#Knitting & Hosiery

2024-11-20

Successful CREATE PLUS training for Accord Knits / Flexknit employees at KARL MAYER (CHINA)

The KARL MAYER Academy is delighted about the successful training of the important STOLL customer Accord Knits in its branch at KARL MAYER (CHINA).

Advantage through knowledge © 2024 KARL MAYER

Based in Madagascar, the company is one of the leading manufacturers and the largest in the southern hemisphere of fully-fashion knitwear for men, women and children. Founded in 2001, it now employs 6,000 people and collaborates with many well-known fashion brands and department stores worldwide. Its recipe for success includes a multifunctional machine park. In the modern factory buildings in the cities of Antsirabe and Antananarivo, the latest generation of digitalized flat knitting machines including STOLL's CMS and ADF series produce knitwear with the maximum possible flexibility.

“We have been working together for more than fourteen years now and made a lot of progress together. We are very proud to be partner of Accord Knits”, says Lutz Vogel, STOLL Area Sales Manager of the KARL MAYER GROUP.

Support through know-how also promotes intensive cooperation, as the training from 21 October to 15 November 2024 at KARL MAYER (CHINA) showed. The course for M1plus® switchers was booked as part of an investments in new machines. Four Accord Knits programmers have been taught how to use CREATE PLUS professionally. The participants learnt about various knitting techniques - structure, jacquard, intarsia, STOLL-multi gauge® and 1x1 technique - based on the many possible applications of the new patterning software. They also have learnt more about the new options for creating fully fashioned patterns and how to work with the various knitting element types on which CREATE PLUS is founded. The pattern programs created during the course could be tested directly on the Academy's STOLL machines.

The balanced mix of theory and practice quickly led to learning effects. The advantages of CREATE PLUS rapidly became clear. “We save a lot of time when developing knitting programs with CREATE PLUS”, summarized one of the participants.

KARL MAYER's STOLL business unit and Accord Knits are prepared to master the future.

If you want to learn more about Accord Knits / Flexknit and its other fields of businesses, especially also about their social responsibility for the people of Madagascar, please check their website www.flexknit.com.

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.

Mayer & Cie. Global is getting ready for ITM 2026

ITM 2026 marks the beginning of a new chapter for Mayer & Cie. Global. For the first time, the company will present itself to the international textile machinery industry in its new setup: combining proven circular knitting technology engineered in Germany with a clear commitment to its Albstadt headquarters and an internationally shaped, agile management approach.

GenuTrace client advisory: Is your cotton supply chain UFLPA ready?

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released updated operational guidance (CBP Publication No. 5560-0526) expanding its forced labor enforcement framework. The guidance supersedes the original 2022 UFLPA Operational Guidance and now covers all forced labor enforcement authorities — UFLPA, CAATSA, and WROs/Findings — in a single unified document. For cotton importers, the enforcement posture has not softened. It has become more structured, more documented, and more demanding. Learn more about UFLPA.

TERNAfil wins first place at PitchMiUp Night 2026 in Minden

The RWTH spin-off TERNAfil has developed MAXCarbon, a new high-performance hybrid fibre that combines the mechanical performance of carbon with the temperature and corrosion resistance of ceramic materials. For this development, TERNAfil was awarded first prize at the PitchMiUp Night in Minden on 21 May 2026.