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. 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,” said 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“, said Thomas Streicher.
Sophisticated automation solutions
A
highlight of the machine show in Changzhou was the topic of knit and 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 realised
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.