Versatile machines from Dornier

DORNIER will be represented at the ITM textile machinery trade fair from April 14 – 17 in Istanbul. Besides denim, wool and carpets, in Turkey the machine builder‘s weaving machines are also used to produce technical textiles.

“Clothing and home textiles are produced in Turkey on weaving machines from DORNIER by tradition”, says Wolfgang Schöffl, Head of Business Unit Weaving Machines at Lindauer DORNIER GmbH (LiDO). The machines are used to make fabrics for furnishings, curtains and hand towels, for example. But recently technical textiles have also begun to make an appearance in the product portfolios of Turkish weaving houses. The volume is still modest, but it is growing. Technical textiles as a market of the future for Turkish weavers? “It will happen”, Schöffl is convinced, as he sees the classic local textile industry responding to cheaper competition from India and China.

Technical textiles are generally considered to be growth market with enormous potential. Powerful industries such as aero-space, the automobile industry, wind energy and medicine all drive a steadily increasing demand. This has also been confirmed in a study conducted by the Swiss business consultancy Gherzi and commissioned by the European Apparel and Textile Confederation Euratex at the request of the EU Commission: The study found that the global market for technical textiles (including non-wovens) will experience annual growth rates of 5 – 6 per cent and will reach a volume of almost $200 billion by 2020 ($2014: 147 billion).

But the initial obstacles for weavers who want to break into the technical textiles market – often while still producing home and garment fabrics – are formidable. The standards of design and aesthetics are replaced almost entirely by function and quality. Companies intending to manufacture airbags, parachutes, filters or tirecord must have weaving machines that satisfy the highest quality standards. “Either the material is flawless – or it is useless; there is no second-quality category in technical weaving”, says Schöffl. And this is precisely why every weaving machine built by the technology leader DORNIER conforms to all major manufacturing criteria such as lowest warp and filling thread breakage rates, processing of various materials, high machine speeds and reproducible machine settings with consistent weaving quality.

“With our rapier and air-jet weaving machines, we intend to make it possible for the weaver to achieve the highest possible production reliability for technical weaving as well”, explains Schöffl.