Saurer opened their doors for a special event, OpenHouse 2024, that enables customers to be the first to see the company’s world premiers on January 12-13 in Übach-Palenberg, Germany. At the event organised with great participation from worldwide partners, the opening of their Sustainability Hub for recycling spinning technology was celebrated. In addition, inspiring keynote speeches and panel discussions were held with the textile industry and Saurer experts. Distinguished guests from worldwide and also from the Turkish textile industry took part in the event which we, as Textilegence, followed on-site as the only media from Türkiye.
Saurer OpenHouse 2024 showed the latest megatrends
Saurer Group OpenHouse for Spinning and Twisting was the scene of the latest megatrends, research, and state-of-the-art textile machinery. Saurer’s all 5 spinning applications including Rotor, Air, Ring, Compact and Worsted Spinning were displayed. The Aco 11 with Recycling Xtreme, BD 8 with Doffer and the all-new Zinser 51 that was introduced at ITMA Asia were among the exhibited products. The guests had also the opportunity to see for the first time a new development on Aco 11 presented as a world premiere on an Aco Station in the showroom.
The event started with welcoming words from the host and Managing Director of Saurer’s Übach-Palenberg (Germany) site, Dr. Marcus Rennekamp. Group CEO, Dr. Uwe Rondé, presented an outlook on the latest Saurer innovations and the path the company is taking to support customers in energy-saving, digitalisation, automation, and recycling.
Prof. Chokri Cherif delivered the keynote speech from Institut für Textilmaschinen und Textile Hochleistungswerkstofftechnik (ITM), TU Dresden of the University of Technology (TU Dresden), who captivated the audience with his insights on sustainable opportunities within the textile industry – from carbon fibres to fibre-based implants and fibre-based constructions in architecture. The afternoon is dedicated to factory tours, partner and Saurer experts presentations, and exploring the new Saurer Sustainability hub.
On the second day, the important topics were discussed in the presentations as well. Prof. Thomas Gries from RTWH Aachen addressed the issue of future developments and trends in spinning / yarn manufacturing in 2050 and Christian Philipp Schindler from ITMF (International Textile Manufacturers Federation) talked about the outlook of the textile industry – ITMF survey. Tobias Herzog from Tailorlux GmbH – Integrity Solutions told the methods of quantifications for recycled fibres in fabrics and yarns, while automation and digitalisation of textile sorting for reuse and recycling presented by Gesine Köppe from ITA Academy GmbH inspired for sustainability.
Sustainability Hub for recycling spinning technology
The opening of Saurer’s Sustainability Hub was also met with great interest. The guests visited the hub constituted of four main sections which will enable them to make their spinning processes more sustainable. In the Flagship Showroom, the exhibition of Saurer’s latest innovations, all 5 spinning processes and finished textiles produced on Saurer machines are included. In the Spinning Development Centre, customers and the company’s trials on recycling, new fibres, new fibre blends and established fibres for more efficient and raw material-friendly spinning are held. In the hub, there is a Textile Technology Consulting and Textile Laboratory as well as a Research Centre for Saurer machines in terms of automation, energy efficiency, ergonomics and new spinning processes.
Turkish yarn companies strengthen their production with Saurer
At the OpenHouse 2024, Saurer welcomed textile manufacturers from the Turkish textile industry, both those it has been in long-standing co-operation with and those it has recently established a relationship with. In the interviews we conducted with the company officials in the event area, it was emphasised that Saurer technology is unrivalled, while it is stated that the quality of service before and after sales is also important in brand preferences.
Chairman of the Board of Biska Tekstil Burhan Kaplan stated that they have been in uninterrupted co-operation with Saurer since 1998 and also they have been working together in the technological developments of the company. Underlining that even the machines they bought in 1998 are still functional, Kaplan stated that Saurer machines are highly robust and durable. Kaplan noted that they have not encountered any problems in terms of technical service and added that they currently have 79 Saurer machines and that they are planning to continue their investments in the upcoming period with Saurer.
Stating that their partnership with Saurer has been going on for 15-20 years, Sesli Tekstil Marketing Manager Zeki Çelik said that the importance they attach to after-sales technical support and R&D studies played an important role in their preference for Saurer. Çelik noted that they carry out production with more than 10 Saurer branded carding, open-end and twisting machines in total, and added that they have new investment plans in the following period.
Mehmet Serbülent Karabulut from Verdefil İplik, explaining that they met Saurer in 2020, stated that they were very satisfied with both pre-sales and after-sales services of the company. Noting that they are engaged in regenerated yarn production, Karabulut said that Saurer technologies and machines are unrivalled in this field, and that Autocoro machines are also a revolution. He informed that they currently have 2 Autocoro 768 machines in their factory and that they will order three more new machines, disclosing that they are currently focusing on domestic production, but that they are targeting export markets in the coming period.
Polat İplik Tekstil Company Partner Mustafa Polat said that they bought their first Saurer machine Autocoro 9 in 2019 and they ordered one Autocoro 11 at ITMA 2023. Polat told that they are moving towards fully automated production day by day, saying that there is no alternative to Saurer technology in this regard and that is why they prefer this brand. He added that they did not encounter any problems in technical service.