As more than 20 Swiss textile machinery manufacturers prepare to participate in ITM 2026 this June, we spoke with Cornelia Buchwalder, Secretary General of Swissmem industry sector Swiss Textile Machinery, the leading association representing both SMEs and major corporations in Switzerland’s technology industry. She shared her views on ITM 2026, Swiss-Turkish textile industry relations, the growing impact of AI in both Asian and European markets, and the machinery sector’s transformation in line with sustainability-driven industrial change.
The global energy crisis has affected almost all industries. How has this impacted Swiss machinery manufacturers?
The global energy crisis has significantly affected the textile machinery industry, influencing production costs and investment decisions. Swiss manufacturers are facing high energy prices, market uncertainty, and currency fluctuations, while customers are increasingly focused on efficiency, automation, and resource savings.
At the same time, this environment is creating opportunities for high-performance and energy-efficient solutions. Looking ahead, we expect sustainability and energy efficiency to remain key investment drivers in textile production.
“The point is not adopting AI faster, but combining AI with high-quality engineering”
How do you expect the Europe–Asia balance to evolve with the advancement of AI technologies?
Asian markets, especially China, are moving very quickly in areas such as automation, smart factories, data analysis, and digital platforms. Their speed and large domestic market provide clear advantages in scaling new technologies.
European manufacturers, however, continue to stand out through engineering expertise, precision, reliability, and process know-how developed over decades. The future balance will not simply depend on who adopts AI faster, but on who can combine AI with high-quality engineering, long-term performance, and trusted customer support.
Swiss textile machinery manufacturers are increasingly integrating AI into predictive maintenance, automated quality control, process optimisation, and energy management. The focus is on creating operational benefits such as higher efficiency, lower downtime, and more stable quality.
Swiss technology’s core: long-term reliability, consistent quality, and specialised know-how
What do you consider the key strengths of Swiss technology in the global market today?
One of the main strengths of Swiss technology is the ability to combine advanced engineering with long-term reliability and consistent quality. Swiss textile machinery is positioned in the premium segment, where customers expect precision, durability, energy efficiency, and strong after-sales support.
Another important strength is specialised know-how. Many Swiss manufacturers are global leaders in highly technical niche applications, where process expertise is just as important as the machinery itself. Increasingly, this expertise is being combined with automation, digital solutions, and intelligent data use.
“Sustainability begins at the manufacturing stage”
What role do production technologies play in reducing the environmental impact of the textile industry?
Production technologies play a central role because sustainability begins at the manufacturing stage. Modern textile machinery can significantly reduce energy consumption, water usage, chemical inputs, and material waste.
At the same time, the textile industry is undergoing a structural transformation. New regulations, sustainability targets, and changing consumer expectations are pushing manufacturers towards a model based on quality, transparency, durability, and responsible production.
As a result, competitiveness will increasingly depend not only on production capacity, but also on flexibility, traceability, and the ability to adapt quickly to changing market requirements.
“Competitiveness will depend not only on efficiency and quality, but also on the ability to document processes”
How important is end-to-end traceability for the industry?
End-to-end traceability is becoming essential because manufacturers increasingly need reliable and verifiable production data. Competitiveness will depend not only on efficiency and quality, but also on the ability to document processes, resource consumption, and product origins transparently.
Digital solutions can support this through ESG-related reporting, production monitoring, and the measurement of energy, water, and carbon footprint data. Technologies such as integrated production data systems, QR-based identification, and secure digital documentation are becoming increasingly important.
There is also growing interest in software updates, retrofit solutions, and additional modules that allow manufacturers to modernise existing machinery step by step while integrating newer digital capabilities.
Strong Swiss participation at ITM 2026
How many companies will Swissmem represent at ITM 2026? Will you participate with a national pavilion?
Swiss Textile Machinery currently has 42 member companies, and more than half of them will be exhibiting at ITM in Istanbul. There will not be a national Swiss pavilion; companies will participate independently or together with local partners and agents.
Which key themes will Swiss manufacturers highlight at the exhibition?
The key themes at ITM will include efficiency, intelligent production solutions, flexibility, and technologies that help manufacturers improve competitiveness in a challenging global market.
Visitors can expect practical solutions focused on higher productivity, consistent quality, reduced resource consumption, and reliable long-term performance.
How do you assess the importance of the Turkish market?
Türkiye remains a strategically important market for Swiss textile machinery manufacturers because of its strong industrial base, export orientation, and position between Europe and Asia.
Although the Turkish textile industry has faced serious challenges in recent years, including rising costs, inflation, and weaker European demand, Türkiye remains one of the world’s key textile manufacturing countries with strong know-how and modern production capabilities.
“Innovation only becomes meaningful when it leads to measurable improvements”
Today innovation is sometimes perceived as a pressure due to rapid trends. How do you define innovation, what does it mean for Swissmem?
For us, innovation means solving real industrial problems and creating long-term value for customers. Sustainability and AI are important developments, but innovation only becomes meaningful when it leads to measurable improvements in efficiency, quality, resource usage, and competitiveness.
One of Switzerland’s strengths is the close collaboration between industry, research institutes, and universities, which helps companies remain highly specialised, research-driven, and internationally competitive.
How do you expect your relationship with the Turkish textile industry to evolve in the coming years?
I expect the relationship between Swiss textile machinery manufacturers and the Turkish textile industry to remain close and strategically important. Turkish manufacturers continue to invest in modernisation and productivity improvements to remain competitive internationally.
What continues to make Swiss technology attractive is not only the origin of the machinery itself, but also the engineering expertise, process know-how, innovation capability, and long-term partnership behind it.