The Picanol Group which specializes in development, production and sales of weaving machines and technology for the textile industry especially the OptiMax –the most advanced and fastest rapier weaving machine produced its 20,000th OptiMax this week.

Johan Verstraete, Vice-President Marketing, Sales & Services at Picanol said that OptiMax represents the benchmark of the rapier industry. Due to its modular and future-oriented design, it can be adapted to a wide range of conditions, which means that it provides weavers with a great deal of flexibility in reacting to changes in market requirements.

With speeds of up to 700 picks per minute, that is the fastest industrial rapier weaving machine in the world and it has an installed base at more than 800 customers in over 50 countries. The first OptiMax was produced in Ypres in 2007.

According to them they have every reason to be proud of the fact that they have produced their successful OptiMax model 20,000 times. Achieving this milestone demonstrates their ability to produce best-in-class, dedicated weaving machines for the world’s most reputable textile manufacturers.

This is further proof of the confidence that our customers have in the Picanol brand, its quality and its rapier technology

The OptiMax is the most advanced and fastest rapier weaving machine on the market today with speeds of up to 700 picks per minute. The OptiMax offers the ideal combination of considerable versatility and highly productive weaving and features components that are designed for higher operating speeds and optimum productivity.

The OptiMax was given a boost in 2011 when Picanol also presented a positive gripper version to complete the offerings of its rapier platform. Whilst it is available in all widths (up to 540 cm), in particular it opened new perspectives in technical segments such as coating fabrics, primary and secondary carpet backing and geogrids.

The company is based in Belgium, with production plants in Asia, Europe and the United States. The 20,000th OptiMax will be shipped this week to the company Sister Denim Composite Ltd. from Bangladesh. This important production milestone was celebrated with all of the Picanol employees in the assembly department in Ypres. Today, about 2,600 weaving mills around the world use Picanol machinery, totalling more than 175,000 weaving machines.