Swedish Textile Machinery:Entering the industry 4.0 era for real

“The Swedish textile machinery industry represented by our members has had a number of strong years， including 2018， doing really well in the major markets such as China， Europe， India and the USA. We now face a more uncertain time even though initial figures for the first quarter of 2019 nave been good. Because the textile machinery industry is global， we are influenced by the uncertain geopolitical situation – the trade agreement between the U.S. and China， the Turkish Lire， Chinas economy slowing down and Brexit are all issues for concern. However， a focus on customer service， aligned with the drive to constantly innovate， has long ensured that the member companies of TMAS stay well ahead of the curve and see out any geopolitical storms.” said Mr. Mikael ？remann， President of TMAS， Textile Machinery Association of Sweden.

Swedish enterprises to attend ITMA 2019

Sweden has a long tradition and history of textile technology production and innovations， and showing them at ITMA – the largest textile machinery show in the world – is also a tradition that goes way back for our member companies. ITMA Barcelona is no exception. There are nine TMAS companies exhibiting at ITMA in June：

The new features and trends

One TMAS company moving rapidly forward with new innovations in the area of Industry 4.0， for example， is ACG Kinna. At ITMA 2019， the company will be providing live demonstrations of its new robotic pillow filling system which is really something to see. It has the ability to fill and finish some 3，840 pillows per eight-hour shift， which is a considerable improvement on what is currently possible with existing systems， resulting in significant savings in both labour and energy for busy home textile businesses.

The latest Eton Systems concepts for fully automated work flows in finished garments and textile-based products are another strong example of where the industry is heading. Eton will be demonstrating a complete material handling solution with advanced software providing real-time information covering every aspect of the process. These systems are a natural fit with the major Industry 4.0 networked manufacturing plants that are now being constructed worldwide for sectors such as the garment and home textiles manufacturing and automotive industries.

As far as sensors are concerned， Eltex of Sweden is achieving considerable success with its yarn fault detection and tension monitoring systems across a range of sectors， including the tufting of carpets， the creeling of woven materials and even the production of woven reinforcements for the composites industry. Unlike scanning inspection systems， Eltex is monitoring each individual yarn position in real time， and as a consequence has concentrated on the further miniaturisation of its sensors， as will be demonstrated at ITMA 2019.

According to Mr. Michael ？remann， “at successive ITMA shows， my company， IRO AB， has also consistently introduced new milestones in the field of yarn feeding technology for weaving machines， and ITMA 2019 will be no exception. Following significant investment in our R&D capabilities， we have been making great progress in further boosting the efficiency and performance of our expanding X3 range.”

In terms of resource savings， ITMA 2019 will meanwhile see the launch of TexCoat G4 – the next generation of Baldwin Technologys non-contact precision application system for fabric finishing. This enables a continuously high-quality and productive textile finishing process with zero chemistry waste and minimised water and energy consumption. The non-contact spray technology brings a range of advantages including single or double-sided application， the elimination of Foulard bath contamination， low wet pick-up levels leading to the elimination of drying steps， zero chemistry waste in changeovers of chemistry， colour or fabric， and the possibility of batch reporting， visibility of pad loading， chemical usage etc.

Other TMAS companies exhibiting in Barcelona are Texo AB， whose wide-width weaving looms make the belts for machines on which half of the worlds paper is made， ES-Automatex， which specialises in bespoke automation concepts and Svegea， a company leading the field in a number colarette machines and cutting and slitting equipment.

In regards to the development trend of the textile machinery industry， Mr. Michael ？remann stated that “I think we are going through a very interesting era with a lot of new possibilities and changes. TMAS expects to see new players and partnerships as we enter the industry 4.0 era for real. We are ready to display an even higher degree of the real time monitoring of processes， automation， flexible customisation， and the incorporation of robots into production lines. Advanced senor developments are playing a large part in moving many areas of the textile industry forward too， and resource savings remain critical.”

Mr. Michael ？remann gave suggestions to the Chinese visitors to the exhibition that ITMA is definitely the place to explore and learn what is possible， and specifically at the moment about the potential of automation and sensordriven developments， as well as resource efficiency and sustainable processing.

As the world largest show for textile equipment -ITMA 2019 is held every four years. “Everyone is now gearing up. I cant remember a time since the 1980s when we at TMAS have had so many new innovations to unveil at an ITMA， and Im greatly looking forward to the positive response to them we are anticipating in Barcelona this June.”

“At the last ITMA in 2015 in Milan， there was much talk about Industry 4.0 technologies but certainly from the perspective of TMAS， ITMA 2019 will be the place for concrete solutions as to how data and the new tools we have available can be exploited to the full. There is already much more networking between the companies， with software very much the enabler and common interfaces bringing ideas closer together. We are greatly looking forward to further exchanges of ideas when meeting with customers old and new in Barcelona.

The ITMA in Europe continues to grow and I expect that the 2019 edition will be the biggest and most innovative yet.”