Expert Comments
Leopold Schoeller was the President & CEO of yarn spinners Schoeller Textil which is under new ownership and is now concentrating spinning operations in Litvinov (Czech Republic).
"Since the old 1980s days of Platts Masterspinner, Alan Parker's technology is well known to our spinning company Schoeller Textil. The Masterspinner yarn was well accepted by customers who needed a softer handle of the fabric than Rotor yarn could provide."
Alan Parker is the inventor of the Roller-Air's intellectual property and in charge of the technological research & manufacturing design of the Roller-Air spin-box into a process capable of commercial exploitation.
"Uppermost in my mind at the start of the earlier technology's re-engineering phase was that a new spin-box's ability to be easily incorporated into a fully-automated machine is crucial to the commerciality of the spinning mills."
In the early 1990s, Dr. Ing. Leopold Dieck was the CEO of German spinning machine manufacturers W. Schlafhorst AG & Co, the Monchengladbach based manufacture of the rotor spinner called the Autocoro.
"I am confident that once the retrofitting of Autocoro rotor spin-boxes with higher yarn delivery speed Roller-Air spin-boxes is commercially proven in the fully-automated 24 position Autocoro, the existing spinning machine makers will become attentive."
Until May 1997, Dr. Ing. Karl Brockmanns was the Head of R&D at German spinning machine manufacturer Schlafhorst AG. He recently sold his firm Holthausen Maschinenbau which manufactures specialised textile machines. A particularly success over the past few years has been supplying the Chinese market.
"Neither Rotor, nor Jet, nor Vortex technologies can make much inroad into the yarn market currently dominated by the 150 year old Ring spinning. Roller-Air (a modern derivative of Friction spinning) can be the answer."
Gordon Mackie CText FTI, C.I. Mech was the CEO of James Mackie & Sons Ltd. of Belfast when it was the UK's largest textile machinery manufacturer employing over 5,000 engineering workers.
"When the Mark 12 spin-box is readily 'slottable' into early model Autocoro's it will certainly make the business potential attractive enough for a substantial investment by an industrial engineering manufacturer."
Ian Harris was awarded the OBE for services to British exports. He is a former President of the British Textile Machinery Association He is also a former CEO of Bonas Limited where he was instrumental in the development and manufacture of electronic jacquard technology for improving the performance of weaving looms.
"What is now being offered is a retrofit of the spinning mills' installed rotor machines, which should prove more attractive both as a development prospect and as a sales proposition."
Trevor Rowe BSc (Hons) is the Head of Textiles and Yarn Technology at Bolton University. He is a former Head of the Government trade body The North West Textile Network - NWTexNet.
"The further research & development needed to produce a retrofit spin-box based on the Mark 12 prototype, will enable a new way of commercialising the new Roller-Air technology."
