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The Textile Magazine
JUNE 2012
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25
energy costs are also
key themes. If you
consider our portfolio
and its strengths against
this background, it is
immediately evident that
Oerlikon Textile has the right
answers to the questions and
requirements of the Chinese textile
industry of today and tomorrow.
We can benefit greatly from each
other as since 2004 our develop-
ment and manufacturing processes
have been based on our self-im-
posed e-save philosophy. Here we
focus on higher energy efficiency,
improved machine effectiveness
and productivity, reduced environ-
mental impact and better ergonomic
design which has had effects, e.g.,
in the areas of handling and noise
reduction.
Q: How strongly is Oerlikon
Textile positioned in China?
A: Our activities here go back to
the 1960s. China is today our main
target market. We have sites in
Shanghai, Suzhou, Beijing, Wuxi,
Jintan, Urumqi and Zhengzhou
with a total of almost 2,000 em-
ployees. In 2011 our sales reached
nearly 1 billion Swiss francs,
which is almost 50% of our sales
in the Oerlikon Textile Group. The
importance of this market is also
reflected in the fact that part of our
management team now operates out
of Shanghai. We are represented
with all five brands and therefore
offer our complete product range in
China with total solutions for yarn
manufacturing. And we’re coming
to ITMA Asia with a brand-new
machine that should be extremely
interesting for the Chinese market.
Q: Can you tell us a bit more
about this?
A: Oerlikon Textile’s products
are primarily positioned in the
automated high-end segment. Now,
following the Zinser 360 we are
entering the mid-range market
more strongly with the Zinser-
Impact71. Our new machine is
suitable for a wide range of raw
materials and yarn titres and can be
set quickly and easily when switch-
ing yarn qualities. The system is a
self-cleaning compact system for
constant and reliable yarn quality.
Machine control and engineering
are designed for low personnel
input, low energy consumption
and low maintenance as well
as high productivity and fewer
machine downtimes as a result of
yarn breaks or twist. These are all
arguments that are received well in
China.
Q: What are your hopes for the
machine and the development of
the mid-range segment?
A: We have already gained useful
experience in the lower high-end
segment over the past few years in
various technology sectors. In rotor
spinning we have achieved great
sales success in the past two years
with the semi-automatic BD series,
which is manufactured in China.
With the new ZinserImpact 71, we
are therefore confident of going
straight to the heart of the market
and offering a product that has a
future in China. Particularly in the
spinning mill sector, Oerlikon Tex-
tile continues to be a trend-setter
and innovation leader with new
products.
Q: You have been CEO of
Oerlikon Textile since the begin-
ning of 2012. What are your main
areas of focus for taking the busi-
ness forward?
A: The textile industry is a chal-
lenging industry. Firstly, the cover-
age of textile machinery is very
wide. The value chain from raw
material to the final product is long.
Secondly, it is dynamic and sub-
jected to many factors. Thirdly, it is
an important industry that provides
needed jobs, especially in emerg-
ing countries. My focus is therefore
on the strategy of our company to
be more customer focused, more
responsive to the dynamics of in-
dustry and more innovative in terms
of our enterprise and products. To
shape the future, we need to con-
tinuously build capabilities, across
the entire management team.
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