Karl Mayer will not exhibit at ITMA in Hanover in 2027. The warp knitting machinery manufacturer has decided to concentrate its trade-show activity for the year on a 90th anniversary programme at its headquarters in Obertshausen, near Frankfurt, scheduled for September 2027.

The decision removes one of the industry's largest knitting-technology exhibitors from the ITMA floor and gives textile manufacturers a fixed alternative date and location for evaluating the company's next machine generations.

The anniversary programme will cover innovation across three technology areas: warp knitting, technical textiles and warp preparation. Karl Mayer plans to showcase new technologies, textile developments and what it describes as commercial opportunities for manufacturers.

"Our anniversary activities are about much more than individual machines or new features. They are about the next major technical breakthrough developments and true textile innovations across warp knitting, technical textiles and warp preparation," said Lutz Wolf, CEO of Karl Mayer.

"Above all, they highlight the opportunities for our customers: stronger growth, new market opportunities, higher productivity and efficiency, as well as additional potential for sustainable business success," Wolf said.

The company will run the programme across its Textile Innovation Center (TIC) and Product Innovation Center (PIC) in Obertshausen, two facilities built to support textile development, applications and technology transfer. Visitors will access more than 5,000 square metres of exhibition and demonstration space, with equipment shown in live operation rather than static display.

Karl Mayer said the programme will include new machine generations addressing challenges facing the global textile industry. It will also present solutions aimed at helping customers optimise textile value creation and improve product quality, alongside future-oriented textile applications and new fabric concepts intended to support product development and open additional business opportunities.

Expert dialogue forms a second pillar of the event. The company plans to bring together participants from across the textile value chain, from fibre manufacturers to brands. Karl Mayer specialists covering its textile categories, machine segments and technology fields will be available throughout the event week for technical discussions and individual consultations.

"We have a strong pipeline of innovations across all technology areas and are very much looking forward to sharing the results with our customers in 2027," Wolf added.

Karl Mayer will announce further details of the anniversary programme in the coming months.

Before the anniversary year begins, the company will present new developments at ITMA Asia 2026 in Shanghai. It will operate two separate stands to address its different technology areas: warp knitting and technical textiles in Hall 4.1, stand C18, and warp preparation technologies in Hall 3, stand A24. A separate Product Show will run at Karl Mayer (China) in Changzhou.

The expanded Shanghai and Changzhou presence signals where the company sees near-term demand. Karl Mayer said it intends the additional footprint to reinforce its commitment to customers in China and the wider Asian textile manufacturing market ahead of the anniversary activities in Germany.

For mills and technical textile producers planning capital expenditure cycles, the sequencing matters. New machine information arrives first at ITMA Asia 2026 in Shanghai, followed by the fuller technology pipeline — demonstrated in live production environments — at Obertshausen in September 2027. Buyers who would normally benchmark Karl Mayer equipment against competitors at ITMA Hanover will need to make a separate trip to Germany, or rely on the Shanghai event, when building their 2027 machinery shortlists.