For Karl Mayer, textiles are much more than just materials – they express function, emotion and progress. And they are at the heart of its customers' activities. Karl Mayer is now focusing more than ever on its customers' needs and plans and therefore on the textiles made on its machines: Warp Knits.

At the upcoming ITMA ASIA + CITME, the company will demonstrate how textile solutions are providing new impetus in the categories of Fashion & Clothing and Technical Textiles.

Since 1 July, the company has established the new position of Product Owner Global Textile Innovation to give textiles an increased importance. Sascha Müller (SM) has taken on this new role and spoke to Christine Wolters (CW), Head of Corporate Communications at Karl Mayer, about his passion for textiles.

CW: Mr Müller, what is the idea behind focusing on warp knits and their use?

SM: Our customers rely on textile applications, on textiles that excite, protect, empower or transform. Our customers are experts in their field. They are champions in their specific areas of application and pioneer textile ideas with both passion and vision. Karl Mayer provides them with the best possible support – with suitable machines, but also with textile expertise and application-oriented solutions. This is where our textile experts and I come in. We assist our customers in tackling their textile challenges and work with them to break into new markets.

Together with our customers, we turn the concept of “textile innovation” into reality.

But we also want to ensure that we supply them with machines that are precisely tailored to their requirements. I am convinced that textile applications are at the heart of true innovation today. For me, this means thinking from a human perspective – staying close to textiles’ practical application, being open to new ideas, and having a firm commitment to shaping the future together.

CW: How do you intend to achieve this ambition?

SM: When working with our customers on textiles, we consistently think in terms of areas of application and adhere to a clear structure of textile categories and subcategories. Categories include Fashion & Apparel, Home Textiles and Technical Textiles, while subcategories include Outerwear, Interior Textiles and Mobiltech - Automotive.

This structure serves us as a guiding framework, helping us to drive textile developments forward in a targeted, practical way that delivers real value for our customers.

Through this framework, we are able to prioritise our development work, focus both creative and technical resources, and implement textile solutions more quickly and effectively. The result: innovations that not only inspire but also have a direct impact on our customers‘ daily business.

At ITMA ASIA in Singapore, we will demonstrate what this means in concrete terms. Visitors can look forward to exciting fabrics – especially in the Fashion & Apparel category.

And this framework brings us closer to our customers' processes, showing us the way to machine innovations that deliver real benefits for them.

CW: How exactly do you and your team support our customers?

SM: We see ourselves as partners on equal footing: we listen, think along with our customers and develop ideas together. Our textile specialists assist with textile technology expertise, inspire new approaches, develop ideas and create textile innovations to tap into new business potential, always working closely with the individual customer and focusing on their needs.

My global team of experts and I bring a flair for trends, technological know-how and enthusiasm to these demanding tasks.

A particular highlight is our extensive collection of market- and application-oriented fabrics, which serves as a starting point for new developments.

We also have access to machines to carry out knitting tests with specific yarns and produce pattern samples.

This gives our customers the opportunity to work with our textile experts to develop their own solutions – from the initial idea to the final product ready for series production.

For me personally, textile innovation is both an attitude and a passion.

With hearts and minds, we develop solutions that move markets and create real value. At Karl Mayer, we combine technology, expertise and creativity – shaping a textile future that will make an impact.

I look forward to taking this journey together with our customers and partners – step by step, fabric by fabric.

CW: Thank you very much for this insightful conversation.

SM: It was a pleasure.

www.karlmayer.com