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Itema Group exceeds profit expectations for 2014

The company’s profit continues to exceed expectations, maintaining positive trend for the second year in a row.

5th March 2015

Innovation in Textiles
 |  Colzate

Industrial, Clothing/​Footwear, Sports/​Outdoor

Itema, the leading provider of advanced weaving solutions, has reported a 20% increase in earnings before tax for the full year 2014, compared with the year before.

The company’s profit continues to exceed expectations, maintaining positive trend for the second year in a row after the spectacular results achieved in 2013 and the first half of 2014.

With a 12% increase in volumes of machine sales in the first half of 2014, the Group closed the year with sales up by 10%, reflecting the state of the European production and a confirmation of previous year volumes for the Chinese subsidiary.

Remarkable achievement

“We are pleased with our results considering that our company grew by some 60% in the past two years in a market that declined, according to our estimates, by some 30% over the same period,” said Carlo Rogora, Itema CEO. 

“I believe this remarkable achievement is further proof that we are on the right path with renewed confidence, stronger-than-ever Company set-up and highest acclaimed product portfolio.  At Itema, we inject innovation in every step when creating our weaving machines and the results of the past couple of years clearly state that our demanding Customers appreciate our inspired innovation, Customer focus and attention to detail,” added Rogora.

Indian subcontinent

Itema’s operations in the Indian subcontinent delivered the biggest comeback with a 100% growth in volumes just from India alone, where Itema has developed a comprehensive sales and after-sales service organization.

At the helm of the company’s operations in India is the new Managing Director, Updeep Singh, who joined Itema in March 2014 bringing with him an impressive career in the textile market as a senior executive in well-known international groups like Welspun.

 The company has successfully managed to boost productivity, as a result of process improvements. © Itema

In the last year, Itema India registered a period of unprecedented growth, reaching remarkable results in terms of number of machines installed thanks largely to the innovations and technological specifications of Itema branded weaving machines.

Lean manufacturing

The implementation of Lean Manufacturing across Itema manufacturing and assembly lines is producing sensible results in terms of workforce efficiency, reliability and Net Working Capital reduction.  The company has successfully managed to boost productivity, as a result of process improvements, as well as some EUR 5 million investment in automation equipment in 2014.

Itema also implemented a new approach to the company’s presence in major markets with sales and after-sales support concentrated out of regional hubs.

Advanced weaving machines

Itema product offering features advanced weaving machines. Itema’s rapier R9500 has affirmed itself as the innovative rapier loom and represents half of Itema’s revenues from weaving machines. The R9500 attained the status of best-seller due to its proven technological superiority and innate capability to weave virtually every type of fabric – as diverse as home textile, apparel and technical, the company reports. 

Ultra-flexible rapiers and an optimized shed geometry further boost the versatility of the R9500 loom by Itema, vastly contributing to the machine’s unparalleled performance.

Airjet portfolio

On the airjet side, the company provides a comprehensive airjet portfolio to meet the demands of the current weaving specialists.

Setting Itema airjet looms apart from competition are the cam sley drive coupled with the optimized shed geometry, which are said to guarantee top flexibility to weave a wider range of fabrics, the manufacturer reports.

Itema, with its series of three distinct, right-for-application A9500 airjet models, is also said to offer high-speed performance, consistent fabric quality and value-for-money, whilst ensuring versatility, and optimizing productivity.

www.itemagroup.com

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