“Digitization And Automation Are Biggest Areas Of Interest Among Visitors To ITMA Asia”

Even though the textile market is rather slow-moving at the moment, the level of interest at ITMA Asia is full and energetic, states Alexander Özbahadir, Executive Vice President – After Sales, and Member of the Group Executive Committee, Rieter Ltd

At ITMA Asia, Rieter Ltd. is presenting a comprehensive lineup of innovations that reflect its vision of shaping the future of spinning through automation, digitalization and sustainability.

“We are showcasing our overall automation concept,” said Alexander Özbahadir, Executive Vice President – After Sales, and Member of the Group Executive Committee at Rieter. “We have a brave target by 2027, we aim to achieve a fully automated spinning mill that 10,000 spindles can be operated by just three people. This would be a great achievement, and we are proud to be leading this transformation.”

Automation, however is only one part of Rieter’s broad innovation strategy. “We also have a section dedicated to recycling, not just talking about sustainability, but actually demonstrating how textiles can be recycled,” Özbahadir explained. “We already have projects where we offer the complete system, from fibre tearing to airjet spinning. This is a fantastic innovation now coming to the market.”

Another highlight is Rieter’s ESSENTIAL digital platform, which enables complete mill digitization. “With ESSENTIAL, you can optimize operations machine by machine or across the entire system, especially when you have a full Rieter setup,” he said.

Rieter is also putting a spotlight on its component companies Graf, Bräcker, Novibra and Suessen, showcasing their latest advancements. “One real piece of Swiss engineering and innovation,” Ozbahadir added, “is our winding machine from SSM, which features some great new innovations.”

The response at the exhibition has been highly encouraging for Rieter. “The response has been fantastic, we are very positively surprised,” Özbahadir said. “Even though the textile market is rather slow-moving at the moment, the level of interest here is full and energetic. It’s a good mix of customers, suppliers and partners, a very busy and productive time for us.”

He noted that digitization and automation are the biggest areas of interest among visitors. “Everyone is thinking about it,” he said. “Customers have very concrete requirements because they are challenged by high production costs, labour shortages and the need for precision. Recycling, too, has drawn high attention. Many customers are now seriously considering or planning investments in textile recycling.”

When asked about the Indian maket, Özbahadir described it as a key market for Rieter. “India is like a home market for us,” he said. “We have been present there for many years. While there are still some uncertainties due to tariff impacts, both direct and indirect, we see things slowly settling down. We all hope this situation will stabilize soon, giving customers more planning security. It’s improving, and we expect it to improve further.”

Overall, Rieter’s ITMA Asia showcase reflects its long-term commitment to helping the global textile industry achieve higher efficiency, sustainability and automation, all within a connected digital ecosystem.