Will showcase Discovery, ‘the Loom of the Future’
ITEMA, a global leader in advanced weaving solutions, is all set to unveil a series of innovations at ITMA. The company is planning to launch seven new products, including the much-awaited Itema Discovery, which has been named ‘the Loom of the Future’. Amid busy preparations for ITMA, Mr. Carlo Rogora, Itema Group CEO, took some time off to share his thoughts on participating in ITMA, and gave a glimpse of what visitors can expect at the show.
Excerpts:
ITMA 2019 is the main stage for the global textile companies to showcase their product portfolio, meet customers and build relations. It is the place where visitors expect to see the latest innovations developed in textile manufacturing. We at Itema have worked very hard to meet this expectation. We take innovation seriously and truly believe that continuous innovation is the only key to succeed in today’s fast-changing and demanding market. In my opinion, innovation sometimes means finding out a new solution that the end-user didn’t even know what he needed. Hence, at Itema we are never satisfied enough to provide the weavers with the most advanced weaving technology to improve their production results, their fabric quality, their competitive advantage and their working lives. If you think that we have done a lot in the past, I am sure you will be amazed by what we will exhibit at ITMA 2019.
ITMA is globally well-known as the perfect occasion to get the attention not only of customers and prospects but also of weaving aficionados and worldwide textile experts. What you get from ITMA is an incredible sounding board for your company and your products. It takes place every 4 years, and we know that visitors look forward to this platform to see and touch first-hand what’s new and the future trends. ITMA is an unmissable appointment for Itema, and we are very well prepared to get the most out of this 2019 edition.
Seven new launches
Well, as Itema Group we will feature 3 stands and 11 weaving machines, plus more in partner booths. We will have on display seven machines at the Itema booth, including the star of the show, our denim dedicated rapier R9500-2denim, which since launch at ITM 2018 in Istanbul has become a real market success. The machine on show at ITMA will be equipped with iSAVER – the Itemalab latest mechatronic marvel which completely eliminates the weft and warp waste on the left-hand side of the fabric, representing the unique real and tangible innovation introduced in weaving since longtime. Establishing a new benchmark in sustainable weaving and guaranteeing significant money saving, iSAVER is gathering exceptional interest from worldwide denim weavers. In addition, we will have new substantial improvements to guarantee unbeatable machine performances, such as the optimized weft transfer, the iBOOSTER and the iCARE, which will be showcased at ITMA.
On the airjet technology, we will launch the second generation of our airjet model, the A9500-2, which comes now to the market further maximized and running even faster, on show weaving an apparel style.
The absolute new entry in the Itema portfolio is the A9500-2bedsheeting, which comes within the framework of our unique market positioning to develop weaving machines fine-tuned to weave a specific fabric. I am excited and I can’t wait to see this new machine in operation at ITMA, which will for sure win the heart of the most demanding bed sheeting weavers.
We did a major work on the A9500-2bedsheeting to develop an airjet machine that specifically caters to the bed sheeting weaver’s requirements. New key machine components such as the main and tandem nozzles have been redesigned along with the whole pneumatic platform to ensure superior performances in terms of speed coupled with superior fabric quality and textile efficiency.
Another important launch and a core advancement featured on the A9500-2 and A9500-2bedsheeting are the brand-new heald frames, SKYFRAME, made of aluminium and carbon and designed by Itemalab in cooperation with Lamiflex. The SKYFRAME, Itema’s exclusive proprietary technology, redefines the performances of the current heald frames available in the market. We took the decision to design our own heald frames to answer our customers’ specific needs. In fact, heald frames is a key component of the airjet technology and the SKYFRAME, thanks to its superior lightness and sturdiness, allows the machine to run at the highest speeds without compromising on reliability and resistance.
On the rapier side, we will exhibit two R9500-2, the second generation of our absolute best-seller now further optimized to guarantee reduced power consumption and increased performances to run faster whilst ensuring no compromise on the well-known Itema top fabric quality. One R9500-2 will weave a premium shirting fabric and the second one is wide Jacquard loom weaving a fancy furnishing style, a segment where Itema is traditionally recognized as best-in-class.
Unmissable is of course the R9500terry, worldwide renowned as the market leader in rapier terry weaving.
In the Itematech stand, the new entry of the group merging Itema and Panter know-how in technical fabrics weaving, the focus will be on technical textiles with 4 weaving machines on display to demonstrate the most comprehensive product portfolio in the market to weave the widest range of technical fabrics.
Last but not the least, Lamiflex, the leading supplier of technical composite products of whose Itema acquired majority stakes in 2017, will also be present at ITMA with its ample catalogue of key rapier weft transfer components.
“The Loom of the Future”
The seventh weaving machine on display in our booth will be a real, never-before-seen surprise. And yes, ITMA 2019 will be the world premiere of what we named a while back “The Loom of the Future”, the Itema Discovery. This will be shown at ITMA as a concept and I am sure it will take center stage in the whole exhibition.
The Itema Discovery machine completely redefines the weaving foundation by basing its operations on mechatronic principles unlike the existing weaving machines which are on mechanical drives. The weft insertion system is innovative and extraordinary. We call it “Flying Shuttle” and it ensures rapier versatility, projectile reliability and airjet ease of use, thus leading to the lowest possible cost of ownership. I invite all the ITMA Barcelona visitors to come to the Itema booth and see first-hand the Itema Discovery to experience for themselves the amazing result achieved by our Advanced Innovation Department Itemalab. If anybody thought that weaving technology was by now mature, Itema is going to change once again the rule of the game.
R9500-2denim
The R9500-2denim is enjoying remarkable attention and appreciation. But those who seek perfection never stop. Therefore, we will introduce a further optimized weft transfer system that reflects what weavers always dreamt of: maximum speed and maximum reliability, together. Our denim dedicated rapier machine is the fastest on the market. But we will introduce a new package, the iBOOSTER, which features specific advancements to guarantee further increased machine performances coupled with never-before-seen reliability.
When running at high speeds, key rapier insertion system components are subject to considerable stress. Thanks to a deep materials study made by Itemalab, in close co-operation with Lamiflex, we succeeded in developing new reinforced tapes, sprocket wheels and micro smart coolers to ensure extended lifetime. Just consider that this new tape will last more than double the previous one! Moreover, a revolutionary detection system through sensors and digital intelligence allows real-time control of the components’ health status.
Industry 4.0
Digitalization and Industry 4.0 concepts are changing the way to approach daily activities, and at Itema, we are considering these principles as mandatory to be implemented on our machines with the main target to make our customers’ life easier. In fact, we already developed softwares and advanced IOT systems to guarantee simplified operations and settings, remote diagnostics and reduced maintenance. At ITMA we will introduce two brand-new and advanced solutions that go exactly in this direction. The first one is iMANAGER, Itema’s latest mill management system that brings on a PC desktop, tablet or smartphone all the relevant data and information about the weaving plant, including production statistics and analysis, styles archive and a track record of the best loom settings.
Moreover, a significant step towards preventive maintenance and intelligent machinery management is iCARE by Itemalab, the brand-new detection system that as I mentioned will be loaded on the R9500-2denim as part of the iBOOSTER package. iCARE, thanks to an evoluted sensors mechanism, monitors in real-time the state of health of the Itema tapes and sprocket wheels suggesting possible adjustments or interventions through the machine latest generation Quad Core console. The functioning is similar to the telemetry adopted in Formula 1. iCARE brings significant benefits to the weavers, including the possibility to run the machine at the highest speeds without compromising on components reliability and to adopt a future-oriented preventive maintenance solution.
The iCARE package also includes a further absolute novelty for the weaving industry. In fact, in co-operation with Lamiflex, we developed the new iCARE smartphone APP that allows to verify the tapes authenticity. Just by opening the iCARE APP and getting the smartphone close to the tape, the weaver will scan in a few seconds the tape and the APP will confirm if the one installed on the machine is an Itema original tape or not, thus leading to a significant quality seal for our customers that will now be able to recognize tapes’ origin and authenticity. Since this tape is designed to last longer, we wanted to ensure to our customers that what they have is the “real” Itema tape and not a copy. All these brand-new solutions demonstrate our vision and commitment to drive the industry towards new benchmarks.
Technical fabrics differ significantly from standard fabrics production and are expected to be one of the fastest growing sectors of the entire textile industry. At Itema, we are always attentive to our customer needs, and Itematech comes from our mission to provide them with the best possible tailor-made service. Moreover, by creating a technical textile division we strategically anticipate market trends and requirements.
Thanks to the strong know-how resulting from the merger of Itema and PTMT’s (formerly Panter) expertise and competences, Itematech will offer the most comprehensive weaving portfolio available in the market to weave technical fabrics and the most skilled and experienced technical textiles team in the industry.
Technical fabrics manufacturers will now find in Itematech a unique partner and technological reference point to meet and exceed all their needs when it comes to weaving the full range of technical applications.
At ITMA, Itematech will exhibit 4 machines: the famous UniRap, capable to weave the widest range of carbon fiber and composite yarns, on show weaving a linen tape fabric (due to exhibition’s carbon fiber restrictions), two versions of the Hercules rapier machine – one weaving a filter fabric style and an extra-wide machine 550cm running agrotextile, and one R9500-2 with FPA-Free Positive Approach weft transfer weaving a complex filter fabric. The line-up has been prepared to show the widest range of weaving solutions that Itematech offers to the market, by covering every single and specific textile requirement.
Why ITEMA?
I would say, endless. Innovation, customer centricity, tangible concrete solutions, if I have to list just a few. Actually, these are the core added values that Itema provides to its customers. We know very well that weaving is not a game for kids. We are structured and organized to provide a flexible, real-time support to our worldwide customers, through our branches and our agencies networks. You have an outstanding example here in India, where our branch Itema Weaving India ensures a top level pre-sale consultancy and timely after-sales service thanks to some of the best textile, electronic and mechanic engineers in the world.
We also believe that training is the key to get the most out of our weaving machines, and we established dedicated programs in our ItemaCampus (with 6 worldwide locations) and on-site at customers’ mills. You know, at Itema we never stop at doing things well, we always strive to do them better. The brand-new solutions we are looking forward to showcasing at ITMA – the airjet SKYFRAME heald frame, the iBOOSTER package with the long lasting new tape, the iCARE – demonstrate that by choosing Itema you get by your side a partner focused on effective innovations, capable of developing tailor-made solutions to meet even the most demanding requirements and that always looks forward to improving its weaving solutions to help weavers in gathering tangible and measurable advantages.