Interview with Fritz Mayer

Fritz Mayer
Fritz Mayer
Chairman
VDMA Textile Machinery Association
VDMA Textile Machinery Association

Down times or the lack of energy efficiency of old machines prove the German proverb "Buy cheap, buy twice".
Fritz Mayer, Chairman of VDMA Textile Machinery Association tells the fact about used machinery while being interviewed by Fibre2Fashion Correspondent Manushi Gandhi. Synopsis: VDMA stands for Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.V. Formed in 1890, VDMA is a German engineering association. It is Europe’s largest industrial association representing 90% of all German machinery and plant makers as well as a number of members from other EU countries. It represents the interests of some 3,000 manufacturers in more than 30 different machinery and plant sections. Key areas of the association are market situations, statistics, economy, law, taxes, wages, Management and information systems etc. Fritz P Mayer was re-elected as the as Chairman of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association in Frankfurt on 6 May 2011. He retired as operational head of Karl Mayer in June 2013.Before becoming the managing director in 1981, he held managerial positions in various departments at KARL MAYER Textilmaschinenfabrik GmbH. He is qualified as an industrial engineer in 1974. Excerpts:

What are the major issues faced by the textile machinery manufacturing companies in the developing regions? Do you think that the shortage in power supply is the real problem in several countries?

Major issue in the last few years have been volatile material prices - may I remind at the all-time-high of the cotton price in 2011 in this context. Other issues are staffing (the lack of qualified employees) as well as the sometimes insecure political framework. Infrastructural problems and energy shortages are also affecting textile producers in developing regions – and everything that does affect textile producers has also consequences for machinery manufacturers. But I see encouraging signs, for example in the field of electricity. Look at the textile units from Tirupur that have come together to set up a solar power plant or those that already invested in wind energy. These are ways to become independent from other electricity providers or to cut back on more expensive diesel power.

What is the expected growth rate of global textile machinery industry in the near future?

Textile machinery manufacturers are used to the ups and downs of the economy. It becomes more and more complicated to do a well-funded prognosis. The production of textile machinery in Germany reached 3.4 billion Euros last year. We expect business in 2013 to remain on a good level. Production figures and revenues will be slightly above the results of 2012.

Making textile machines is an expensive business. What is your advice to the emerging players in the industry? What kind of risks should be taken by them and what risks should be avoided?

To reach technology leadership, high research and development efforts are necessary. In that way making textile machines is indeed a costly business. Emerging players, for instance those who are active in future markets for technical textiles or composite technology suppliers followed this path and their innovations resulted in the development of entirely new materials. Becoming technology leader is one thing but it is another matter to remain it in the longer-term perspective, because markets can change very fast. I see no alternative to continuously high research and development expenditures. Batteries of tests are needed before the machines, components, sensor system and the electronic controller are perfectly synchronized so that the desired product quality is achieved all the time, even at maximum working speed. It’s the knowledge portfolio that preserves technological leadership of German suppliers. Our efforts are appreciated by the markets. Textile manufacturers already relying on German technology are aware of the long-term advantages: Due to low maintenance charges and reliability in production, the initial investment for a German textile machine pays off after a few years.

Recently, which is that technology in textile machines, that you feel has a bright future and will experience a boom?

The product portfolio of the German textile machinery sector covers the whole textile chain: Spinning machinery, chemical fibre plants, knitting, warp knitting, weaving and nonwoven machinery as well as finishing machinery. It is hard to pick out one single technology from this range. In all sub sectors there are innovations and new technologies that are launch pads for intelligent applications and products. Frankly speaking, since volatile prices for commodities and for energy are obviously worrisome signs for textile manufacturers in almost all countries, technologies that enable substantial material, energy and water savings are the ones that have a bright future. I’m optimistic in this context, because German companies have developed pioneering technologies to increase efficiency in the textile production process and so to help textile producers to maintain competitive.

The demand for used machines has increased in developing countries. Do you feel it has any positive dimension? Will this help their development?

For companies in developing regions, used machines can be of course a starting option. But depending on the age of a machine it could become difficult to reach the quality of yarns or fabrics that guarantee real profit. Down times or the lack of energy efficiency of old machines prove the German proverb “Buy cheap, buy twice”. In many cases the saved money is soon used up by subsequent costs, so it would have been cheaper to buy a new machine.

Machines made in Germany are considered to be best in terms of technology & innovation. Can you provide us key figures on it?

Germany is the biggest textile machinery exporter worldwide. In 2012 exports amounted to 3.1 billion Euros. The distance to the competing nations is huge: Number two was Japan (1.8 billion Euros), followed by China (1.7 billion) and Italy (1.5 billion). Given that technology and innovation leadership is appreciated by the markets, these figures underline the German position.

What is the importance of social networking sites in this industry? Do you feel that they help to do a better business?

Compared to the consumer goods industry, social media play a minor role in the machinery business. The central platform to inform oneself on latest textile machinery and to do business is still ITMA. Of course the importance of social media in the marketing of a machinery builder will increase, because for the younger generation around the world, using social media platforms is as normal as telephoning. So in future, social media platforms will have – among other communication channels - their role in the communication even of machinery builders.

Why a player in the industry should be associated to VDMA?

First of all, the VDMA lends a powerful voice to the views of its 3000 members. For a single company it is hard to assert itself towards all the target groups linked with the business. Then there is the networking aspect. VDMA offers exclusive platforms to network with colleagues from other machine building companies and even customer industries. The networking argument does not only apply to CEOs and management topics but to different levels and various issues. It is always useful to exchange views with other companies and to learn how they are meeting challenges or taking advantage of opportunities. Besides networking it is noteworthy to mention the huge service portfolio and expertise VDMA offers exclusively for member companies. There are experts for law, economics, statistics, taxes, research and technology just to mention a few. Not to forget data and market information, which are of great help for planning and doing business.

What are the most notable works by VDMA in the past two years?

Since the textile machinery sector is an export driven branch, sales support is a key activity of VDMA. The textile machinery association is very active in organizing symposia / conferences in major textile markets. On the occasion of these conferences German companies present in lectures their latest technologies to high-ranking technical experts and decision makers from the respective textile industry. The lectures are completed with B2B meetings and panel discussions on core topics (e.g. sustainability or life-cycle-costs). Since 2011 VDMA conferences took place in Vietnam, China, Turkey and Indonesia. The next stop will be India. VDMA conferences themed “German technology for Indian textile” will address the specific tasks of Indian textile companies on 3rd December 2013 in Mumbai and on 5th December 2013 in Coimbatore. Another work from the past two years I would like to mention has to do with sustainability. Sustainability has been a loosely-used watch word for many years. In a next step some market players started activities relating to assessment criteria and comparability of resource efficiency. These approaches lacked objectivity because they attempted to measure complex textile machinery in the same way like consumer electronics and household appliances.
Published on: 02/09/2013

DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.