Picanol demonstrated benefits of its rapier technology in Korea

Picanol, technological market leader in both airjet and rapier weaving machines, organized an open house in Daegu (Korea) in October. This event, which is aimed at Korean weavers, saw Picanol demonstrating its latest rapier technology and offerings for technical textiles, with a specific focus on its OptiMax showpiece. The Open House organized at the new premises of Picanol customer Dong-A T.O.L. Co. Ltd. This manufacturer produces high-quality outerwear and furnishing fabrics. The Open house tied in with Picanol celebrating more than 60 years in Korea. Picanol has taken the opportunity to demonstrate to Korean weavers the versatility and modularity of its OptiMax machines for the widest range of high-quality fabrics. This covered everything from mainstream to niche applications. Picanol presented two versions of its OptiMax rapier-weaving machine with the OptiMax 540 cm being showcased for the first time in Korea. This rapier machine is equipped with positive guided grippers and will be weaving a mix of monofil, multifilament and PP-tape to demonstrate its extreme versatility in weft and speed capacity. The other machine – the OptiMax (190 cm) – comes equipped with negative free-flight grippers and the Open House will see a shirting fabric woven. Picanol weaving machines are designed to ensure the lowest possible energy consumption, even when running at high speeds. The rapier machines on display are also a clear proof that with this technology, customers are ready to face the challenges of high-power prices in the Korean context. “With our Open House in Korea, we once again emphasized our commitment and involvement to the Korean textile sector. More than ever before, Picanol is determined to provide outstanding customer service, the exceptional levels of quality that we are renowned for, high value and rapid delivery, to ensure that we meet the needs of our valued Korean customers. We would like to thank our customer – Dong-A T.O.L. Co. Ltd. – for partnering with us and hosting this Open House at their magnificent new premises,” stated Johan Verstraete, VicePresident Marketing, Sales & Services. Picanol weaving machines are a synthesis of technological know-how and experience that has been built up over nearly 80 years and has seen more than 300,000 machines produced. As of today, Picanol is proud to confirm that is has more than 130,000 weaving machines running in some 2,600 weaving mills worldwide. And to stay ahead in this highly competitive industry, Picanol has always been a leader in innovation. R&D, state of the art technology and continuous improvement are the core aspects of Picanol’s business philosophy. With R&D efforts aimed at creating the best solutions to its customers’ weaving challenges, the company was the first to introduce many revolutionary concepts in the weaving industry and it currently holds more than 800 patents worldwide. Picanol will continue to expand its role as the technological market leader by increasing the product range of its weaving machines and offering applications for new market segments. The main challenge remains to strengthen the (weaving) performance, quality and cost competitiveness of its customers