This naturally calls for an international servicing and support capability. For companies such as Mayer & Cie., which has a good 50,000 circular knitting machines in operation on every continent at any one time, an effective service backup is of decisive importance. In the past, after-sales services were performed by Mayer's own Service Centres, by representatives and naturally also at company headquarters. These services always involve transportation and are highly time-consuming, which naturally means extremely high costs.
Other delays can be caused by the procurement of spare parts which can frequently only be ordered following precise onsite analysis. This is why, particularly in the highly industrialized European countries and particularly at Mayer & Cie., endeavours were made from a very early stage to test modern information and communication technologies for their suitability as a servicing instrument, and to introduce technical developments designed to provide "online" support and services for circular knitting machines.
Nowadays, it is possible using the so-called "teleservice" and the relevant diagnostic software to analyse the status of a machine from anywhere in the world, order the necessary spare parts straight away and also decide whether it is possible for the customer to carry out his own repairs on site with the appropriate instruction, or whether a service technician will have to be called out by the manufacturer. The term "Teleservice" is not a type of service as such but a term which describes the philosophy of this service concept. The basic requirement for the use of Teleservice is that the circular knitting machine is linked to a data network.

Mayer & Cie. is able to build on tried and tested interfaces.
As long ago as the 1991 ITMA in Hanover, Mayer & Cie. presented a new facility for networking circular knitting machines through a standard RS 232 /485 interface. At that time, this facility permitted production data and machine status information to be accessed at minimal cost by simply pressing a button. This serial interface is still provided as an option to the present day in any Mayer & Cie. circular knitting machine.
The Mayer & Cie. development team quickly realized the benefits of developing a circular knitting machine with network capability on this basis. The aim was to maintain two independent systems in order not to impair the reliable operation of the circular knitting machine. For this purpose, a processor card
was integrated which was capable of transforming the signals of the RS 232 interface into TCP/IP packages. This allowed all the knitting machines in a kniting factory to be integrated into an Ethernet network operating under the TCP/IP Internet protocol family.
All machine data can now be accessed via the network and evaluated at a central PC workstation. With this innovation, the Mayer & Cie. development engineers succeeded in building on a proven system, and linking two systems with each other. The decisive factor here is that both systems actually work independently of each other, leaving the circular knitting machine fully functional in the event of a processor card failure.

MCT data transfer via the Internet – economical and reliable.
By consistently integrating standard Internet technology components, data from a Mayer & Cie. circular knitting machine can be transmitted over long distances and analysed in any location. The ingenious solution developed by Mayer & Cie. is characterized by its minimal costs and maximum reliability. The connection to the Internet can be configured with outstanding flexibility via a dedicated or dial-in line. The integration of a VPN gateway featuring the latest security technology (Stateful Firewall) means that customers can establish their own connection without affecting or in anyway weakening their own security policy.

Enhancing productivity and reducing costs through online servicing.
The link between the circular knitting machine and the Internet will increase not only the availability of the machine but also its service life, for example as a result of low-cost preventive maintenance. Machines can be inspected anywhere in the world, permitting the accelerated execution of repairs. Data can also be transferred in the opposite direction – e.g. samples for fabrics or software data. Training courses directly over the Internet will also become a matter of course in a few years' time, and Mayer & Cie. circular knitting machines will be equipped for automatic monitoring of maintenance intervals and automatic notifycation of service technicians.

The online future holds unlimited possibilities.
Above and beyond the online possibilities outlined here, it will not be long before it will be possible for the knitting operator to contact the service station directly from the machine by simply pressing a button. Contacts will be rendered more personal by language and picture transmissions, providing ope-rating staff with fast solutions to occurring problems. This service will be available 24 hours a day, as a low-cost service standby can be achieved through the connection of different service support points around the world.
The value added to the operation of Mayer & Cie. circular knitting machines will be clear through every phase of the machine's life: From knitting-in through the pattern service, maintenance and repairs to modernization.

Security takes top priority.
In the development of its teleservice solutions, Mayer & Cie. placed particular emphasis on the security concept. When it comes to network security – both for the customer and for Mayer & Cie. itself – there is no room for compromise. Safe data links are used for communication by permanently integrating security protocols of the TCP/IP protocol family. This means that customer networks are also protected from the Internet by VPN gateways with additional firewall.

The future has long since begun.
There is a general consensus among experts that online purchase orders and online teleservice, online part service, online training and permanent online after-sales support will represent a decisive and underlying condition for the sale of circular knitt-ing machines in the future: They will serve not only to accelerate processes but to make them safer and, importantly, also cheaper. This is clearly demonstrated already today in practice wherever online services are already in use – the future has already long since begun.
Yesterday, today was tomorrow and tomorrow today will be yesterday. Those who do not wish to miss the boat must turn their attention to this topic area. This is yet another field in which Mayer & Cie. testifies to its leading international position as a knitting machine manufacturer.