#ITMA 2019

2019-05-27

Mayer & Cie. presents most productive mattress machine in the market

The most productive machine in the market, the OVJA 2.4 EM’s selling points are productivity, ease of use and a wide range of patterns. (c) 2019 Mayer & Cie

At this year’s ITMA Mayer & Cie. is presenting its new OVJA 2.4 EM mattress machine. Fully electronic, it produces up to 30 kilograms of fabric per hour, which demonstrably makes it the most productive machine of its kind in the world. It also scores points for ease of use and the variety of patterns it can produce. The highly productive mattress machine is a perfect match for this year’s Mayer & Cie. ITMA focus on sport. To be at the top in the long term you need to strike a balance between peaks of physical performance and phases of regenerative recovery.

Achieve peak performance with the OVJA 2.4 EM

The star among mattress machines: the OVJA 2.4 EM

The OVJA 2.4 EM is a new Mayer & Cie. development that is specially geared to recent changing requirements in the manufacture of mattress cover fabrics. Its focus is on maximising output, which it achieves by means of a combination of a larger number of knitting systems and a higher rotation speed. “With a system density of 2.4 the OVJA 2.4 EM tallies precisely with the current trend toward higher system densities that make higher productivity possible,” explains Thomas Zizmann, area sales manager at Mayer & Cie. “The OVJA 2.4 E,” he says, “produces up to 30 kilograms of fabric per hour. That makes it demonstrably the most productive machine of its kind in the world, as shown by its speed factor of 950.” In addition to high productivity the OVJA 2.4 EM’s impressive features include ease of use and a wide range of patterns. The horizontal weft yarn guide on each cylinder segment ensures even, easy operation, short changeover times and a high level of reliability. Thanks to the improved thread guide and the air-controlled thread fluctuation control system the thread tension remains constant even at high speeds. That keeps thread vibration to a minimum and the thread is transported safely to the needles. Despite the high productivity the especially gentle needle guidance ensures an unusually low level of needle wear and tear. At the same time the OVJA 2.4 EM offers a wide range of designs that can be changed very quickly thanks to electronic single needle selection in the cylinder.

Pioneering work by Mayer & Cie.: Circular knitting captures the mattress market

Until the late 1990s all mattress cover fabrics were woven. When Mayer & Cie. developed the first electronic machine with a 38-inch diameter and an E 20 gauge in 1997, circular-knitted fabrics began to capture the mattress cover market. In just 20 years the share of circular-knitted fabrics in this segment has risen from zero to over 50 per cent and Mayer & Cie. has become the leading manufacturer. That is mainly because circular knits, in contrast to woven fabrics, are much more stretchable and flexible. That makes them easier to handle and their elasticity enables them to adapt much better to the contours of the mattress, which in turn makes them ideally suitable for flexible, spot-elastic mattresses.

The most important markets for Mayer & Cie. in this segment are Belgium and the USA, but Mayer & Cie. machines also make mattress cover fabrics in Italy, Turkey and Asia, especially China and Indonesia. “What our customers particularly appreciate about our mattress machines is the combination of great flexibility and high productivity,” says Thomas Zizmann. “In Canada and Belgium we have customers in this segment who use only Mayer & Cie. machines.”

The trend toward circular knitting in the mattress market continues, rising slightly, but a level of saturation has been reached and competition has increased. “Sadly, there is now a trend toward less expensive covers and mattresses that are being pushed strongly in advertising,” Zizmann says, describing the current situation. “That is naturally a serious challenge for our customers, who are mainly premium manufacturers. We aim to countervail this trend by increasing the production output of our mattress machines.”

Mattress specialists: the fully electronic OVJA machines from Mayer & Cie.

For the production of high-quality mattress cover fabrics Mayer & Cie. has a range of purpose-built machines. Pattern variety, ease of use and productivity are the key factors. Mattress patterns are among the most complicated that are manufactured and the fully electronic circular knitting machines in Mayer & Cie.’s OVJA range deliver precisely these benefits.

The OVJA 1.6 E has proved its worth for many years as an extraordinarily flexible jacquard machine that is highly productive and thanks to its electronic needle selection does the topstitching in a single operation. Mayer & Cie. continued to develop the OVJA 1.6 E for making mattress covers, leading to the appearance of the OVJA 1.6 EM, a highly productive electronic jacquard machine. The OVJA 1.6 EM HS, a double-knit jacquard machine with electronic single needle selection, is ideally suited by virtue of its flexibility and productivity for the manufacture of mattress cover fabrics. The OVJA 1.6 EE comes with a further increase in numbers of patterns and structures. Electronic single needle selection in both the cylinder and the rib dial opens up many new options. The OVJA 2.4 E, also an electronic jacquard machine designed mainly for production of mattress cover fabrics, knits all known structures including relief and combines high productivity and ease of operation.

In the OVJA 2.4 EM Mayer & Cie. now presents a mattress machine that outperforms all previous machines in its segment for productivity, is decidedly user-friendly with a wide range of patterns.

Closing completed – Mayer & Cie. Global starts business operations

The future of the Mayer & Cie. brand has been secured: Following the successful completion of the purchase agreement for assets in the circular knitting machinery segment of the German traditional company Mayer & Cie., which was signed in February this year, the brand will continue to exist. The transfer of these assets to the new owner, Xu Hongjie, was formally completed yesterday afternoon. This clears the way for the resumption of business operations at the Albstadt site.

Huixing acquires insolvent Mayer & Cie.

Insolvency proceedings for the circular knitting and braiding machine manufacturer Mayer & Cie. were opened on December 1, 2025. Immediately following the opening of proceedings, the complete cessation of business operations was initiated. Most employees were subsequently given notice effective the end of February 2026. The production of the remaining orders in the circular knitting segment is expected to be completed by the end of the month. As early as December 2025, Mayer & Cie.’s braiding machine division was sold to an Italian investor.

Mayer & Cie. to shut down after failed search for investor – 270 jobs affected

Mayer & Cie., the long-established German manufacturer of circular knitting and braiding machines, will cease operations after its international search for an investor ended without success. The company, based in Albstadt-Tailfingen, had been undergoing insolvency proceedings in self-administration since its filing on 23 September 2025. As Schwarzwälder Bote reports, the insolvency court has now formally opened the proceedings, triggering the decision to wind down the business in an orderly process.

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