Swiss textile machinery enjoys a reputation throughout the world for the utmost efficiency and highest quality. Its success story began nearly 200 years ago in a country in which precision engineering and technical innovation enjoy almost religious status.After very quickly reaching self-sufficiency in its own market, Switzerland blossomed into one of the world’s leading exporters: today, the Swiss textile machinery industry serves about 30 per cent of the global market. The industrialisation of Europe in the 19th century was founded on the textile industry. For Switzerland that was the age of the textile machine. As first-class mechanical engineers whose sense of precision had been honed by their watch making tradition, the Swiss soon trumped the competition with dependable and efficient spinning and weaving machines. The requirement of the domestic market was soon covered, opening the way to export.
Today Switzerland ranks fourth in terms of market share, or third if one includes machinery manufactured by Swiss companies abroad.Textile machinery manufacturers operating out of Switzerland exported machinery, equipment and spare parts worth nearly 2 billion Swiss francs in 1999. Added to this was the production output of Swiss companies throughout the whole of Europe, Asia and the Americas.
A few main suppliers compose the bulk of the exporters, complemented by dozens of other smaller but highly specialised companies that are market leaders in their niches.The range of products covers all areas of textile fabrication from spinning to embroidery: spinning, reeling, twisting, winding and unwinding, weaving, knitting, embroidery, printing, sizing, etc. The industry also develops electronic control and monitoring systems, the associated hardware and software, and supplementary equipment.The recipe for success is know-how and innovation. The Swiss manufacturers have both, and can meet the requirements of their customers thanks to sophisticated technology, research and development, high-tech production methods, proven reliability, and perfectly functioning customer service.
Quite a few world firsts have been introduced on the market by the Swiss during the course of the past few years: automatic transport systems, computer-aided online control and operating devices for the production process, and innovative, patented techniques such as the revolutionary "ComforSpin" spinning system or the gripper weaving machine.< p align=justify>Time and again Swiss inventions steal the show at textile machinery trade fairs throughout the world. The buyers of Swiss textile machinery also know Switzerland as a loyal partner. Swiss textile machinery companies are not content just to export high-performance products. With their international presence they provide an equally efficient after-sales service. Friday, 03 August 2001