Basic HTML Version
The Textile Magazine
MARCH 2012
|
53
raphy workshop in Uster (Swit-
zerland), became an independent
company in 2003 following the
acquisition of the Zellweger Uster
division of Zellweger Luwa by the
management and funds advised by
two private-equity investment com-
panies. In 2006 Uster Technologies
was acquired by its management
and funds advised by Alpha Beteili-
gungsberatung GmbH & Co. KG. In
2007 Uster Technologies became a
public company by listing its shares
on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
Sales and support net-
work
Headquartered in Uster, Swit-
zerland, the Uster Group operates
through a worldwide market organi-
zation complemented by technology
centers. It has sales and service sub-
sidiaries in the major textile markets
and technology centers in Uster,
Knoxville (USA) and in Suzhou
(China). The Swiss, American and
Chinese facilities are certified to the
ISO 9001 standard.
The Uster facility is focused on
products for yarn testing and on
fabric quality assurance whereas
the Knoxville facility is focused on
products for fiber testing and gin
process control. The Suzhou facil-
ity, set up in 2005, is focused on
low-cost development and assem-
bly operations as well as allowing
the group to establish a local sup-
ply chain network to complement
its global supply chain management
activities.
In 2011, Uster Technologies Ltd.
achieved excellent performance
levels surpassing the previous high-
est sales achieved in 2007 before
the combined textile and financial
market crisis. Sales of products and
services in all markets, both for tex-
tile laboratories and manufactur-
ing processes, contributed to these
positive developments. New record
sales came from the combined ex-
cellent performance of the new third
generation of Uster yarn clearers
and substantial increases in demand
for laboratory yarn and fiber testing
instruments.
USTER QUANTUM 3, sold
through textile machinery manu-
facturers, meets the need of textile
producer to maximize utilization of
highly priced cotton by efficiently
manufacturing yarns with optimal
and consistent quality levels.
Focus on quality, proc-
ess automation
The positive market develop-
ments already seen in the first half
of the financial year 2011 continued.
Demand for quality measurement
and certification products around
the world was maintained at a high
level. In China and India, as well
as in additional Asian markets, the
textile industry makes a significant
contribution to gross domestic prod-
uct (GDP) and therefore continues
to be a beneficiary of well-directed
government programs. Furthermore,
the shift to automated production
in China gained further momentum
due to rising labor costs and in or-
der to optimally use high price draw
materials.
Producers generally put greater
emphasis on quality aspects as a
means of achieving adequate prices
relative to the corresponding quality
and to minimize waste. In the cot-
ton classing market, the China Fiber
Inspection Bureau (CFIB) and the
corporate news