Trützschler’s Technologies Are Strongly Aligned With Real-World Needs Of Customers In South & SE Asia’

In this exclusive conversation with Henry Dsouza, Associate Editor, Textile Insights, Dr Bettina Temath informs that visitors at ITMA Asia 2025 in Singapore appreciated how Trützschler’s solutions addressed their key challenges, particularly rising labour costs, labour availability and the need for greater automation; while Markus Nienhaus says that in Asia, especially in India, the population is growing and so is disposable income, which directly impacts demand for nonwoven products such as baby diapers, feminine hygiene products and wipes.

Your booth at ITMA Asia 2025 in Singapore drew significant attention, especially with the T-CAN automated can transport system that visitors kept watching throughout the show. Could you walk us through the key innovations and product highlights you showcased across all your business units?
Dr. Temath: At ITMA Asia 2025 in Singapore, we showcased solutions from all three of our business units: Spinning, Card Clothing, and Nonwovens.

In spinning, our highlight was the automated can transport system, T-CAN. This system addresses the growing challenge of labour shortages in textile mills. It offers highly reliable material movement, ensuring that cans are always delivered to the correct station. Since manual handling can sometimes lead to misallocation, especially in mills working with blends, the T-CAN minimizes human error, improves quality consistency and enhances overall machine efficiency.

We also exhibited the TC 30i, our latest carding machine generation, which has already demonstrated up to 40% higher productivity in the market. Customer feedback has been extremely positive.

In addition, we showcased the IDF 3, our integrated draw frame designed especially for short-staple processing and open-end yarn production. It shortens the process and eliminates the need for a finisher, enabling direct spinning. This is also very beneficial in air-jet spinning, where process reduction is key.

In Card Clothing, we showcased doffer wires, cylinder wires and flat tops, including our high-performance PRECISETOP 52. This product offers greater durability, longer lifetime and excellent nap removal efficiency.

From our Nonwovens division, we presented technologies such as Air-Through Bonding (ATB), spun-lacing and needle-punching, essentially demonstrating our complete portfolio in this segment.

Let’s talk about the feedback from the show. I noticed that your booth remained crowded throughout the exhibition. How was the overall visitor response? From which regions did you receive the most footfall and what were visitors’ impressions of Trützschler’s innovations?
Dr. Temath: We were very pleased with the response at the show. As you observed, we had a strong and steady flow of visitors and the booth was consistently busy. The audience was highly international and we had very productive discussions with customers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Turkey and several other countries.

The feedback on our innovations was extremely positive. Visitors appreciated how our solutions addressed their key challenges, particularly rising labour costs, labour availability and the need for greater automation. We also received strong validation for our carding technology. Many visitors acknowledged that with solutions like the TC 30i, especially for man-made fibres, we were clearly positioned as a leader in this segment.

How are Trützschler machines tailored to meet the specific challenges and production requirements of mills in the South and Southeast Asian regions?
Dr. Temath: Our technologies are strongly aligned with the real-world needs of customers in South and Southeast Asia. Many mills in these regions face difficulties in finding qualified labour, so automation has become essential. In addition, mills operate under significant cost pressure, which means they must optimize raw material usage and minimize waste.

Energy costs are also a major concern. This is where our machines add substantial value as they deliver lower energy consumption per kilogramme of output. With systems such as WasteControl and separate waste suction, we ensure that unnecessary fibre loss is avoided, improving both efficiency and material utilization.

Overall, our automation solutions help customers maintain consistent quality while keeping operational costs firmly under control.

Your AT B technology is capable of processing ultra-fine 0.6 denier bi-component fibres for premium nonwoven products. How does this breakthrough influence the industry, especially in terms of handling such fine fibres?
Nienhaus: The key point here is not about increasing production efficiency, it’s about the ability to handle such ultra-fine fibres. Many competitors are simply not capable to process fibres this fine because they create extremely high fibre density per centimeter on the  tambour. Managing this without fibre loss or instability is very challenging.

Thanks to the design advantages of our cards such as the ability to set extremely narrow distances between wire tips and casings, along with specialized drive settings, we can reliably handle these very delicate fibres. This ensures stable processing without debris or fibre fly, which is essential when dealing with 0.6 denier fibers.

So, the breakthrough is not in productivity, but in capability. We are currently the only ones able to process these fibres without nep generation. Of course, even before carding, the pre-process must also be capable of opening and feeding – i.e. handling the higher fiber amount compared to standard fibers, minimizing the risk of fiber accumulation and fiber migration into the machine’s inner parts.

How was the response for your nonwoven segment at the stall? What kind of feedback or discussions did you have with visitors regarding nonwoven technologies?
Nienhaus: ITMA Asia was primarily a textile exhibition rather than a nonwoven-focused event, so we did not see a large number of visitors specifically from the nonwoven sector. However, the visitors who did engage with us were mostly interested in new and special fibres.

Traditional fibres remain relevant, of course, but many discussions centred around handling unique and ultra-fine fibres. For example, I even had a conversation about processing opossum fibre, which is extremely fine. Other discussions included specialty applications such as acoustic panels and various sustainability-driven materials. These were the key themes that emerged during the show.

Trützschler offers a scalable option like the NC-Xe for entry-level manufacturers. How did you support smaller mills that were looking to improve productivity without making large capital investments?
Nienhaus: The NC-Xe is a specialized card designed specifically for the needle-punch industry. The X-series cards are evolutions of our NC and NCT card – among other benefits, they increase the overall availability and uptime of the production line by better machine access and improved cleanability.

The NC-Xe is a compact and cost-efficient card variant tailored to widespread applications, for instance in geotextiles. The “e” stands for “essential” – for example, we combined certain drive elements to reduce cost while still maintaining the same level of quality output. Its combination of Power, compactness and accessible costs makes it an excellent option for smaller mills. The “e” also stands for “extendability” because the card is adaptable to new requirements through options and upgrades.

At the same time, we continued enhancing our NC-X platform. Certain aggregates can now open up to 600 mm, making cleaning much faster. Since customers only earn money when the line is running, quicker access, less downtime and easier maintenance were important development goals. These improvements help smaller manufacturers maximize productivity without heavy investment.

What is the current market outlook in your respective sectors, and what key trends are you observing at the moment?
Dr. Temath: Globally, we have seen very slow demand in both the textile and textile machinery markets. This was largely influenced by geopolitical uncertainties, which have made investments difficult in many regions. Many spinning mills are operating below full capacity and, as a result, customers have been hesitant to invest or modernize their operations.

However, the textile market has historically been very volatile, with many cycles of ups and downs. While we cannot predict exactly when the recovery will come, past experience shows that the upswing can happen quickly.

What we do know is that the key challenges remain the same, rising cost pressure, high energy consumption, fibre loss and labour shortages. These are the critical areas where customers need solutions and we are fully prepared with technologies that address each of these issues. So, when the market revives, we are confident that we will be ready to support our customers and benefit from the upswing.

Nienhaus: The nonwoven industry is currently navigating a period of adjustment, with some regions experiencing overcapacity, particularly in China. Nevertheless, the Chinese market continues to invest, which underlines the long-term confidence in nonwovens. While competitive pricing from Chinese products in other Asian markets has created caution among regional manufacturers, we see encouraging signs of transformation.

Across Asia, and especially in India, rising populations and increasing disposable incomes are driving demand for quality-of-life products such as baby diapers, feminine hygiene items, and wipes. These trends are complemented by growth in technical applications, including road construction, air and water filtration, and other infrastructure-related uses.

Although the market feels saturated in the short term, the fundamentals remain strong. Regional initiatives and global players alike are expanding their presence, and we expect significant project growth in the coming years. We are committed to supporting our customers as these opportunities materialize and helping them position for sustainable success.