Needles and elements producer Kern-Liebers has reported a 5% increase in turnover to 469 million Euros for the year ending 30 June 2008.

The Kern-Liebers Group, which has 5840 employees worldwide and 3170 in Germany, is also forecasting a 6% increase to 500 million Euros for the current financial year. The board of directors however is cautious due to increasing raw material and energy costs, a strong Euro and anticipated higher wage increases due to rising inflation.

Kern-Liebers has stated that it will continue to invest this year in Germany and abroad in order to ensure the long-term growth of the group of companies which has 50 production facilities worldwide. Safeguarding jobs in Germany will be supported by the governments Alliance for Jobs which has been prolonged for two more years up to 2010.

Group companies Kern-Liebers, Saxonia and Leistner will exhibit under the banner of Kern-Liebers Textile at ITME Asia + CITME 2008 later this month in Shanghai. The group will demonstrate innovations and standard products for weft knitting, warp knitting, weaving, combing machines and stenters.

Kern-Liebers Knitting Parts GmbH headquartered in Schramberg, Germany, is a well established manufacturer of sinkers, sliders, selectors, inserts, needles, assemblies and precision parts for single and double cylinder sock machines, large diameter circular knitting machines and flat knitting machines. The company supplies to machine builders and knitting mills all over the world.

Saxonia Textile Parts GmbH, located in Göppingen, Germany, is a leading manufacturer of guide needles, needles, sinkers and other flat parts, subassemblies, components and plastic composite parts for warp knitting, raschel and crochet machines. Combs for wool and cotton combing machines also form part of the production range.

The Bayerische Nadelleistenfabrik Paul Leistner GmbH, known under the name of Leistner, specializes in pinned parts. With more than 300 years of experience and a production range of over 3,000 different types, the company is a leading manufacturer of pin plates for stenter frames. Recently Leistner has started the production of pinned rollers for clamping, cutting, perforation, fibrillation, fixation and transportation for several fields of application.