The Italian industry of textile machines has a world leadership, among other reasons, for its constant co-operation with the Italian textile and fashion industry. This relationship plays a particular role in the sector of finishing machines.
The difficulty in attaining continuous and significant new developments in the finishing sector stimulated there, more than in other sectors, the pursuit of synergies between machine manufacturers and textile operators, this being the basic element for the success of both parties.
For years the Italian machine manufacturers have succeeded in realizing machinery typologies characterized by definitely distinctive and qualifying features in terms of uniqueness, versatility and multi functionality, thus permitting the whole Italian textile machinery industry to rank in top position worldwide.
The Italian sector of finishing machines has a turnover of about Euro 560 million (that is 21% of the total turnover of the Italian textile machinery industry). Over 78% of the total turnover is directed abroad (Euro 440 million in 2006). The main export countries of Italian finishing machinery are India (Euro 39 million), China (Euro 31 million), Turkey (Euro 31 million), Germany (Euro 22 million) and United States (Euro 22 million).
Starting from these strongpoints, the Italian companies of this sector are now preparing to participate at next ITMA exhibition in Munich (from 13 to 20 September 2007), where they willpropose innovative solutions, to confirm the top position of the Italian finishing machinery.
Within the dyeing sector, i.e. the first stage of the finishing process, the updating of the existing technology and the innovation are the outstanding scopes of the offer of the Italian manufacturers. This applies already to the production of the instruments for the chemical laboratory and for the dye kitchen.
The chemical laboratory is today the heart of the production process, as well as the starting and checking point, on whose correct operation depends to a large extent the final outcome of the process. The relevance of these service instruments developed in line with the need to overcome the difficulties existing in the management of machines and processes, but also with the increasing requirements of the customers.
New developments in this field are the innovative automatic systems for colour testing in the dyebath and the last generation of laboratory equipment, aimed at automatizing all stages for the preparation, metering and transfer of dyestuffs, auxiliaries and chemical solutions.
The range of dyeing apparatus “made in Italy” is definitely comprehensive and includes machines and plants for the processing of all fibers in pure and blends, with processing cycles carried out at every stage of the processing chain, from staple to tow and/or to tops, to yarns (on cones, hanks, cheeses), to knitted and woven fabrics, up to the ready-made garments.
The wide range of specific equipment regards:
• Hank dyeing cabinet or arm machines;
• Yarn dyeing technologies for cones on vertical or horizontal spindles;
• Piece dyeing with alternative equipment for rope dyeing through jet or flow technology, depending on the different application of the “dyeing points”; jigger or beam dyeing equipment, depending on needs, for open-width dyeing.
This approximate classification does not consider the manifold innovations brought to some machines, which registered a worldwide success through their offer of innovative solutions. The main innovations are focused on a machine equipment which ensures extremely low liquor ratio, high speed dyeing and a low cycle time.
