Mayer & Cie. circular knitting machines defy recessive world market trend.
Market share rises to appr. 23% in 2001.
While the unforeseeable fall in the order book entries of internationally active circular knitting machine manufacturers will clearly not have not passed over a market leader like Mayer & Cie. unnoticed, the company has certainly succeeded in coming away lightly with its head well above water. This result has left the powers that be at Mayer cautiously optimistic. "Although with a total of 1,735 machines delivered in 2001 we only achieved around 86% of our budgeted target of 2,000 machines, we can safely say that our competitors without exception suffered a substantially higher drop in sales", explained Sales Manager Oliver Scharf of Mayer & Cie. in Albstadt, Germany. The figure actually exceeds the 1999 result, while the year before Mayer netted absolute record results with over 2,000 circular knitting machines sold.
The talk in the marketplace is of a turnover drop of up to 50% for individual companies, inevitably leaving some competitors struggling. Not so at Mayer & Cie.
After a 19% world market share in the year 2000, Mayer & Cie. is expecting this figure to have risen to at least 23%. Precise figures on this are due to be published in the spring of 2002.
By extending its production range, Mayer & Cie. succeeded in recent months in increasing the average price per machine (for example with its new fabric opening technique), and also in opening up new fields of application for circular knitting (such as Fine Touch). In addition, the route consistently pursued by Mayer & Cie. from the machine towards the complete production unit is proving ever more successful. The company is set to achieve an overall turnover of appr. 165 million EURO (2000: 190 million EURO) with its core field of business, circular knitting machines.
Mayer is resolute in sticking to its declared target of increasing its qualitative market share to 25% by 2003. Mayer & Cie. envisages particular potential in Asia, which accounts for a good 50% of the world market for circular knitting machines. While Mayer & Cie.'s representation both in the European countries and also many American countries is disproportionately high, Asia is seen as harbouring even greater potential for growth. Enormous sales and servicing endeavours particularly in Asia are now bearing fruit. As a result, the company is con-fident of achieving the same significant increase in market share here as in the other continents. This optimistic assessment is further underpinned by experience gained at the ITMA Asia this October in Singapore, Asia's biggest textile machine trade fair - despite stiff competition from a large number of Asian manufacturers.
For the year 2002, Mayer & Cie. is anticipating similar market conditions as those prevailing in 2001. "Given the improved machines and our customer-oriented concepts, we are confident of securing a larger slice of the still diminishing cake for our company also in 2002", Oliver Scharf optimistically predicts. "Quality is growing ever more important, and it is only high-quality knitwear that can still be marketed at a profit. Mayer & Cie. simply offers the best and most economical solutions to address these demands."
Given the company's unequivocal profession of loyal-ty towards Germany as a producing location, any speculation about relocating production overseas has never even been mooted. Given the high standard of employee qualifications and the modular construction system permitting partially automated serial production, central manufacturing is essential if only for reasons of efficiency and logistics. Mayer & Cie. remains convinced that by sticking to central production, given its extremely high technological standard, there is no where it can produce more favourably and flexibly than at home in Albstadt.
[ Dec 10, 2001 ]
|
 |
|
