating in the automotive sector.

In addition to its flexibility, other impressive features of the TM 4 EL include its high speed (this new machine can reach a speed of up to 1,400 min-1), its excellent product quality and its attractive price. Equipped with EL drive for controlling the pattern bars, this machine offers an attractive price:performance ratio and is an economical solution for producing warp-knitted fabrics with long pattern repeats.

It can be used efficiently both as a sample and a production machine. “The new TM 4 EL was well received by our customers, who saw it as an economical, high-tech machine,” said Armin Alber, the sales director at KARL MAYER (China) Ltd. Several machines were sold in the run-up to the fair and a number of projects initiated.

The market welcomed the addition of a four-bar machine for producing plain fabrics to the TM machine series – a similar philosophy to the HKS machines. The tricot machine with four guide bars was designed to produce terry fabrics. The tried-and-tested TM 4-T EL was showing all its features at ShanghaiTex in a high-performance demonstration that was watched by a large number of people.