Albstadt, Germany / Barcelona, Spain: The textile world has come together in Barcelona, Spain for the ITMA Europe, which runs until June 26, 2019. Roughly 1,600 exhibitors – Groz-Beckert among them – are on hand presenting a fascinating array of innovations. The company's booth welcomes visitors to explore product and service highlights, laid out attractively with a completely reworked booth concept and a new digital form of presentation harnessing augmented reality.

New booth concept

All six product areas at Groz-Beckert are on exhibit, as are services that span multiple areas, such as the Groz-Beckert Academy and the Technology and Development Center (TEZ) in the booth's so-called 'Innovation Hub.' This Innovation Hub gathers the absolute latest innovations from the various company areas, with a dedicated presentation zone for each product segment.

The entire diverse range of Groz-Beckert products can thus be presented in a tremendously compact space – both in the real and virtual worlds. Augmented reality offers the chance to achieve new perspectives and unprecedented insights into the product catalog. This virtual system does more than just present the same information in a new way. It ensures that visitors depart the Groz-Beckert booth having enjoyed the kind of unique experience that builds real positive associations.

The new Groz-Beckert campaign is the common thread through the entire booth, both at a visual and content level. Numerous films and animated clips have been composed to present and explain the various motifs. One fun highlight is the selfie station positioned in the booth's tunnel area. It not only stages the new campaign in a creative way, it also makes the customer part of the exhibition itself.

Groz-Beckert Academy

The Academy's training program reflects Groz-Beckert's dedication to sharing knowledge, passing along practical wisdom and building expertise. Its training sessions convey a powerful mix of practice and theory, building a deeper understanding of technique and process. To make its offerings available quicker and more simply, the Groz-Beckert Academy will be undergoing a significant digital and international expansion to ensure accessibility independent of time, place or language.

Visitors to the ITMA can learn all about the major upgrades coming to the Groz-Beckert Academy, and even help steer those changes. After all, the Groz-Beckert Academy can best thrive if it tailors its improvements to fit the needs of partners and customers. This starts with an initial set of face-to-face conversations during the ITMA.

For example, the live training events that are currently held at the main offices in Albstadt, Germany will soon be available as web or app-based training, as learning videos, webinars and digital training case studies. The program of international events will also be expanded to include the Americas and Asia.

Technology and Development Center (TEZ)

The TEZ is the innovation platform for the Groz-Beckert Group – and offers a strong basis for the many exhibition pieces found in the Innovation Hub. For customers and partners, the TEZ represents a marvelous resource for optimization and development tasks and business partnership requests.

The TEZ works to implement customer plans and visions through a pool of experts, machines, tools and measurement devices attuned to the needs of the knitting, weaving, felting, tufting, carding and sewing fields.

Yet the TEZ can do much more: its experts possess fantastic expertise with high-tech materials such as glass and carbon fiber, silk and fiber matrix systems for composites, which frequently play a role in various tests and projects. For customers, this broad technical and methodological knowledge on the part of the TEZ's experts is supplemented by the specialist know-how of the R&D area, whose more than 250 employees work in a various disciplines and specialties.

Beyond this, the TEZ works to convert data gleaned from its research into market-ready products. The TEZ also fields and solicits partnership offers for joint business field development. From market research and production to market launch and the founding of new companies, the TEZ stands ready with deep expertise and readiness to engage in collaborations.

For customers and partners, the TEZ is an invaluable resource for whatever plans and challenges they face in the world of textiles. Visitors at the ITMA can talk with TEZ experts in person to learn about the potential for creating joint projects.

Knitting

The Knitting area has several product innovations in store. This starts with the SAN™ SF, Groz-Beckert's new special application needle for use with large diameter circular knitting machines. These needle types are specially developed for knitting staple fiber yarns. The needle geometry is designed with a closed needle shank on the bottom and a supporting humps for the cylinder walls. It is a combination that effectively prevents fiber residues and yarn abrasion from collecting.

Less contamination means longer periods without having to remove the needles to clean the machine. In practice, the cleansing cycles were extended by up to a factor of 3 on average. Use of the SAN™ staple fiber needle significantly reduces both the maintenance requirements and the frequency of faults in goods due to contamination-related vertical lines.

At the Circular Knitting exhibit, guests can examine the needle in extra detail using an augmented reality environment. The Innovation Hub will also be spotlighting an infographic with a detailed overview of the properties and benefits.

The Innovation Hub will also be touting the results of a successful Circular Knitting partnership: one entire table of the exhibit is dedicated to a close collaboration with machine builder and a set of jointly developed needles and system parts.

The Flat Knitting area presents two different innovations: fine gauges and technical textiles. These topics are explored in the Innovation Hub through two animated films and a small acrylic model featuring needles and system parts. The finest transfer needle in the Flat Knitting area, gauge E21, represents a tremendous step forward in opening up new flat knitting applications, and with it new potential business fields.

In the area of technical textiles, the Flat Knitting team at Groz-Beckert is presenting a new special application needle that can handle a huge range of uses. The stability of the design reduces downtimes and boosts productivity. It also features special technical characteristics such as a secure yarn insertion mechanism and reliable latch function – even when performing multi-thread knitting of solid loops using continuous filament yarn. The exceptional quality of the surface and dimensional stability promise improved process reliability during the transfer process. Its flexible acceptance of sample variants and yarns opens up new potential business fields.

In the Legwear field, the ITMA will see the debut of a new needle for sock machines intended for use under heavy loads. The dur™ needle offers remarkable technical performance breakthroughs, including increased hook and latch stability and a modified slot design. This reduces hook breakage, wound hooks and bent latches. Beyond this, smooth latch movement is guaranteed, even with slightly bent needle latches. This reduces a variety of different knitting errors. The dur™ technology is also designed to cut needle wear, which in turn boosts overall productivity.

Groz-Beckert will be presenting the benefits of the dur™ needle in several ways: An augmented reality station will be available at the Legwear exhibit, giving a detailed look at its technical properties, and a short film on the needle's advantages will be shown at the Innovation Hub.

Alongside the dur™ needle, Groz-Beckert will also be presenting its qualifications as a premier development partner for machine and system builders in the Legwear area. Together with Santoni, Groz-Beckert's ITMA booth will be presenting two generation of sock machines completely equipped with Groz-Beckert needles and system parts.

In the Warp Knitting area, Groz-Beckert will also be demonstrating its strengths as a system provider. Augmented reality users can view an acrylic model of a warp knitting machine to see how the different system components work together. Viewers can switch freely between 3D models of the overall schematics of the warp knitting process or the interplay between the individual warp knitting elements.

Beyond the presentation of various innovations, a number of special sales offers for this area will also be available exclusively at the ITMA booth.

Weaving

The Weaving exhibition zone presents the latest generation of drawing-in machine, the WarpMasterPlus. Thanks to its modular design – consisting of needle, reed, healds, drop wires and yarn module – the WarpMasterPlus delivers optimal flexibility, combined with maximum performance. The new generation of machine ekes maximum efficiency out of every square meter. For example, individual machine lengths with drawing-in widths over 4 meters are now possible.

The tried-and-true KnotMaster typing system rounds out the weaving preparation section of the Weaving exhibit. Thanks to its different tying units, the right tie can achieved for any type of yarn.

There are innovations aplenty in the Weaving Accessories sector as well, such as thread-preserving mono wire healds with stuck-on thread eyes for jacquard and standard fabrics.

The overall diversity of all products in the Weaving area can be explored in just one square meter of real space – and unlimited virtual space, thanks to augmented reality. Visitors can gain new insights into areas that are normally hidden, with plentiful digital information to satisfy their curiosity.

In one new wrinkle, Groz-Beckert will also be presenting a large variety of different reeds for standard and special applications.

Felting

Whether visitors are interested in the field of hydroentanglement or needling or are simply looking for application advice: the ITMA will provide them with plentiful insights into Groz-Beckert's extensive catalog for the nonwovens industry.

For spun lace customers, Groz-Beckert has its HyTec®P jet strips in store. They possesses a much greater hardness compared with conventional jet strips. The HyTec®P also stands out for its excellent scratch-resistance.

In the area of felting needles, GEBECON® and EcoStar® needles and their patented geometries are the focus of an augmented reality presentation using an acrylic model of a needling machine. Groz-Beckert is also presenting its newly developed dur™ material, which can be processed using felting and structuring needles to achieve greater corrosion-resistance and an extended lifespan. The Innovation Hub will also show the major difference between the new dur™ material from Groz-Beckert compared with traditional needle steel.

Another section of the Felting exhibit will introduce a much-demanded Groz-Beckert product: customer-specific product labeling. Needle designations can be optimally adapted to customer systems, such as storage, merchandise management and needle change systems. This offers many practical benefits, such as quicker classification of needles thanks to the individual designation, thus helping eliminate confusion and improving process reliability. Another benefit: know-how protection for production. By using your own designations, you can make it more difficult for third parties to spy on your methods. An interactive trade fair exhibit will allow visitors to create their own customer labels.

In the area of application advice, the technology faculty will presenting a 3D model of the staple fiber needle punch line as part of the Felting exhibit. Customers can learn all about the extensive range of testing available at the Groz-Beckert Technology and Development Center (TEZ) in Albstadt, Germany.

Tufting

The Tufting exhibition zone revolves around the growing quality demands for product quality by customers. Groz-Beckert will be showing which tool modules are best suited to tackle these challenges.

Visitors can also use the augmented reality system to gain a completely new perspective on the interplay between unique gauge part systems capable of meeting even the most stringent customer standards.

Carding

The newest product area within the Groz-Beckert Group will be on hand at the ITMA presenting several product innovations. First and foremost is the Groz-Beckert InLine card clothing series for the nonwovens industry. Thanks to a completely new and patented manufacturing process, various metallic card clothing can be produced to meet the highest quality standards, all with optimal process reliability. The card clothings are characterized by a standardized butt height of 1.3 millimeters with interlocked and non card clothings produced from more resistant teeth and a completely scale-free surface. An exhibit in the Innovation Hub will highlight how this differs from conventional production methods. It shows an impressive comparison between the new Groz-Beckert InLine clothing and the older generation.

Based on the new production procedure, the SiroLock® plus card clothing was developed as an improvement to the SiroLock® worker and doffer wire. These betterments to the card clothing are based in part on new manufacturing processes and on improvements drawn from customer feedback. The special tooth geometry results in a gentle and more efficient fiber take-up, control and transfer – with even the highest throughputs. A digital exhibit will elucidate the functionality and operating principle behind the SiroLock® plus for ITMA visitors.

The Carding area of the exhibition will also feature virtual versions of the new series of stationary and revolving flats, the improved cylinder wire and a new doffer wire. The stationary flat series is notable for its innovative tooth geometry and innovative tooth distribution that ensures controlled opening of the fiber tufts within the card. Beyond this, the surface is more hard wearing and protects the new stationary flat against damage from unintended use.

The new TV56 revolving flat clothing features a new setting pattern and 560 points per square inch, making it particularly easy to clean. It is not only harder wearing, but also increases the potential carding production output through the extended lifetime of the revolving flat.

The improved cylinder wire with special geometry is notable for its self-dressing effect, which reduces its maintenance needs. Beyond this, it also produces fewer burls and contamination. This makes it particularly well suited for quality-oriented cotton spinning companies that produce fine yarns.

The new D40-30-31ES CBF doffer wire offers an alternative to the grooved card clothing, with a significantly higher fiber transfer and improved fiber control. This in turn promotes better performance, especially for matted fibers. The special surface treatment CBF (Clean Bright Finish) also enables a high efficiency of the revolving flat card to be achieved due to the reduced cleaning requirements.

Sewing

The Sewing area will be presenting its special application needs for the most challenging applications: the SAN® 10 and the SAN® 10 XS. The SAN® 10 combines the requirements for protecting the material and stability. Its narrow form results in a reduced penetration cross-section in the eye area, reducing the stress on the loops as the needle passes through. The special design in the shank area also ensures sufficient stability.

In rare cases, however, damage to the material cannot be avoided using the SAN® 10. This occurs mainly on ultra-fine fabrics or materials, which are extremely difficult to sew. Processing of these fabrics necessitates even greater protection of the material — which is precisely where the SAN® 10 XS comes into play. It was specially developed and designed for the processing of ultra-fine materials. Its extremely thin geometry and the cylindrical shank enable an even gentler needle penetration, further reducing material damage.

The extremely material-sparing shape of the new SAN® 10 XS needle does have a direct impact on its stability, however. The SAN® 10 XS is therefore even more gentle on the material than the SAN® 10, but is also less stable. It is therefore advisable to use the SAN® 10 XS mainly in applications with a specific focus on avoiding material damage.

On behalf of the Sewing area, the Innovation Hub will be presenting its INH Quality Management (Ideal Needle Handling). The patented process offers smooth and time-saving handling of broken and damaged sewing machine needles during operation. The process supports customers in complying with different brand-owner specifications on documenting needle breakage, all in a uniform way. Beyond this, the INH allows for environmentally sound handling and increased productivity.

Together with the customer, Groz-Beckert sets up the appropriate process and also makes available the needed working materials – specifically conceived and developed for INH. Smart INH: Groz-Beckert digital solution for simplifying the process of documenting needle breakage and all other needle changes.

About Groz-Beckert

Groz-Beckert is the world’s leading provider of industrial machine needles, precision parts and fine tools as well as systems and services for the production and joining of textile fabrics. The products and services support the fields of knitting, weaving, felting, tufting, carding and sewing. The family-owned company, founded in 1852, employed more than 9,000 people and generated a turnover of around €745 Mio. in 2018. Groz-Beckert operates with agencies, production and distribution subsidiaries in more than 150 countries around the world.