To present revolutionary spinning & weaving automation technologies at ITMA
The Textile Division of the Neuenhauser Group will present new developments in the field of automation for spinning and weaving at ITMA 2019. For the first time, the entire Textile Division of the group will be exhibiting at a common ITMA booth this year.
In addition to the Automation and Winding Technology departments, the Neuenhauser Textile Division also includes the activities of the companies Sohler Neuenhauser, Scholze Germany, Genkinger Material Handling and Neuenhauser Rosink, whereby the individual companies focus on specific products and market segments and count among their respective areas. In addition to the quality feature “Made in Germany”, the Neuenhauser Textile Division attaches great importance to continuous product and process innovations, the use of state-of-the-art technologies and sustainable products.
All the companies of the group have businesses worldwide and representations in more than 90 countries. Through close co-operation within the group, the customers benefit from sales synergies and optimal service through many product technicians located in the suburbs.
We spoke to Mr. Wilhelm Langius, General Manager, Textile Machinery Division, Neuenhauser Group, on the company’s participation in ITMA.
Neuenhauser is a conglomerate of many leading global brands. Can you help us understand the various brands in the Neuenhauser Group?
Indeed the word ‘conglomerate’ can be used as it somehow also expresses our strategy. The Neuenhauser Group is very diversified with over 20 companies in different business segments, of which one is the Textile Industry. Here we have a total six divisions and companies. Under the roof of Neuenhauser Maschinenbau GmbH we run the divisions Automation, Fabric Winding and Neuenhauser-Rosink. Legally we have individual companies Scholze Germany GmbH, Genkinger GmbH and Sohler-Neuenhauser GmbH & Co. KG. Basically we divide the activities into the areas of spinning and weaving.
In the spinning industry our products run under the motto automation and service for productivity and quality improvement. Neuenhauser-Rosink offers cot grinding machines and equipment for the cot workshop. High precision and quality cots play an important role for quality yarn manufacturing. Also, clean spinning machines are essential for efficient and quality spinning, which can be achieved by the Sohler-Neuenhauser travelling cleaner.
In the area of automation Neuenhauser is providing complete solutions for the production logistics in a spinning mill, from transport of spinning cans from one process to the next, up to the ready for shipment packed yarn package, either on pallets, in cardboard boxes or in PP-bags.
For weaving mills we claim the motto “around the weaving machine”. If we look at the weaving machine and weaving process, we can start with the warp beam, which is a Scholze product. The needed transport equipment for the beams can be supplied by Genkinger. When the ready fabric comes off the weaving machine a Neuenhauser take up batch winder is right product. To transport the fabrics rolls again Genkinger trucks are available. And last but not the least, a Sohler-Neuenhauser travelling cleaner will keep the equipment clean.
How are the preparations at the Neuenhauser Group for ITMA 2019? Since when has the Group been participating in ITMA?
While Neuenhauser Maschinenbau as the origin of the Neuenhauser Group participated for the first time in 1991 in ITMA in Hannover, participation of other members such as Scholze, Genkinger and Sohler go back to the 1970s and earlier.
For ITMA 2019 we give more focus on the Group idea and join all companies and divisions in one approx. 600 m² booth. Under the motto Advanced Solutions for Spinning and Weaving, we are able to offer our customers various equipment for their projects so to say out of one hand. All the competence of our sales and technical stuff will be on one spot to give customers the best possible advice and consultation. We will be in the main spinning hall no. 6, booth C101 in the neighbourhood of machine manufacturers like Truetzschler, Saurer, Rieter, etc.
ITMA is a very important platform. Customers and agents from all over the world come and create an excellent information platform for both the economic and business trends. And, although today nobody would wait with launching new technological developments, ITMA with its 4-year cycle is still an event where manufacturers launch new technologies. We will launch several new products at ITMA.
Coming to ITMA 2019, what are the products and solutions that you will showcase at Barcelona across your various brands?
All of our Group members will present new products at ITMA. In spinning Neuenhauser-Rosink will show the last ITMA 2015 introduced and very successful semi-automatic cot grinding machine SZ2HA, added with a new “A” module to make the machine run fully automatic with a magazine capacity of 1,000 cots. Also a new UV-treatment module is available, which can be connected to the automatic grinding machine.
Sohler-Neuenhauser will present a new model of the well-established UNICLEAN travelling cleaner series. This new development comprises a new stepless adjustable fan and also a variable travel speed motor. The fan speed adjustment is self regulating and always only will not run faster than needed. This can result in energy savings of over 25%, an important factor nowadays. Further it can communicate by wireless remote control, which makes it available for Industry 4.0 applications.
Neuenhauser Automation will present latest developments for logistics in spinning mills. A focus will be AGV’s for spinning cans, which will be shown running in an automatic mode.
Further, a completely new roving bobbin stripper, which is a very important unit in automatic roving bobbin transport systems, will be first time shown to the market. It has a different function principle to today’s known solutions, which we keep a secret till the launch at ITMA.
In the weaving section Genkinger will show a very sophisticated electro-hydraulic vehicle for the transport and move in of heavy bottom and top warp beams with one unit. As highlight and first time shown a cloth roll transport AGV will be presented. This new development was made in co-operation with Neuenhauser.
Scholze will present various beams and rolls suitable for different types of weaving machines. An innovation first time shown will be a warp beam identification system, with an electronic tag at the wrap beam and a wireless write / read system. With this smart warp beam, first time it is possible to make each warp beam unique with own certificate and parameters, being automatically readable for the following processes – a property needed for automated process controls in the world of 4.0.
Neuenhauser Winding will present a new center winder for technical fabrics with a linear tangential press roller. Compared to the generally used swing-arm press rollers, this system allows constant winding geometry and fine adjustable parameters.
Finally, Sohler-Neuenhauser will show the stationary FX-suction system for weaving machines, which has its application in technical fabric weaving, mainly glass fiber fabrics.
Talking about Industry 4.0 and the emerging trends in automation, what are the futuristic trends in textile manufacturing?
I think the whole complex of Industry 4.0 is still at the very beginning and we need a lot to do to make Industry 4.0 – the digitalisation of production – possible.
One thing is, of course, to make the machines and equipment ready for digitalisation, an issue we are working on. But that has to be done by many suppliers, and then we have to find the right interfaces to make our machines able to “talk” to each other. Here we are on the way, but also still have a way to go.
Our automation equipment basically is Industry 4.0 ready, and we have implemented the first solutions. But also here questions have to be answered like data management, how to transfer it between systems, how open are the parties to give data, and so on.
How is Neuenhauser gearing up on its after-sales service infrastructure?
Indeed, aftersales service is a very important issue. It is not only selling spareparts, but more and more the service support for the shop floor. Wherever feasible we do remote diagnostic and remote service. In our worldwide automation systems we can solve 95% of the issues by remote service. Presently we are working on AI solutions to service technicians on site.
But still the human onsite service is needed. In the last few years we have made a lot of efforts in building up a service network with local available technicians in the key markets. Also here the Group idea is of help. Each of the Group members is working in niche product segments, and the turnover in single markets would hardly allow to implement local service people. But as a group we can organize local service and we have trained several technicians in our markets and regions.