Italian technology leads the way in weaving

Italian machinery manufacturers are global leaders in the field of weaving technology, offering a complete range of systems for the entire weaving production process.

Roughly twenty Italian machinery manufacturers operating in the weaving technology sector (including machinery for production preparation and related accessories) exported a significant portion of their overall turnover in 2005 (around 76%, for a value of 416 million Euros). For the first half of 2006, exports amounted to 244 million Euros. The primary destinations are the Asian markets, which absorb 47% of the industry’s total exports. Turkey and China are the most important markets for Italian producers (acquiring respectively 19% and 18% of Italian exports), while India remains the other major player for manufacturers of weaving machinery (importing 15% of Italy’s total exports).

In this sector of the industry, Italian manufacturers of looms occupy a particularly significant position, especially in the area of rapier and air-jet looms, for which Italy is the leading producer worldwide, not just in volumes sold, but also in terms of the high level of innovative components it puts out on the market. Above all in rapier and air-jet technology, where Italian machinery manufacturers have demonstrated an unrivalled degree of excellence. Foreign acquisitions by Italy’s textile machinery industry in recent years have given the sector the possibility of controlling the three main types of weaving technology, that is weft insertion system in rapier, air-jet and projectile.

While the past few years have been characterised by technology improvements, geared at electronic applications rather than mechanical systems, the weaving machinery sector has none-theless continued to seek out technology solutions targeting a combination of machine productivity with the possibility of manufacturing innovative and niche market articles. This has given rise to a wide range of new proposals aimed at some of the most widespread and proven manufacturing technologies: such as in rapier and air-jet weft insertion. For rapier looms, aside from the development and generalised application of electronics, the recognised experience and art of Italian machinery manufacturers in the realisation of insertion systems, has allowed this technology to evolve considerably, rendering it far more productive and versatile.

The use of controls driven by position controlled servo-motors has enabled machinery manufacturers to develop automation devices which make use of hardware modules and software programs to create sophisticated motion control systems. In addition to this important technical evolution, loom manufacturers have also developed a specificity in terms of production which characterises each individual product and provides for a highly differentiated product line.

Air-jet looms have evolved considerably in their design concept, with the latest models featuring simple, lightweight construction, easy operation, and increased manufacturing yield for mid to high production runs. A significant step forward has been made in the possibility of producing multicoloured fabrics, along with the adoption of reed control mechanisms which have allowed for high quality results and greater productivity, creating the requisites for an entirely new generation of looms featuring an unequalled degree of production flexibility.

Italian textile machinery manufacturers have also demonstrated their leadership in narrow fabric technology, including ribbons, lace, passementerie, belts, and technical fabrics.
This spearheading technology is supported in Italy by a flourishing and important range of companies providing the necessary components, accessories and electronics dedicated to weaving machinery manufacturers.

In the weaving preparation sector, Italian manufacturers offer a complete product range that is competitive with even its most critical international rival competitors. Creel manufacturers in Italy provide systems displaying a wide array of different specifications, dimensions and operating functions (both fixed and mobile), combined with the possibility of automatic production material changing devices or computerised yarn feed control features (count, colour, etc.). Warpers, for their part, are marked by an extremely high level of sophistication in electronic machinery management and control components; in this sector Italian machinery manufacturers can, in fact, take pride in the level of technological excellence achieved on a global scale, with firms located in the area of Lake Como, leading the way in designing production preparation systems dedicated to silk and chemical fibre filaments.

An analogous degree of excellence exists in Italy in technology catering to sizing operations and for machinery, specialising in final preliminary loom preparation operations, including knotting, drawing-in cycles, as well as more recent applications involving quick article (or beam) changing systems.

Italy’s weaving machinery industry is also backed by a multiplicity of accessory technologies exhibiting an unsurpassed level of excellence, and supplying a practically infinite range of accessories, including loom healds, heddle frames, heddle strips, weavers, weft feeders, selvedge winders, and much more.

Rounding out the specialisation in the sector for modern weaving shops are the broad range of specialists, offering air-conditioning installations, automatic warehouse and internal handling systems, monitoring and control technologies, in addition to (at the tail-end of the production process) sophisticated control systems for detecting flaws, and packing and packaging systems. Here too, Made in Italy supplies a varied gamut of the highest quality.

Needless to say, the weaving machinery and technology sector, as for other important sectors, has created a thriving and flourishing number of qualified firms working in hand in hand with Italy’s most important loom manufacturers to maintain Italian technology at the head of its class. The diversity and range of products on offer, following in the wake of the industry’s leading machinery producers, remains a trademark and guarantee of the quality exemplified by the Italian textile machinery sector