#Spinning

2023-02-16

Uster Tester – The foundation of global textile quality

Assessing textile quality was once a matter of opinion. Today it’s a matter of fact – objective, repeatable and universally understood. Quality now has numerical values, as the basis for trading, pricing and ultimately consumer satisfaction. And this year marks the 75th anniversary of the pioneering innovation which fostered that change – and created the global quality environment of textile production in the 21st century.

Celebrating 75 years of the world’s most famous instrument

It all started in the early 1940s, with a request from a group of spinners in Switzerland. They wanted a reliable way of measuring textile slivers, rovings and yarns for ‘evenness’. This property was – and still is – seen as critical to the uniformity, consistency and processability of materials, and the ultimate determinant of value and quality. The first instrumental method for evenness testing was developed for these spinners by Zellweger Uster, at that time a company active in the emerging field of electronics.

That company is known today at Uster Technologies, and it’s fair to say that every textile producer in the world knows the name of its most famous product, the Uster Tester. In fact, the word ‘Uster’ alone is used by textile mills to signify both the process of evenness testing, and the instrument itself. In the past 75 years, the Uster Tester has been developed and extended apace with fast-moving technological innovations. Measurement capabilities have extended with specially-developed sensors, and ingenious software. Connectivity with other Uster systems at every stage of processing has created a unique Quality Management Platform for the entire mill.

Setting global standards

The original tester is displayed in a museum on the top floor of Uster headquarters. It is, or course, manually operated, and outputs test results as a line on graph paper. This first venture into testing was based on a capacitive sensor and simple electronics. It was the precursor for gradual development stages over the next two decades, leading to the emergence in the 1970s of the name ‘Uster Tester’ and its rapid popularity across the textile world.

A key aspect for those early Swiss spinners was to learn more about their yarn quality, to improve it for their customers but also to benchmark their own standards against other producers. Giving quality a numerical value was a massive breakthrough, reflected today in the ‘language of quality’ used for marketing, trading and competitive progress today.

The concept of global benchmarking took a giant leap forward in 1957 with a short article in the German textile magazine Melliand, giving basic data on yarn quality from a number of spinners. The data was, of course, based on the Uster Tester, and the idea of a comprehensive service of quality information grew into the now-legendary Uster Statistics publications.

This detailed collation of accurate data from all around the textile world has become essential to the entire industry. It is the framework for meaningful fiber purchasing, yarn development and trading, now of course, available as an app for mobile devices. In an environment where speed and user-friendliness are vital, the latest Uster Tester interacts with Uster Statistics to provide a one-click check of yarn quality and specifications.

Managing the whole mill

It’s clear that the evenness tester will also continue to be the must-have laboratory testing instrument in its own right, whatever the benefits of its connectivity. Test conditions in the lab are more consistent than in the production halls, so results can be compared over time to establish a basis for best settings and procedures in mill equipment.

So, the Uster Tester has its place in every serious textile laboratory. But its modern role is much wider, thanks to seamless connectivity with other Uster testing and measuring instruments. Critically, it unites lab testing with in-process monitoring, by intelligent cooperation with Uster yarn clearers in the winding department.

Through the Uster Quality Expert, and the unique ‘Assistant Q’ guidance facility, mills now have the benefit of ‘Total Testing’. This delivers effective and preventive process optimization, with smart alerts pointing instantly to potential trouble spots in the entire process. Integration between 100% in-process monitoring and precise lab measurement ensures quality is secured at the right level every time.

Spinners today have the power to analyze every element of their processes and select the best options for their own profitability and their customers’ complete satisfaction. In one system, fiber, yarn and fabric quality are optimized and secured. Thanks to the Uster Tester and Uster Quality Expert, mills can rely on a world-class Quality Management Platform that takes their business planning from imperfect approximation to guaranteed certainty…ready for the next 75 years.

Measure and control the fiber – optimize yarn quality

Producing consistent yarn quality is an everyday challenge – and a very difficult one. Detailed knowledge and understanding of the fiber raw material is absolutely critical to achieving the best possible quality in the yarn. To help spinners, Uster experts have put together guidelines for avoiding yarn irregularity claims, in a special edition of the Uster News Bulletin.

Uster presents novelties at ITMA Asia + CITME 2025

There’s news from Uster Technologies to be announced for the industry’s upcoming event in Singapore. The Uster 360Q universe is growing with new products, solutions and services. Innovation developments can also be recorded in the fields of man-made fiber testing and fabric inspection. Uster innovations address the industry’s trending topics as mill management and process control, optimization of delivered fabric quality and yield.

Challenges of making yarn from recycled fibers

What does it take to spin quality yarn from recycled fibers? Uster Technologies brought textile industry leaders together to discuss the role of technology, data and automation – as well as the current challenges in using recycled raw material. Experts from Rieter, Säntis Textiles, Otto Yarns, and TVU commented on the current situation and looked into the future of spinning in a panel discussion organized at Uster headquarters.

Uster FiberQ excels for recycled raw materials too

Uster FiberQ is a complete solution for raw material utilization, supporting spinners to achieve consistent quality and profitability every day, building further growth for the future. The Turkish company ORTA relies on FiberQ with recycled yarn for its denim production. Data-driven knowledge puts the producer in control of raw material utilization – ready to make the correct decisions for process efficiency, quality and productivity.

EVENEXT & BURSTMATIC II to headline Mesdan S.p.A. presentation at ITM 2026

MESDAN S.p.A. will once again participate in ITM 2026, Turkey’s most important textile trade fair. The Italy-based leading manufacturer of yarn joining solutions and textile testing equipment,will be exhibiting at the booth of their local agent for the spinning, SARTEKS MAKINA at Hall 7, Stand 701A.

BB Engineering unveils new, patented “Val-uePack” spin pack at ITM

At the upcoming ITM in Istanbul, taking place June 9–13 at the Tüyap Fair Convention and Congress Center in Hall 7, Booth 702B, BB Engineering will once again be represented at a joint booth with its parent company, Barmag, and its representative, Tekstil Servis. The German machine manufacturer will show-case its expertise in man-made fiber and recycling technology, presenting its entire product portfolio, which includes compo-nents such as extruders and filters, as well as complete sys-tems for spinning synthetic fibers, air-texturing, and PET recy-cling.

Fifteen years of Autoneum – From spin off to global technology leader

What started as a strategic carve‑out has since become the success story of a global technology leader in acoustic and thermal management solutions for vehicles. Headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland, Autoneum supplies leading automobile manufacturers worldwide with innovative, lightweight and increasingly sustainable solutions.

Kruger, Canada, orders first nonwovens line for sustainable wipes from ANDRITZ

International technology group ANDRITZ has received an order from newly established Kruger Nonwovens to deliver a complete WetlaceTM hybrid line for the Wayagamack mill in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. With this investment, pulp and paper producer Kruger is preparing to enter the nonwovens market with a new generation of plastic-free, chemical-free materials for sustainable wipes. The line is the first of its kind in Canada and is scheduled to start production in 2028.

Picanol to present its leading weaving technology at ITM 2026

Picanol is pleased to announce it will be participating in ITM 2026 in Istanbul. This is a key event for industry professionals to engage with the Turkish textile industry as well as the extensive international audience attending the fair. During the event, Picanol will present its latest innovations to the visitors in Hall 8, booth 802.