Schlafhorst's Autocoro machine has dominated the market for rotor spinning machines for 35 years. However, the success of the Autocoro 8 outstrips that of its predecessors. Although the latest machine generation has only been on the market for three years, Autocoro 8 spinning positions now account for 30% of all spinning positions delivered by Schlafhorst in the last ten years. "Our customers have recognised that the Autocoro 8 has shaken up the rotor spinning market," says Jan Röttgering, CEO of Schlafhorst. "Double-digit cost reductions are being achieved in many areas with the Autocoro. These are on a scale that hasn't been witnessed in the industry for decades. The Autocoro 8 is a real game-changer."

35 years ago, Schlafhorst's Autocoro machine revolutionised rotor spinning thanks to the complete automation of the spinning and winding process. In particular, spinning mills that produced large quantities of so-called commodity yarns took advantage of the substantially lower total cost of ownership (TCO) of the Autocoro to increase their efficiency.

Now the single spinning position technology marks a paradigm shift that will change the industry, for it is this innovative technology that enables the big standard yarn spinning mills above all to cut their production costs per kilogram of yarn considerably. The huge boost in productivity that the Autocoro 8 facilitates with its high rotor speeds is especially striking.

The Moldavian textile company Tirotex, based in Tiraspol, spins its weaving yarns on Autocoro 8 machines at a rotor speed of 160,000 rpm. This has smashed the barrier of 150,000 rpm, which was regarded as insurmountable in practice for over 20 years. Tirotex has thus achieved a productivity increase of 18% compared with the previous Autocoro 480 machine. The yarn strength and elongation are above the minimum requirements of the company's own weaving mill and below the 25% characteristic curve of Uster Statistics. High-speed yarn of premium quality is the strategy with which Tirotex aims to expand further on the global market in the future. With the Autocoro 8 it is a realistic goal, because this machine is designed technically for even higher speeds than 160,000 rpm. Tirotex is developing its competitiveness in a targeted manner. The vertically integrated company is already one of the major players in Europe, with an annual production capacity of over 200 million square metres of finished materials and wovens.

40% more knitting yarn with take-up speeds of 240 m/min Elif is one of the leading textile companies in the Turkish textile stronghold of Kahramanmaras, producing 13,000 tonnes of viscose yarn each year. Top quality without compromise is the recipe for the success of the Belcoro-certified company, which produces primarily knitting yarns in counts of 28-30 Nm. In the last four years the company has boosted its sales from 12 to 60 million US dollars. With take-up speeds of 240 m/min, Elif has increased its productivity per spinning position by 40% with the same high quality and using 30% less energy.

This is a staggering result, yet Elif still hasn't fully exploited the potential of the Autocoro 8; thanks to its singledrive technology, take-up speeds of 300 m/min and higher are easily possible on any length of machine. Further productivity increases are thus preprogrammed for the company, which aspires to the market leadership in viscose yarns on the Turkish market.

Fruit of the Loom is also reporting spectacular productivity increases. In its fully integrated factory not far from the Moroccan capital Rabat, the company processes raw cotton from the USA to produce ready-cut fabrics that are then sewn into T-shirts and sweatshirts for the European market in the nearby sewing plants. 64 Autocoro rotor spinning machines work round the clock in the spinning mill. 18 of these are Autocoro 8 machines. "The new Autocoro 8 rotor spinning machines produce 50% more yarn with 20% less energy consumption," says Rob Fry, process engineering manager for Fruit of the Loom in Morocco. Up to 50% more yarn is a quantum leap, especially for the manufacturers of standard yarns, who have been battling for years to squeeze out every extra ounce of productivity.