Germany’s Mayer & Cie exhibited at the recent Indo Intertex show in Jakarta where the company’s latest interlock knitting technology was attracting significant interest from the region’s fabric manufacturers. The Indo Intertex is described as one of the most important trade fairs in South-East Asia for the textile and clothing industry machinery. Held in Jakarta from 4 to 7 April 2018, it takes place every year in combination with the Indo Dyechem (textile dying and textile chemicals) and Indo Texprint (textile printing).
This year’s edition attracted 939 companies from 25 countries. China accounted for the most exhibitors: 370 firms. Seventy-two German firms were represented, including Mayer &Cie (MCT) and the flat knitting machine manufacturer Stoll, who shared a stand organised by Maxi, the local representative. Regional Sales Manager Timo Schramm was satisfied with the number of visitors, which was a significant improvement on two years ago, when MCT participated in the fair. According to Schramm, overall, customers were keenly interested in the products and solutions that Mayer & Cie provide. “Nevertheless, the attitude among our customers in the country continues to be one of wait-and-see,” he said, referring to the substantial investment backlog that the local textile industry faces due to the unstable economic situation in Indonesia.
A further problem, he noted, was the tighter environmental regulations that apply to equipment in particular, with repercussions that affect the entire textile chain. “To avoid heavy fines,” Schramm said, “equipment suppliers must prove that all the water they use is treated. Many firms are unable to do so and are obliged to reduce their capacity to a third in some cases. And fabric for which there is no equipment does not need to be knitted.”
In spite of these handicaps, local customers continue to be active and highly resourceful at opening up new lines of business, he said. They include, for example, the manufacture of Scuba, a thin spacer fabric used for underwear, swimwear and outerwear. The OV 3.2 QCe, the machine that Mayer & Cie. exhibited at the Indo Intertex, knits this type of fabric. With its high system density of 3.2 systems per inch, this machine scores high marks for productivity, and not only in manufacturing the popular Scuba fabric.
The interlock machine is tried and trusted in the manufacture of all standard 8-lock structures, such as Punto di Roma and Milano ripp. In the interlock sector, it mainly processes synthetic fibres for Indonesian customers, but Indonesia as a major cotton producer is equally interested in natural fibres, especially in the single jersey segment. That is particularly beneficial for the Relanit 3.2 HS, which MCT exhibited in Indonesia two years ago. “This circular knitting machine is a front runner, in Indonesia just as in Turkey or South America,” said Schramm.
