#Knitting & Hosiery

2020-12-10

KARL MAYER integrates North American Stoll office

The acquisition of STOLL by the KARL MAYER Group earlier in 2020, will lead to an integration of STOLL’s and KARL MAYER’s North American subsidiaries. STOLL America’s operation in New York City will close and resources and activities will be integrated into KARL MAYER’s Greensboro, North Carolina location. This process started in October 2020 and will be completed at the end of the year.

The STOLL core team in its new location will include business and technical management, textile design and product development, STOLL machine programming, and customer service. Some team members will relocate from New York and others will be new.

The team’s focus will be twofold. Of course, serving the needs of the STOLL machine market with innovative machines, spare parts and technical service. And equally important, innovation support services to customers, brands, incubators, startups and educational institutions. These support services include textile product design and development, sample, prototype and small collection production and training.

The building of KARL MAYER North America © 2020 KARL MAYER

For these new activities, KARL MAYER is making a major investment in the Greensboro building, adding a state-of-the-art textile development and visitor center. This center will have customer collaboration and training areas with end-product samples, STOLL machines for demonstration, training and production purposes, and a prototype finishing and assembly operation. The new center will offer similar collaboration opportunities for industry partners working with other KARL MAYER technologies. It is planned to be completed in March 2021.

Tony Hooimeijer, President of KARL MAYER North America, is looking forward to the joint innovation projects with many partners and for a wide variety of textile applications. "With the new development and visitor center and the synergies that come with combining our capabilities, we offer textile producers and all industries that can imagine the use of textiles an extremely strong resource in North America" says the manager.

STOLL: Agreement signed for the divestiture of selected assets

In early 2025, KARL MAYER announced its strategic decision to focus on its core business areas of WARP KNITTING, WARP PREPARATION, and TECHNICAL TEXTILES. As part of this move, the flat knitting machine business under the STOLL brand was discontinued and the production site in Reutlingen was closed in October 2025.

KARL MAYER presents a textile TEXTRONIC® innovation at ITM 2026

With highly efficient machines and continuous textile innovations, KARL MAYER underscores its role as a reliable partner for discerning top-tier customers. Just in time for ITM 2026 in Istanbul, the industry leader is introducing a true innovation: an eyelash lace with its characteristic fringed look – combined with a previously unattainable 4-way stretch. While the established fabric could until now only be produced as rigid version or with one-dimensional stretch, the new elasticity in both dimensions expands the possibilities for cross-band panel fabrics.

TM WEFT, 270" – More width, more design freedom for the fashion world

KARL MAYER is expanding its successful TM WEFT series with an innovative model that opens up new possibilities, particularly in the fashion & apparel sectors. With a working width of 270", this new machine with weft-insertion not only offers significantly higher output than its narrower counterparts but is also specifically tailored to the demands of dynamic clothing market – particularly in China and Türkiye. A well-thought-out upgrade also ensures even greater design versatility.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

SHIMA SEIKI to show complete knitting and cutting workflow at ITM 2026

Leading computerized flat knitting technology provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Turkish representative TETAS IC VE DIS TICARET A.S., will participate in the ITM 2026 International Textile Machinery Exhibition in Istanbul, Türkiye this month with a full product lineup. In addition to flat knitting machines and design software, visitors will also have the opportunity to experience the full range of SHIMA SEIKI textile machinery with its automatic cutting machine exhibit, all geared toward the fashion apparel market as well as non-apparel related businesses.

New spinning package with two-step filtration for recycled yarns and more

At the ITM in Istanbul, BB Engineering unveiled its new, patented ValuePack spinning package for the first time, which features a two-stage filtration system. This is particularly beneficial for re-cycling processes. Until now, spinning packs have used either metal powder (“sand”) or filter candles as filter media. Both options are suitable for differ-ent applications, and each has its own specific advantages and dis-advantages.

ITMA 2027 gains strong momentum

In line with the theme "Co-creating the future of textiles", ITMA continues to strengthen its support for start-ups, recognising their role in driving innovation and shaping the future of textile and garment manufacturing. Through the Start-Up Valley, emerging companies gain access to a global marketplace where they can connect with industry leaders, potential partners, investors and customers.

Mongolia: Workshop on Italian textile technologies kicks off in Ulaanbaatar

The workshop dedicated to Italian textile technologies will kick off in Ulaanbaatar from 21 to 23 June 2026. Focused on the most advanced innovative solutions for the textile industry, the initiative will bring together 13 Italian textile machinery manufacturers, confirming the growing interest in strengthening industrial cooperation between the two countries and highlighting Mongolia’s strategic importance for Italian textile machinery producers.

The textile industry in transition

Recycling, traceability, eco-design and digitalisation are among the key future challenges facing the European textile industry. The Erasmus+ project Skills4Circularity, involving 21 partners from twelve countries, is investigating the skills required to address these challenges. As the German industry partner, the Industry Association for Finishing – Yarns – Fabrics – Technical Textiles (IVGT) is bringing the industry’s perspective to the project.