Santex extends textile finishing niche in Asia

08 Apr '11

3 min read

With three months ahead, worldwide exhibitors are preparing actively for their participation at ShanghaiTex 2011 which will be held on June 14-17, 2011. China is viewed as one of the fastest economic growth regions in the world. The market has huge domestic demand for textile and clothes. Exhibitors take advantage of Shanghaitex's geographical location and its long history in China to expand their market shares, pitch new buyers and maintain customer relationship.

While the Knitting and Hosiery zone is always in the spotlight at ShanghaiTex, Printing, Dyeing and Finishing Machinery will be another most popular product category this year, with Swiss manufacturer Santex being a key exhibitor on top of Benninger, also from Switzerland.

Santex has planned to extend its production projects in Asia with improved technology know-how in textile finishing. Meanwhile, the company has invested into new coating technology after seeing a growing demand for such system.

ATA Journal visited Santex's headquarters in Switzerland and spoke to the company's CEO, Antonio Staffoni. Mr Staffoni said, “We have a two-legged development model. China is located at the heart of Asian market, while in Europe we produce a lot of highly customized machines. Here in Switzerland, we focus on production and design of machines for technical textiles, composites, and textile finishing. We have a plan to improve the production in China for Asia market by strengthening the technology know-how in our factories.”

There are two divisions of Santex's products, with one for Textile Finishing Machinery and the other one for Coating & Laminating Machinery. Textile Finishing Machinery is the core of Santex's business in Asia; about 80% of such products are made in China for Asia. Because of this, they are investing in its factory in Shanghai. The location there allows Santex to be faster to the market, more efficient in servicing their customers in the Far East and, in general, more competitive.

With the Coating and Laminating Machinery division, also known as “Cavitec”, Santex offers three types of products: nonwovens, technical textiles and pre-impregnation of composites for the aerospace and electronics industry. This will be mainly to be showcased in Europe.

In regard to business performance, Mr Staffoni said, “The market situation this year (2010) has been much better than last year: turnover is higher than 2008 and Santex are going to close books with very good figures, the best result in many years.”

Looking back at the recent crisis (between 2008 and 2009), Mr Staffoni told ATA Journal that the team was cautious enough not to be caught off guard. They did not need to downsize at all, having closed the manufacturing facility in Italy the year before the crisis, and keeping engineering and manufacturing ability intact in Switzerland allowed them to take the maximum benefit from the recovery in 2010.

Mr Staffoni supplemented that Santex will focus on customers at ShanghaiTex 2011 for service, sales, business and to keep in touch in general.

In addition to Santex, visitors to ShanghaiTex 2011 can also find Hong Kong's Fong's and Gofront, Germany's Thies, Denmark's Danfoss, Italy's Brazzoli, Korea's IL Sung, etc. in the Printing, Dyeing, Finishing Machinery & Textile Chemicals Zone. Online registration for ShanghaiTex 2011 is now open for visitors. Visitors can also enter a lucky draw for an opportunity to win hotel accommodation during Jun 14-17, 2011.

ShanghaiTex 2011

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