Mayer & Cie. China (MCN), a subsidiary of the German
circular knitting machine manufacturer Mayer & Cie. (MCT), headquartered in
Albstadt, assembled its 1,000th circular knitting machine in Shanghai at the
end of April this year.
According to Benjamin Mayer, Managing Director of Mayer & Cie, the
assembly of the 1,000th machine at the Chinese works is impressive testimony to
the positive progress Mayer & Cie. China has made in recent years. The Chinese
subsidiary is an important building block for achieving the Group
objectives in the years ahead.
The Mayer & Cie. China success story
As introduced, Mayer & Cie decided to assemble
machines in Shanghai in 2011. It was an experiment for the company to see
whether machines developed specially for China would be accepted.
The adventure got off to a good start. The first model,
the MSC 3.2 or “Mayer Single China”, was well received. In late 2014 it was
replaced by its successor, the MSC 3.2 II. The MDC 2.2, a double jersey
machine, has also been assembled and marketed by Mayer & Cie. China since
2014. In autumn 2017, the company launched the Relanit 3.2 SC at the
Shanghaitex trade fair. A member of the well-known Relanit family, it is
characterized by high productivity and process reliability.
The knitting heads for all models are imported, but MCN’s
40 or so employees manufacture many of the components required themselves. The
machines are all assembled on-site. “In that way we can offer selected models
in the price-sensitive Chinese market at a competitive price,” says Mario
Kaden, Managing Director of Mayer & Cie. China, explaining a key benefit of
the company’s Chinese presence. It also boosts the flexibility and the speed at
which MCN can respond to domestic demand.
The MSC 3.2 II is the most popular model in the Chinese
portfolio. The 1,000th machine is also an MSC 3.2 II. It is used especially to
manufacture fabrics for leisure and sportswear. As stated by Kaden, there is a customer here who has built up a machine
park in which 130 machines of this type operate. It showed how popular the MSC
3.2 II is in China.
Growth strategy for China
“To gain a foothold in the world’s largest textile market
you must have a presence here,” says Kaden, “Our
customers are not going to buy imported machines if we in China can deliver the
same quality. We have succeeded in doing that in spite of tough competition and
are very proud of our achievement.”
Based on this experience, Mayer & Cie. has identified
significant growth potential in China – and beyond. From 2019, an electronic
model will join the portfolio of machines assembled in Shanghai. As with the
Relanit 3.2 SC, Mayer & Cie. hopes that it will increasingly attract the
higher end market segment.
In the future, the models assembled in Shanghai will also
be available in neighbouring countries. The MSC 3.2 II has already been sold in
Bangladesh for several years, and since the beginning of this year, it has also
been possible to order Mayer & Cie. machines from India, Thailand, Taiwan
and Vietnam. The overall export potential is significant. In 2017 alone, China exported
over 10,000 large circular knitting machines.