The new OVJA 1.1 EETT is said to offer pattern variety to the power of two. © Mayer & Cie.

Mayer & Cie. (MCT) is premiering the OVJA 1.1 EETT at the industry’s leading trade fair ITMA, which starts in Barcelona next week. A premium jacquard machine, it is part of the focus on sports of the company’s Stay a winner: With Mayer & Cie. presentation in Barcelona.

The industry leader developed the OVJA 1.1 EETT especially for the manufacture of shoe uppers, now that “fabrics” are in demand for sports and leisure footwear. The OVJA 1.1 EETT comes with double electronics and double transfer technology, which is reflected in an extra variety of patterns and, in particular, in innovative hole structures.

“The OVJA 1.1 EETT is yet another machine in our portfolio with which customers can claim to be on the winning side in keeping with our ITMA slogan ‘Stay a winner: With Mayer & Cie.’,” said Marcus Mayer, Managing Director of Mayer & Cie. in charge of technical development. “The OVJA 1.1 EETT is most definitely a premium machine and the right choice for especially exacting requirements such as multi-coloured spacer fabrics with a 3D effect or a wide range of hole structures.”

Pattern variety to the power of two

The new OVJA 1.1 EETT features electronic individual needle selection in the rib dial and the cylinder, both using 3-way technology and thus making jacquard structures possible on both sides of the fabric. The OVJA 1.1 EETT pairs its double electronics with bi-directional transfer and can thus knit virtually any conceivable pattern. It produces combinations of single and double jersey, as well as spacer structures, while the range of hole structures is enormous due to the double transfer function.

“Variety of structures is currently an important argument in the market, especially the market for circular-knitted shoe uppers,” commented Mayer & Cie.’s Hardy Bühler, Regional Sales Manager and trend scout. “The new OVJA 1.1 EETT caters for this market more than comprehensively. With this machine you can give your creativity a free rein.” With diameters from 30 to 38 inches it knits E18 to E28 gauge fabrics and processes up to 1,200 denier yarns. The machine produces spacer fabrics of up to 5mm thick in the grey goods category.

In designing the OVJA 1.1 EETT, Mayer & Cie. set great store by ease of use. “For such a complex machine ease of use is key,” says Marcus Mayer. “It widens its scope of applications to outerwear or mattress covers.” Numerous features make handling the OVJA 1.1 EETT simple. They include the new machine control and the connection to the Knitlink platform.

Circular-knitted shoe uppers

Circular-knitted shoe uppers for sports and leisure footwear have been an option since 2012 when they debuted at the Olympic Games, since when fabric shoe uppers have mostly been flat-knitted, with circular knitting and warp knitting a fair distance behind in joint second place.

When the three techniques are compared, however, circular knitting leads the field for productivity. In addition, setup times are shorter, with the result that smaller batches can be manufactured profitably. For trend scout Bühler that is why circular-knitted shoe uppers are ready to take off – a view that leading sporting goods manufacturers share.

“In circular knitting, the market is still in its infancy and we expect the trend to really kick in soon,” he said. It has not yet gained momentum as much as had been hoped, due in part, he says, to fashion trends. “Sneakers with several layers of leather – and not ‘fabrics’ – are the current front runner. But nothing can be relied on to change faster than fashion.”

Machines for exacting tasks

In addition to the new OVJA 1.1 EETT, Mayer & Cie. has another six machines in its portfolio that are suitable for making shoe uppers. All except the Technit, which produces spacer structures in four needle tracks, are OVJA jacquard machines.

The OVJA 1.6 ET 3 WT, for example, is an established machine that knits hole designs thanks to its stitch transfer option. It also offers a good compromise between pattern variety and productivity. The OVJA 0.8 E is another “old hand”. Coarse jacquards are its speciality, with gauges starting from E4. A more recent addition to the family is the OVJA 1.6 EE – 3/2WT; it is good at producing multi-coloured designs combined with microstructure elements.

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