Page 52 - July/August 2019

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An Interview with
Mr Eric Schoeller
Member of the Executive Board
Groz-Beckert KG, Germany
Eric Schoeller
Member of the Executive Board
Mr Eric Schoeller Member of the Executive Board
Groz-Beckert KG, Germany at ITMA held from June
20-26, 2019 in Barcelona at Fira De Barcelona, Gran
Via conferred about all six Groz-Beckert product
areas with automation and digitization as the major
features of the new attractively laid out booth. business sectors of knitting, weaving, felting, tufting,
TEXtalks: Looking back at the foundation of
Groz-Beckert in 1852, how far has Groz-Beckert
come and what are the future prospects?
Eric Schoeller: For more than 160 years,
Groz-Beckert has supported the machine builders
July/August 2019
and end-users in the textile industry. The company
has developed from being purely a manufacturer of
knitting machine parts into the most important system
supplier of precision components in the field of
textiles and beyond. Today Groz-Beckert provides the
carding and sewing.
In Future digitalization will play an important role –
and already today. In the last years Groz-Beckert
worked intensively to establish a digital textile world
with its unique customer portals. The portals make
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available a continuously growing knowledge data knitting needles offer its clients?
base with a wealth of information on the different textile Eric Schoeller: With over 160 years of experience
technologies. In addition to detailed information on and know-how, Groz-Beckert produces, and distrib-
products and services from Groz-Beckert, the customer utes more than 50,000 products for the knitting
will also find a product catalog and an online shop.
industry. Besides high-performance needles and
system parts for all kinds of knitting machines, the
TEXtalks: Which latest technological developments product range also includes knitting cylinders for
is Groz-Beckert showcasing at ITMA 2019?
large diameter circular and seamless bodysize
Eric Schoeller: Over the years, Groz-Beckert has
machines. For the warp knitting industry we offer
always been participating in ITMA bringing to the
system parts for tricot, stitch bonding, Raschel, and
platform its latest innovations and developments. crochet machines, including individual parts and
This year too Groz-Beckert is demonstrating the
warp knitting modules. The offer is completed by
overall diversity of all its products. In the Knitting area
new special application needle SAN™ SF for use with detailed services including personal application
advice, textile testing as well as needle oil and
large diameter circular knitting machines are exhibit- damage analyses.
ed. The dur™ needle offers remarkable technical
performance breakthroughs. The Weaving exhibition The overall advantages of our products:
zone presents the latest generation of drawing-in • High product quality
machine, the WarpMasterPlus and the tried-and-true
KnotMaster. In Felting, for spun lace customers, • High availability
Groz-Beckert has its HyTec®P jet strips. In the area • In-house mechanical engineering department
of felting needles, GEBECON® and EcoStar® • Inter-coordinated systems
needles. In the Tufting area, Visitors are using the • Development partner to machine manufacturers
augmented reality system to gain a completely new • A lot of unique patents
perspective on the interplay between unique gauge • Environmental awareness
part systems. In Carding, first and foremost is the TEXtalks: With the increased digitalization demand,
Groz-Beckert InLine card clothing series for the which new steps has Groz-Beckert taken for the
nonwovens industry. The SiroLock® plus card progress within weaving preparation in terms of
clothing was developed as an improvement to the innovation and automation?
SiroLock® worker and doffer wire. The Sewing Eric Schoeller: Automated and digital processes in
exhibition zone presents the SAN® 10 and the SAN® the sense of Industry 4.0 play an increasingly impor-
10 XS. The SAN® 10 combines the requirements for tant role – also and especially in weaving prepara-
protecting the material and stability. tion. Groz-Beckert is taking on these challenges and
presented at ITMA how innovation and automation
TEXtalks: What role does TEZ technology and could look within weaving preparation with the new
development centre play in improvement along the WarpMasterPlus and the KnotMaster Series. The
textile chain? WarpMasterPlus delivers optimal flexibility, combined
Eric Schoeller: In 2010 Groz-Beckert established its with maximum performance.
pioneering platform Technology and Development Thanks to, the tried-and-true KnotMaster typing
Center (TEZ) which offers opportunities for trials, system, with its different tying units, the right tie can
laboratory services and co-development including
new business fields. Whether optimization, develop- achieved for any type of yarn.
tant market for the textile industry and therefore also terms of the number and the quality of the visitors.
ment or new businesses, our customers and partners TEXtalks: In terms of technological advancements,
can choose according to their needs from a wide what is the customers demand in the current for us. The market shows a very stable growth of the
range of resources and services. market? textile industry. Groz-Beckert is represented locally Due to the current market situation, the machine
Eric Schoeller: Customers are currently focusing in with trading partners. However, there are no expan- builders and Groz-Beckert had not expected too
The TEZ offers machines, needles, tools, measuring particular on high productivity combined with high sion plans for an own location in Pakistan. much from the fair. All the more pleasing that the fair
devices and expertise for each technology – knitting, flexibility. ITMA also showed that when purchasing was a success. The ITMA was not only well attended,
weaving, felting, tufting, carding and sewing. But the new textile machinery, the main focus is on technolo- TEXtalks: How has the visitor response been at but there were also numerous signs of a slight
ITMA 2019? Or What are your expectations from
services of the TEZ reach beyond the field of technol- gy rather than price. ITMA 2019? improvement in the market situation. Of course, the
ogy: Together with our customers and partners we ITMA does not lead to a fundamental change of the
create future-proofed solutions for the textile world of TEXtalks: How does Groz-Beckert see Pakistani Eric Schoeller: By now a final assessment is not
tomorrow. market in terms of growth and are there any plans in possible, as only preliminary figures are available so overall market situation, but Groz-Beckert and also
the pipeline for Pakistan’s market? far. However, we assume that we will be at the same the industry in general were able to take important
TEXtalks: Which unique features does Groz-Beckert Eric Schoeller: The Pakistani market is a very impor- level as the very good ITMA 2015 in Milan, both in positive impulses from the fair.
July/August 2019