Picanol has made the first model change in eight years to its rapier, the main product of its textile machinery business, while displaying its new machine, the OptiMax-i, at the Pre-ITMA soft launch to a few select European customers on September 7. This machine is the successor to the OptiMax, which was first marketed in 2007 and has claimed a sizable world market share for eight consecutive years. The OptiMax-i has been comprehensively designed for higher performance, more versatility, new application fields, greater energy savings and improved ease of use.
As a corporation supporting the clothing aspect of people’s need for food, clothing and shelter for nearly 80 years since the completion of its first shuttle loom, Omnium, in 1936. The Picanol Group has been continually striving to develop looms that produce high quality textiles for different applications for more than four generations.
With its new slogan “Let’s Grow Together”, the company unveiled its new state-of-the-art OptiMax-i rapier weaving machine at the open house event held at its Belgium plant located in Ieper. The four-day event was attended by more than 300 industry professionals, and the overall response was quite encouraging.
“The Optimax rapier machine has enjoyed remarkable success all over the world. Top European and Asian customers have installed our machines and enjoy unmatched performance without additional energy costs and with the flexibility to make quick style changes. Certainly, the new OptiMax-i rapier is of a more advanced generation than all other existing machines and is sure to steal the limelight at ITMA Milan”, said Mr. Luk Tack, Picanol Group Managing Director.
Performance with highest flexibility
Immediate reaction to market requirements – in this respect the new Optimax-i rapier weaving machine opens up every possibility. Thanks to its ease of operation and reduced maintenance cost, it can be adapted even more quickly to any fabric. Its setting consistency provides for rapid production starts on new articles, enabling optimum fabric quality to be achieved in the shortest possible time. Its unsurpassable processing reliability guarantees high productivity and at the same time maximum flexibility.
The Picanol rapier system has decisive qualitative and economic advantages in day-to-day operation. Low tensile strength yarns can be processed without difficulty. In other respects, robust filling insertion component construction provides for reliable processing, also of heavy industrial yarns.
Filling insertion controlled at every stage enables an extraordinary range of yarn types and counts to be processed. It runs from fine silk yarns and monofilaments via glass rovings through to the coarsest fancy yarns. Even under the most difficult textile conditions, 750 picks per minute can be achieved with good efficiency and fabric quality.
“Thanks to the modular design, the OptiMax-i machines can be tailored towards the specific ranging from commodity textile to highly demanding technical textile applications – in reedwidths up to 540 cm. The redesigned and extra reinforced machine structure, combined with an optimized rapier drive, brings a new step forward in performance. More versatility as well as new applications like terry weaving further widen the operational range of Optimax-i. Already best in class in energy consumption, Optimax-i even goes a step further, securing its leading position in this field. And last but not the least, numerous smaller improvements enhance the user-friendliness of the machine even further. First OptiMax-i is expected to land in India before the end of this year”, added Mr. Johan Verstraete, Vice President, Picanol.
Since the launch in 2007, the company has sold more than 23,000 Optimax rapiers across the globe, adding to a grand total of 360,000+ machines manufactured by this Belgium loom maker. Picanol weaving machines have been used by thousands of customers.
The company spends close to five per cent of its annual turnover for research and development and will continue to do so to provide nothing but the best to its customers around the globe. This has been a key to the company success, and so it has been able to produce results even in erratic markets during these fluctuating times.
Picanol, no doubt, has a rich heritage of knowledge and experience in producing weaving machines. The company has been able to combine this knowledge and experience with the latest electronics and technology to offer its customers a cost-effective solution in its new generation of machines. In a very short span, these machines have made a significant impact in the market.
All Picanol weaving machines have the latest electronics on board. The machines come fitted with the Sumo direct-drive main motor, which reduces power consumption as also the need for expensive maintenance schedules. The machines also offer electronic speed control, among many other features.
In recent years, heavy investments made by the company on plant modernization and new test beds have been highly fruitful. Procurement of latest machines has enhanced the quality and performance of the final component. Separate test bed for final inspection of every single machine that rolls out of the Picanol plant shows the company’s commitment towards highest levels of customer satisfaction.
Picanol India capture massive air-jet order
Indian customers have always appreciated good technology, and as a reward, Picanol has bagged a huge order of 500 air-jet machines recently. The dedicated effort of its Indian team was well recognized at the global level. The massive order of 500 Omniplus Summum machines for a sheeting project from Trident is the biggest single order for Picanol from India. The loom maker plans to execute the complete project within three-four months.
The air-jet project is another feather in the cap of Picanol India headed by the textile technologist and visionary Mr. P. Kasiviswanathan, who has been associated with the Belgium brand for more than 25 years in Indian shores.
Picanol has been successfully serving the Indian market since 1956. In view of the potential and expected growth of this market, the company decided to set up its own organization in India early 2008 in order to more actively support its local activities. Since the start of its operations, particularly during the last decade, Picanol has been focussing strongly on local sales and service activities.
India is of crucial importance for Picanol as it is the second biggest textile market in the world. Next to the main office in Delhi, regional offices in Mumbai and Coimbatore are proof of a strong Picanol presence in the Indian market with a team of 35 professionals committed to serve its customers.
“Picanol will continue to expand its role as technological market leader by widening the product range of its weaving machines and by offering applications for new market segments. We are confident the new OptiMax-i and TerryMax-i will have good success in the Indian market. 2015 has been a great year for Picanol India, and we are confident of making substantial growth in terms of sales numbers even during a tough period”, said Mr. Kasi in an exclusive interview to The Textile Magazine at the pre-ITMA event.
What to expect at ITMA Milan?
At ITMA Milan, Picanol has reserved a massive 1,000 sq.m. space in the weaving pavilion where it plans to showcase 10 of its latest looms for the weaving industry. This includes the all-new Optimax-i along with a few more surprises to be revealed at the show.
The OptiMax-i will take the centre-stage at the Picanol booth. The company will also be launching the TerryMax-i weaving machine reflecting its terry weaving knowledge. As such, Picanol is the only weaving machine manufacturer offering both airjet and rapier terry weaving machines. The new machine can weave a range of towels such as multi-height and multi-cycle pile towels, all with a soft touch and feel factor.
The Picanol rapier weaving machine has decisively influenced most important fashion trends of the past decade. Picanol aims to further develop its technological market leadership on focusing on (weaving) performance, quality, energy consumption, robustness, waste reduction and the ease of use of its weaving machines.
OptiMax-i is the strategic evolution of the highly successful Optimax model. It is specifically engineered to handle demanding styles at the highest performance with superior quality. The ease of use, maintenance and operation synergies have improved to provide a transition free integration for weavers and technicians alike. Best suited for continuous operation, Optimax-i is surely the new workhorse from the Picanol stable.
