Santoni established in 1919 as the first Italian socks machine manufacturer which in 1988 entered in the prestigious LONATI group, worldwide leader in the production of sock and pantyhose machines. At the November’s ITMA Milan, Santoni, Lonati, Tecnopea and Dinema will all be present with more than 60 knitting, sock and hosiery finishing machines available to visitors across a single booth.

The Santoni/Lonati Group will feature seamless knitting machines, large diameter circular knitting machines, circular knitted garment length Mec-Mor machines, double needle bar Raschel warp knitting machines, automatic sewing machines for the hosiery industry, Tecnopea boarding and packaging machines for the textile industry, Lonati socks and pantyhose, machines, Sangiacomo and Matec sock knitting machines and Dinema software.

It will also show sample collections of items that from these machines as well as an area dedicated to students from the ITS Machina Lonati who will present their latest capsule collection of seamless knits which has been developed in co-operation with Santoni’s R&D Department.

The seamless area will feature machines for the production of underwear, outerwear, sportswear and footwear as well as the double needle bar Raschel warp knitting technology for pantyhose, underwear, outerwear and footwear.

A particular highlight here will be the latest generation SM8/TOP2V machine, effectively a new machine, which Santoni says, incorporates numerous exclusive new patents.

According to Santoni, this new seamless knitting technology offers exceptional productivity, on average 30% higher than the current model, and is also much more energy efficient.

The technological innovation allows their machines to have a lower environmental footprint, said Santoni's marketing manger, Patrick Silva. This, combined with improved ergonomic design for ease of servicing offers a potential 30% extra production for the same overhead space. Combine this with a 15% reduction in energy consumption and you have a machine offering improved environmental sustainability.

The new SM8/TOP2V is also described as a very user-friendly model and comes equipped with completely new developed knitting parts; i.e. the yarn-finger group, a new sinker cap for high quality wool yarns and other natural yarns as well as improved plating possibilities, all of which contribute to an improved final product quality.

With its Mec-Mor technology Santoni says it is constantly creating machinery solutions for customers to allow them to meet the continually challenging demands of the textile fashion world. This, the company says, is realized with the double jersey circular Mec-Mor CMP machine with open variable panel.

This machine offers high quality finished items and high productivity with its large number of feeds and requires just one single machine for the production of all sizes and without wastage. This is made possible by the variable width of the fabric panels where the number of working needles can be specifically set for the required product. It looks circular but performs as a V-bed, Santoni said.

The versatile technology permits various and very different items to be knitted i.e. from footwear, to reversible sport-jackets, fabrics for automotive seats, multi-purpose printed effect fabrics and many others, even a tapestry for home decoration.

The large diameter area of the stand will offer both single and double jersey machines and will include the well-known Atlas sinkerless machine, available in conventional as well as in ultrafine gauges (up to 80G). Visitors will also be able to see the results of Santoni's co-operation with the Jersey-Lomellina knitting mill which has produced a range of high quality, fine gauge knitwear.

Other machines on display will include Lonati's latest Goal technology for the production of socks and pantyhose as well as Sangiacomo and Matec circular knitting machines for the production of sport socks and medical hosiery. From the sewing machine division, there will be automatic sewing machines for the hosiery industry as well as robotic technology for the sewing and finishing of hosiery including automatic systems for pantyhose and medical stockings.

Following the latest market trend, there will also be the latest technology for the production of 'One Piece' pantyhose.

Alongside these exhibits will be the latest boarding and packaging machines from Tecnopea, particularly the latest developments in steam boarding and packaging for the pantyhose and socks industry as well as the latest hardware and software offerings from Dinema.

Mr Silva further said that it will also showcase a range of the latest samples of fashion and sports apparel, tubular fabrics, knitted panels, socks, pantyhose and training shoes from across the group. It is an area rich in novelties, of trendy new proposals, that have been set up with the involvement of several co-marketing companies and the enthusiastic students of ITS Machina-Lonati.

For ITMA, a group of students have designed some one-piece concepts that have been developed and knitted on the company’s circular sock and seamless knitting machines. These will be offered as a free sample to the visitors to the Santoni booth.

Many of the garments on display will also knitted with environmentally friendly and recycled yarns, in keeping with Group's adherence to the ACIMIT Green Label programme. .

Two weeks before the exhibition opens, an app with all information will be made downloadable from the Santoni website. Today Santoni meets 97% of the worldwide demand for seamless machines.