From June 8 to 14, 2023, the leading international trade fair for textile machinery ITMA, took place in Milan, Italy. In total, over 111,000 guests visited the trade fair. Leading needles and elements maker Groz-Beckert presented numerous innovations to more than 7000 customers and business partners, as well as welcoming many other visitors to its booth, including over 280 students.

An international audience gathered at the Groz-Beckert booth where guests came from 84 different countries. The majority of visitors came from Italy with just under 15%. followed by Germany with 14%, Turkey with 11%, India with 9% and the USA with 3%. For the first time, HR specialists were on hand at the Groz-Beckert booth to look after the student groups, offering the young people comprehensive insights together with experts from the Technology and Development Center (TEZ)

Groz-Beckert presented numerous innovations from its six product divisions Knitting, Weaving, Felting, Tufting, Carding and Sewing at the ITMA. One focus of the innovations was on the topics of efficiency, process stability and sustainability. While the topic of sustainability was reflected in the products on the one hand, a separate area in the Groz-Beckert Gallery was dedicated to the topic on the other. Here it was shown what contribution Groz-Beckert is making to making its own productions and its sites sustainable.

The Gallery also offered insights into general topics relating to Groz-Beckert in form of graphics, animations and videos. Small explanatory texts provided additional background information. It enabled visitors to get to know the company from a different perspective.

Cooperation Corner

A special magnet of the booth was the Cooperation Corner of the Knitting product area. Here, two new knitting systems and a new compound needle for circular knitting machines were presented, which were developed together with machine manufacturers. In addition, live presentations were held to highlight the successful cooperations in greater detail. The flat knitting, legwear and warp knitting product groups also had innovations in store - from special application needles (SANTM) and long-life dur™ needles to new modules and system parts.

The Weaving division impressed trade show visitors with its innovative technical weaving reeds. The new product enables the supply in the production of fabrics of high fineness, e.g. for filtration (both wire and plastic fabrics). The division also recorded a special trade show success: the demonstration model of the WarpMasterPlus was sold directly in Milan to a customer in Turkey.

The Felting (Nonwovens) product area presented no less than two world firsts at the fair: a needle with a new notch design and the Groz-Beckert felting needle module for the innovative MicroPunch intensive needling technology (Dilo). Both products met with very great visitor interest.

The Tufting product area presented its proven Gauge Part System for the production of tufted floor coverings. At the booth, customers were able to see for themselves that the components in the Gauge Part System from Groz-Beckert are perfectly coordinated and guarantee smooth interaction.

Various new and further developments were also on show in the Carding product area. For the nonwovens industry, the division presented, among other things, the world's finest interlinked card clothing for reduced crash risk. For the spinning industry, the area exhibited a new maintenance-free reel clothing with increased service life and lower maintenance costs.

The Sewing product area also enjoyed a high number of specific visitors – even though ITMA does not focus on the sewing industry. Interest in the division's various special application needles (SANTM) was correspondingly high. Likewise, the patented quality management system INH (Ideal Needle Handling) received a lot of attention.

The appearance of the Technology and Development Center (TEZ) completed the Groz-Beckert booth. The TEZ experts presented to interested visitors the numerous opportunities available to customers and partners at the TEZ. In cooperation with external partners, the TEZ can be used as an optimization, development or business partner – depending on requirements and customer wishes.

Overall, the ITMA was a complete success for Groz-Beckert, the company reports. The quality of visitors was exceptionally high – numerous decision-makers and key contacts were present and visited the Groz-Beckert booth.

Groz-Beckert knitting highlights at ITMA