“Our subsidiary in China holds immense importance to our group. We are proud to operate in this key market with such a strong and dynamic location serving our customers. I am very impressed by the extraordinary drive, flexibility, and deep understanding of customer requirements shown by our employees,” said Lutz Wolf, commenting on the importance of KARL MAYER (China).

The establishment of a separate company in China in the mid-1990s was a bold and strategically consistent step. KARL MAYER focused on globalization early on and established production sites in its key markets in order to operate close to its customers. At that time, however, the idea that China would become the world's most important market one day was still a vision of the future.

From belief in China as a location to fully localized series production

In the early 1980s, KARL MAYER collaborated with the Wujin Textile Machinery Factory in Changzhou for joint production and to promote knitting technology in China.

In 1995, the two partners joined forces with NIPPON MAYER to found KARL MAYER WUJIN Textile Machinery Co., Ltd. The joint venture was the first company with foreign roots in the Changzhou Wujin High-tech Zone. It started with 400 employees on a 70,000 m² plot of land and was completely taken over by KARL MAYER just four years later.

Building on its own Chinese organization named KARL MAYER Textile Machinery Co., Ltd., KARL MAYER (China) Ltd. was founded in 2005 and has been continuously expanded ever since. In 2008, the company moved into a new factory with an area of 175,000 m². In 2011, the production portfolio was expanded to include the manufacture of warp preparation equipment, and a further expansion of capacity took place the following year to increase the production of high-end models. The latest milestone in the success story of KARL MAYER’s Chinese location was the opening of a new showroom in October 2024, featuring an exclusive selection of textile highlights, trend themes, and innovative solutions from all business units. By 2025, KARL MAYER had invested over 150 million yuan in technological upgrades, including the introduction of fishbone production and SAP-networked intelligent logistics.

KARL MAYER (China) currently employs around 750 people in Changzhou. In February, they all celebrated 30 years of successful development together.