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Symatex
The Belgian textile machinery industry
The textile industry in Belgium may be proud of an age-long tradition. Like the whole of Belgian industry, the textile sector relies heavily on exports. So it is understandable that our textile machinery industry has, since the end of the 18th century, grown and developed very considerably. Under the pressure of foreign competition – especially British in the early days, now mainly from Asia – our manufacturers continually developed and perfected various kinds of machines.
Today, the Belgian textile machinery industry is internationally known, one of the biggest in our country's industrial sphere. Today, our manufacturers remain faithful to the same objectives as their predecessors: to supply sturdy, highly efficient equipment. The results achieved in exports obtained show that, despite appreciably greater competition, this policy bears fruit, not only for the machinery manufacturers but also for the users. "Diversification" and "globalisation" are well known concepts for our companies.
Product range
Belgian textile machinery manufacturers offer a wide range of products, from equipment for processing raw materials to capital goods for manufacturing finished products, for all kind of traditional applications as well as for technical textiles.
Today, Belgian mechanical engineering firms use ultramodern equipment and became are mass-producing units which undoubtedly occupy a leading technological position, whether it is for plant preparing, carding and spinning, weaving, dyeing or finishing.
Mention should be made of high efficiency, air jet weaving looms, automatic winding machines and special looms for carpets, velvet and upholstery fabrics. These machines are equipped with numerous indispensable accessories, applying the most recent technological innovations.
Automation in the Belgian textile machine industry
The textile industry, inevitably, experiences the same evolution as the metal working industry. Clients expect their textile factories to be increasingly flexible, enabling them to obtain very short production times and ever-increasing productivity, resulting in optimum competitiveness.
To increase their productivity and smooth their processes, textile firms are forced to evolve towards what is called the "flexible workshop".
As a consequence of this thoroughgoing automation of the textile machinery industry, textile factories are nearly entirely controlled by a central computer which, apart from indispensable technical data, also provides the economic and commercial indications needed for the modern management of their business.
Service
New concepts are finding their way through the textile industry, such as fare going maintenance contracts or even "Asset Management" agreements. Traditional textile machines shift to global solutions for the textile industry, offering the possibility to cope in a better way with the novelties in the different sectors of the textile industry.
Production
Belgium counts about thirty textile machinery manufacturers and a dozen manufacturers of accessories, employing a total of some 5 000 persons.
Several companies dedicate major efforts in developing software in the process control and CAD-CAM for textile design. The four major companies together represent 85 % of the production. In 2006 this production represented a turnover exceeding 920 million euros, with an export rate of 85 %.
All these manufacturers are equipped with modern production equipment using the most precise techniques. Numerous factories are vertically integrated.
For instance, the Belgian textile machinery industry has two of the most modern foundries in Europe, with a capacity of nearly 3 000 tons a month: one for full mass production and the other for medium mass production of various qualities of cast iron.
The export effort
Production is almost entirely exported.
This is shown by eloquent figures for last forty years: in 1960 the turnover was € 42.4 million, with 68 % of that being accounted for by exports.
The figures then followed a continual rising curve: € 86 million in 1969, € 123 million in 1973, close to € 170 million in 1976, € 307 million in 1985, € 533 million in 1990, over the € 600 million in 2004. In 2006, 85% of the overall production in the Belgian sector is exported to the rest of the world.
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