The Italian Textile Machinery Industry, Today: Characteristics, Raw Materials, Technologies

Index

The Italian textile machinery sector, today
The textile machinery industry requires conspicuous research investments, in-depth know-how, long experience in textiles, mechanics and electronics, so that there are not many countries capable of ensuring a textile production of technological high level. Italy is one of the 3 leading producer countries in the world and the technological level of its production is considered, even by its competitor countries, as up to the highest standards.

The value of the Italian production of textile machines in 1998 amounted to 3,7 billion dollars, 65% of which exported to more than 100 countries.

The Italian export of textile machines can be divided as follows:

• 25% spinning machines
• 20% weaving machines
• 25% knitting and hosiery machines
• 21% finishing machines
• 8% dry cleaning and laundry machines
• 1% other machines

A complete production line
The Italian offer of textile machinery is characterised by an extremely wide and complete range, which includes:

• • spinning preparatory and spinning machines
• • twisting, winding and reeling machines
• • weaving preparatory and weaving machines
• • hosiery machines
• • dyeing, printing and finishing machines
• • machines for the making-up industry
• • machines for textile maintenance

The Italian textile machines can process any kind of fibre, both natural (cotton, wool, silk, etc.) and man-made fibres, thus meeting adequately any requirement by the textile industry.

The reasons of a success
The Italian companies manufacturing textile machines and accessories are over 350 and employ 26.000 people. They are generally situated in areas of age-old textile tradition, where a synergetic exchange of experiences with the end-users offers a big stimulus to the improvement of the machinery.

These areas are situated in the North and Centre of Italy: at Biella, Como, north of Milan, Prato and Vicenza.

Thanks to the high number of manufacturers, almost any type of machine can be supplied by more than one manufacturer, so that the customer can easily find the type of machine which is better suited to his own requirements. As however a process of industrial integration is under way also in our sector, the number of companies active in this field seems to be doomed to a slow but progressive reduction.

The main characteristics of the Italian textile machines which ensured their success worldwide are:

• • extremely advanced technological level
• • versatility and flexibility
• • excellent quality/price ratio
• • reliability.

Moreover the Italian manufacturers are continuously intensifying their research on the issues of industrial safety and environment in order to propose solutions which are more and more abreast of the times.