Stäubli, a global mechatronics solution provider with four dedicated divisions including textile, left the year behind successfully. Stäubli Textile Marketing Officer Fritz Legler, sharing his 2022 evaluations, said: “The Stäubli Group offers solutions in four dedicated divisions: Fluid Connectors, Electrical Connectors, Robotics, and Textile. All four contribute to the Group’s global success and helped make 2022 a positive business year. Our latest public figures show a turnover of 1.4 billion Swiss francs. With 5,700 employees worldwide operating in business units in 29 countries, Stäubli focuses on differentiation and growing businesses with strong future potential.”
Legler expressed that in the global context, their revenue streams this year were supported by the main textile-producing countries like Turkey, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Japan as well as Southeast Asian countries and of course China, which slowed down somewhat during the second half of the year. Stating that Turkey is a very important market for Stäubli – they are active in all application fields, from home textiles (with terry fabrics), grey weaving, denim, upholstery, curtains, and woven carpets, Legler noted: “All of our businesses, from frame to jacquard weaving, weaving preparation, and carpet weaving, participated in this market. Some of these segments suffered a bit, for instance, carpet weaving. However, Turkey has been coping well with difficult situations and always finds good answers to the challenges – as we do here at Stäubli too.”
“We expect that there will be further improvements in Turkey”
Fritz Legler disclosed that 2023 will be another challenging year, since many of the current difficulties will persist into this year and that these include geopolitical challenges, inflation, supply chain issues, currency distortions, reduced consumer sentiment, and others. Relaying that they expect that the usual textile markets will remain the major contributors to their revenue stream – with some upside in countries like India or Bangladesh and Uzbekistan, he said: “We also expect that there will be further improvements in Turkey. We may have to be a bit more patient with China. We need to get consumer confidence back – as soon as we all start spending again and buying textile goods, the global situation for textile machinery producers will stabilize again.”
He added that they saw clear trends towards protective textiles, like airbags, as well as simple & standard textiles such as denim, poplin, and sheeting, noting: “Jacquard weaving rebounded energetically. We do not really foresee any major changes for 2023 as far as the fabric segments are concerned.”
Legler said that key economic indicators will remain impacted in 2023 and markets will continue to suffer from supply chain cost increases or high inflation. He relayed that this will add pressure to the whole textile community since price increases are passed down the supply chain and are ultimately reflected in the consumer’s invoice, noting that the problem is that consumers are suffering from higher costs of living, from daily shopping to heating costs and petrol for their cars. He disclosed: “A key positive factor we are looking forward to is ITMA in Milan, scheduled for next June. Here, the impressive world of textile machinery manufacturers will convene to present their latest solutions. We will be there, and we are convinced that it will have some positive influence on the overall industry.”
Stäubli develops its solutions according to the needs of mills around the world
Saying that Stäubli provides solutions that meet customers’ needs, Fritz Legler emphasised that regarding Industry 4.0, the market has to follow. He disclosed that needs have to be concrete; many parameters influence here, and the real needs vary with the application area and continued as follows: “We listen to our customers and offer solutions to optimize production by enhancing productivity and efficiency. This is our role and our aim. Stäubli analyses the needs of mills around the world, and we respond by providing machinery that is extremely flexible, adaptable, and ready for future applications. A good example of this is our SAFIR series of automatic drawing-in machines, which can be easily upgraded to meet the evolving needs of the mill.”
Legler disclosed that innovation and sustainability have always been core values of the Group and said that Stäubli Textile develops and delivers long-lasting machinery that ensures reliable production day in and day out for many years. He stated: “Examples are the recently launched SX PRO and LX PRO Jacquard machines, which feature an upgraded ventilation system with optimized temperature monitoring. The refined air-cooling system moderates temperatures inside the module, extending the service life of the components and reducing energy consumption. Equipped with NOEMI electronics, the machine ensures flawless data transmission. The state-of-the-art electronics in combination with the brand-new MX PRO module reduce the total energy consumption of the Jacquard machine. This is a typical example of how energy efficiency is an integral part of the design of Stäubli machinery.”
The company, starting rapidly the year with the announcement of its participation in three trade fairs, first met with the industry at SITEX in Surat, India, on January 7-9. Its next stops will be Domotex in Hanover, Germany, on January 12-15, and Dhakatex in Bangladesh on February 15-18 at their agent Spintex’s booth.