Under the motto "Innovation is the beginning of a new tradition", the German company iNTERSPARE Textilmaschinen (Hall 14 / Stand A102) will continue the tradition of its ARTOS, BABCOCK (BTM) and Krantz product lines at ITMA 2023 in Milan and present the latest developments. The presentation will once again focus on the latest version of the Tumble Relax dryer Krantz Syncro, iNTERSPARE's most successful machine in recent years.

"When we started building completely new lines a few years ago, we deliberately chose the Krantz Syncro, as it has always been considered the best available technology in its field. Today, due to the many installations sold and the still very high interest in the Syncro, we see that it was a good decision," says Dirk Polchow, Managing Partner of iNTERSPARE. "With the Syncro, we have successfully taken up the tradition of the big names in textile machinery finishing, Artos, Babcock and Krantz, for which we have stood for almost 30 years, and advanced it with our own innovations."

iNTERSPARE Textilmaschinen Managing Director Dirk Polchow presents the Tumble Relax dryer Syncro, which is ready for transport and will be exhibited at ITMA 2023 in Milan © 2023 iNTERSPARE Textilmaschinen

"To this end, we have used the knowledge of our predecessors and supplemented it with our own experience to enable developments that help our customers to manufacture products of the highest quality and thus to consolidate and expand their business. Quality is a decisive factor - also for sustainability. The essential requirement of the EU textile strategy is to produce durable textiles. Textiles that are characterised by colour fastness and form stability even after years of use. Textiles that do not end up on waste after a few months. Textiles that are still worn with pleasure even after many washes and years of use. The Syncro stands for the finishing of such durable premium textiles like no other finishing machine."

iNTERSPARE Textilmaschinen has once again raised the energy efficiency of the Syncro to a higher level with a number of innovations. This relates in particular to the use of the latest generation of motors and Lenze inverters. Components from other brand manufacturers, such as the padder used, have been integrated into the control and operation of the Syncro, measuring systems have been expanded and the preparation and storage of data has been optimised by means of a latest-generation router and an expansion of the software. The visualisation software was also upgraded accordingly and the data is available via an interface. Data can be integrated in a variety of ways or also retrieved via app. All other electrical components are state-of-the-art as well. The automatic filter belt cleaning system with traversing fluff extraction device, which was presented at the last ITMA 2019, was successfully introduced to the market. This eliminates manual operating errors and the resulting blockages, so that the Syncro is continuously operated within the optimum performance range and avoids unnecessary energy consumption.

"The Syncro enables our customers to meet the demands of today and tomorrow far better than their competitors. Better quality fabrics are more sustainable fabrics. That is our message for ITMA in Milan," says Dirk Polchow.

Krantz Syncro

The Krantz Syncro Tumbler-Relax dryer exhibited at ITMA stands for optimal, variable drying and thermal processes as well as shrink drying processes. The Syncro unfolds its full potential particularly in the drying of knitted fabrics, as tubular goods or in cut open form, as well as for light and heavy articles. However, outstanding results are also achieved when drying woven goods. Thanks to the diversity of the Syncro, it is possible to run several narrow or wide strands (single or side by side) without any problems. And several processes, such as drying, shrinking, intermediate drying and effect drying can be done here on just one unit.

Thanks to its superior machine design and the use of the latest technologies, the Syncro can meet the highest demands on modern finishing at all levels. This applies to both the absolute premium quality of the finished product in conjunction with the high production output as well as today's immensely important requirements for sustainability and connectivity and data exchange. The design enables outstanding results in the processes with first-class energy efficiency.

First-class energy efficiency thanks to Econ-Air

The Econ-Air airflow system (Babcock patent) ensures optimum energy utilisation and avoids energy waste. The air supplied from the infeed slot is heated, directed to the fabric and travels with it through the bays until it is extracted by the exhaust fan at maximum absorbed humidity and replaced by fresh air via the fabric infeed slot. Since fresh air is supplied to the entry compartment and only the optimally moistened air is extracted, all the energy required goes directly into the drying process. The permanent humidity level generated by Econ-Air in the dryer replaces an additional, external steam spraying device. Energy loss to the outside is minimised by design. 3-layer insulation panels and doors prevent heat bridges from the inside to the outside of the insulation. A synthetic connecting strip interrupts the heat transfer from the inner sheet to the outer sheet of the insulation panel. Between these is a high-quality, pressed Rockwool insulation mat that is not subject to shrinkage and prevents warping by fixing evenly.

"The Syncro already has an excellent energy efficiency by design, because it uses the energy optimally for shrinking and drying the fabric," says textile finishing veteran Hartmut Büchner, who is still a technical consultant at iNTERSPARE Textilmaschinen. "I maintain that there is no shrink dryer in the world that gives the fabric a better carbon footprint. This is due to the durability of the textiles, the use of energy in the precisely coordinated shrinking process with a high degree of moisture and also the special property of the Syncro to be able to compensate for even severe distortion of pre-treated goods of any kind, so that instead of waste there is a quality product at the end. Often, with the Syncro, one pass is enough where others need two and thus twice the amount of energy."

The Krantz Syncro Tumble Relax dryer allows long dwell times and high phase leads of up to 200% on the conveyor belt.  The result is an even and gentle drying process with optimal release of tension in the material. In addition, the ventilation intensity and therefore the material dynamic can be steplessly adjusted. By selecting these many different parameters, the drying can be precisely optimised for the particular requirements of the materials.

Modifications and Service

More than 15,000 pieces of equipment for textile finishing from the Artos, Babcock (BTM) and Krantz product lines were installed in the last 50 years and a lot of these machines are still used for textile applications. However, many of them will no longer be able to optimally meet future requirements for energy use and carbon footprint, as many components are not state of the art. With the implementation of the EU textile strategy at the latest, this will become a problem for export-oriented companies.

iNTERSPARE Textilmaschinen is offering its customers the opportunity to continue operating these machines for many more years, by adapting them to the increasing demands using various retrofitting and modernisation modules from the assembly kits. Precisely coordinated modernisation packages with customisable individual modules out-of-the-box make all retrofits and modernisations cost-efficient, calculable and quickly feasible. At ITMA, the iNTERSPARE experts will be happy to demonstrate the advantages of a retrofit and how it can be carried out.

A significant improvement in energy efficiency not only saves costs, but also improves the eco-balance and the CO2 footprint of the goods. Very important for the sustainability strategies of textile companies, brands and retailers. The latest generation of controls and operating elements, in combination with enhanced software, also ensure that all relevant parameters of the machines are made available not only to the operators but also to the data processing and analysis systems in the network.

Dirk Polchow says: "With our retrofits, we can optimally support our customers in meeting the requirements of the future. However, customers should inform themselves early and plan for the long term, as the supply chain for components is still difficult and as volatile as some prices."

iNTERSPARE Textilmaschinen will be exhibiting in Hall 14 / Stand A102 and looks forward to welcoming all visitors.