Karl Mayer Technical Textiles on course for success with a new Managing Director and a new organisation.
Hagen Lotzmann is the new Managing Director of Karl Mayer Technische Textilien GmbH. The mechanical engineer and long-time contributor to the success of this Karl Mayer subsidiary has taken on the new role during a period of significant transition, both for himself and the company. Ulrike Schlenker from Karl Mayer Corporate Communications spoke with him about the challenges and opportunities this presents.
Like many companies, Karl Mayer Technische Textilien is experiencing the disruptive changes of our time. What was the situation in the company when you took over as Managing Director?
It was a phase of renewal. Our sales had been declining for years. External factors – particularly the pandemic, wars, and high interest rates – have seriously impacted our incoming orders. Additionally, location-related disadvantages in Germany and changes at the top of our company contributed to the situation. In January 2025, we introduced short-time working at our Chemnitz site. Since then, we have been working as a management team to reorganise the company.
As Vice President Sales, I have been intensively involved from the very beginning. Together with other specialist colleagues, we analysed the market, the competition, and sales potential, examined future expectations, and developed possible business models and strategies for our product portfolio. Jan Stahr, who is responsible for sales in China – our most important market – also provided valuable input.
The discussions were by no means always easy; there was considerable controversy. In the end, we had to acknowledge that Karl Mayer Technical Textiles must take a new path.
What changes are intended to get Karl Mayer Technical Textiles back on the road to success?
In the future, Karl Mayer Technische Textilien will be a strong, independent company for sales, service, and engineering services. In Chemnitz and Selbitz, we have the best prerequisites for this: extensive expertise, years of experience, an inventive spirit, and an established culture of innovation.
The Karl Mayer sites in Obertshausen and China – with their enormous know-how, experience, and modern equipment – will handle machine production.
Chemnitz is and will remain the center of Karl Mayer’s Technical Textiles business unit, and it will continue to develop our machines and technologies. The teams in Germany and China will collaborate more closely to achieve greater cost efficiency, as well as improved focus and speed. We need to understand and meet our customers’ needs, pursue only market-relevant developments with strong sales potential, and act quickly. That’s why ongoing dialogue between employees in sales, product management, service, and development – and our current and potential customers – is crucial to our future success.
We have already demonstrated what we can achieve together with the MAX GLASS ECO. The multi-axial glass processing machine for the commodity market was launched in 2024 and has become our bestseller.
What changes can be expected for your products – your weft insertion and composite machines?
In the medium term, we aim to reduce the complexity and variety of our entire product portfolio, without losing sight of customer needs. There will be more room than ever for customised projects, but we also want to respond to market demands more efficiently.
In addition to machines, we will continue to focus on the applications of our products. Fabrics from weft insertion machines and reinforcing fabrics can be used in a wide range of applications. We want to explore these further and open up new business opportunities for our customers.