Swiss textile machinery manufacturers, standing out with their high quality, innovative machinery and solutions in the sector, continue their innovations by keeping the pulse of the changing industry with the pandemic conditions. Swiss machinists continue their developments in the field of sustainability on the one hand and take advantage of the possibilities of digitalization to provide maximum benefit to their customers on the other hand. Secretary-General of the Swiss Textile Machinery Association (eldest industry sector of Swissmem) Cornelia Buchwalder shared her assessments about the Swiss and global textile industry for 2021, and her predictions and expectations for 2022, giving an interview to Textilegence.
“2021 has been a strong year for Swiss textile machinery manufacturers”
Cornelia Buchwalder evaluated Swiss machinery manufacturers’ 2021 and said; “Looking back to 2021, most of our members reported a very strong year. The business climate has recovered faster and stronger than could be expected. Despite this positive and rapid recovery, there were some challenges to overcome. The still complicated and highly expensive transports, the scarcity and long delivery times of raw materials and the complexity of travel planning. For Switzerland, there was also the additional challenge of the again strengthening Swiss franc, mainly compared to the Euro. As it was a very strong year, both the capacity utilisation rate and the productivity rate developed positively”.
Cornelia Buchwalder stated that the Corona pandemic has also given the textile industry more visibility again, disclosing; “Especially in Europe, society is often not aware of how broad and innovative the field of the textile and textile machinery industry is. The solutions that were demonstrated in this industry during the Corona Pandemic have brought it back into the European spotlight”.
Buchwalder emphasized that Turkey has been one of the most important markets for Swiss textile machinery manufacturers for many years and said that in 2021, it was the third most important market behind China and Germany. Buchwalder, noting that there was indeed a case where exports to Turkey stagnated in 2021 due to fluctuations in the Turkish lira, explained that in comparison, all other main export markets have increased by up to 50% compared to 2020.
“Technical textiles will continue to stand out in 2022”
Cornelia Buchwalder said that the segments that will stand out in 2022 may vary depending on factors such as whether governments set up special support programmes for the textile industry, where full production can be resumed and where there are still restrictions and disclosed; “But certainly, I see that the field of technical textiles continues to offer new applications and customer benefits. Personally, however, I expect a positive 2022 despite all the uncertainties, and the spirit of optimism will be reflected in the textile industry”.
Buchwalder also noted that sustainability is a big and very important topic and stated that it has been for years, but now it is even more important due to the new EU strategy for sustainable textiles. Buschwalder said; “As an association, we have also taken on this topic and are currently developing an individual programme for our member companies. Of course, some member companies are already very advanced in this topic, but others will certainly be able to benefit”.
Buchwalder also said the following about the advantages of digitalization; “Industry 4.0 or Industry 2025 as we call it in Switzerland offers various possibilities, be it in product or process optimization or in the development of completely new business models. Our member companies use these possibilities to generate maximum customer benefit. The pandemic in particular has shown us how important digitalisation can be. Customers and suppliers who can offer for example remote service were certainly in an advantageous situation”.
“Swiss machinists anticipate developments and incorporate them into the new machines and solutions”
Answering our question about how Swiss textile machinery manufacturers will define themselves in the next 5-10 years, Cornelia Buchwalder said these:
“To look into the future, we first need to look back. Let me first talk about the start of the association in 1940. Leaders of the textile machinery industry were increasingly concerned about their operations, especially the need for non-ferrous metals and high-quality steel. The situation became serious and some companies in the industry wanted to request the Swiss Government to secure the required raw material needed to maintain production. The established principle of ‘united we are strong’ led representatives from 22 companies to join forces in forming the first textile machinery group. This was the origin of what today has grown into the Swiss Textile Machinery Association. The members of the new Swiss Association of Textile Machinery Manufacturers included well-known brands such as Rüti, Sulzer, Rieter and Saurer. Over the years, there were numerous periods of great difficulty for the industry: global economic slumps and other crises of varying degrees of seriousness followed one after another. The profile of the world textile industry also changed. Mass production has long since migrated to the East and South-East. Despite this, or perhaps precisely because of this, Swiss textile machinery today holds a leading position in the high-quality segment of special machines and top-quality materials”.
Buchwalder said that the entrepreneurial spirit of Swiss textile machinery manufacturers anticipates developments and incorporates them into new machines and solutions, and added; “These are precisely the qualities that will still distinguish Swiss companies in 5-10 years”.
“We will focus on physical exhibitions in 2022”
Cornelia Buchwalder stated that 2020 and 2021 were difficult years when it came to physically meeting customers and partners. She said that with the cancellation of virtually all exhibitions, they also supported their members with online formats such as webinars and virtual exhibitions. Buchwalder remarked that this was very much appreciated, especially at the beginning of the pandemic, however, it has been shown that this cannot replace a real trade fair. Buchwalder stated that therefore, they are now putting their energies into the area back in order to plan their physical exhibition participations in 2022 and ended her words as follows; “Another milestone will be ITMA 2023, which will be held under the motto ‘Transforming the World of Textiles’. All efforts and developments of our member companies’ machines and solutions will be on display there, including in the field of digitalisation and sustainability”.