On January 17th, Karl Mayer (China) celebrated both the Chinese New Year and its 25th anniversary.
The event was held in Changzhou, and the entire workforce and management representatives from Germany, Hong Kong and Japan, including CEO Arno Gärtner, all took part in the festivities.
Way back when it all began, there was a vision: a belief that China would one day become the world’s most important market, Gärtner recalled when reminiscing about the early days. Building on this belief, Wujin Textile Machinery Co., Ltd. was founded in 1995 as a joint venture with a Chinese partner. Just four years later, Karl Mayer acquired all of the shares in the joint venture. Together with Nippon Mayer, the manufacturer set up Karl Mayer Textile Machinery Ltd. as its own entity in Changzhou, and in 2005 formed Karl Mayer (China) Ltd. A phase of continual expansion followed.
In 2008, the company moved to a new plant with a surface area of 170,000 m². In 2011, the production of knitting machines was expanded to include the manufacture of warp preparation equipment and in the following year, production was expanded again. The latest milestone in the company’s history was the establishment of KM.ON China, a subsidiary of Karl Mayer’s software start-up KM.ON, in June 2019.
Karl Mayer (China) currently employs around 800 people in Changzhou. Following a ten-year economic boom, the company achieved the best results in its history in 2018. With its proximity to the main market, around 70% of warp-knitted textiles are produced in China, it is an important member of the group. “There is no doubt that Karl Mayer’s success over the last 15 years is largely down to Karl Mayer (China),” said Gärtner at the anniversary celebrations.
In order to operate at an even closer proximity to customers in the main Chinese market, the significance of the subsidiary in Changzhou will continue to grow. Over the past 10 years, an enormous capacity for textile production has been established in China. At the moment, however, China’s geopolitical situation has led to slow growth. Karl Mayer must be able to adapt flexibly to this situation. “As the market leader, we want to be the first to recognize market developments and respond with more innovative solutions offering maximum customer benefit based on buyers’ requirements,” said CEO Gärtner. In order to always be one step ahead, Karl Mayer (China) will assume more responsibility for its customers and for solutions, and KM.ON’s activities will be further expanded.