Belgium based multi-national group of companies Picanol Group, specializes in development, production and sales of weaving machines and technology for the textile industry is planning to expand its Ypres production capacity in order to meet worldwide demand for Picanol looms.

The Picanol Group expects demand for its looms to continue over the next few months. Backed by the increasing demand for quality and technology and the favorable exchange rate of the euro, the order book is well-filled for the second half of 2015.

Through its division Weaving Machines (Picanol), it develops, manufactures and sells high-tech weaving machines based on air (airjet) or rapier technology.

To meet the current production peak the Picanol Group is now actively recruiting 75 temporary workers for its Ypres production plant, including assembly workers, production workers and CNC operators.

In addition, the group is looking to fill approximately 25 vacancies in Ypres, including loom technicians, field technicians, process engineers, quality engineers and sales managers. The Picanol Group currently has 1,303 employees in Ypres.

Within the Picanol Group, the Technical Fabrics Group, a specialised team of product managers and technicians, constantly works towards optimizing the existing solutions and exploring exciting new applications, such as super-wide weaving in the field of technical textiles.

Picanol has production plants in Asia, Europe and the United States. Today, about 2,600 weaving mills around the world use Picanol machinery, totalling more than 175,000 weaving machines

Brand names produced by Picanol include Proferro, PsiControl Mechatronics, Melotte, GTP Accessories, Steel Heddle, Burcklé and Te Strake Textile.

The Picanol Group be will announcing its results for the first half of 2015 on 26 August 2015, before market opening. The company expects to realize an increase in turnover in the first half of 2015.