Picanol
Table of Contents

⚠ Disclaimer: This entry may be incomplete, out of date, or inaccurate. It is AI-maintained on a best-effort basis. Do not rely on it as a sole source — verify claims independently using the sources listed below.

Summary

Picanol builds high-speed weaving machines at its Ieper headquarters in Belgium. Cotton fabric such as quilting cloth is woven on air-jet, rapier, or projectile machines, and Picanol makes the first two.

Key Facts

  • Type: company (machine builder)
  • Status: Active; one of five makers said to hold about 30–35% of the weaving-machine market together with Toyota, Staubli, Dornier, and Itema (GM Insights, December 2024)
  • HQ: Steverlyncklaan 15, 8900 Ieper, Belgium
  • Founded: 1936 by Charles Steverlynck as Weefautomaten Picañol NV
  • Listing: Picanol Group on Euronext Brussels since 1966, ticker PIC (Wikipedia; verify)
  • Value-chain position: Machine builder (weaving)
  • Products: air-jet (OmniPlus-i Connect, TerryPlus-i Connect, OmniPlus-i TC Connect) and rapier (Ultimax, OptiMax-i Connect, Supermax, GTMax-S/-i 3.0S Connect) looms, parts, harness frames, services
  • Sites: plants in Europe and Asia; named: GTP Bandung (Indonesia), GTP São Paulo (Brazil), GTP Mexico (all 2003)
  • Sales and headcount: not found in sources reviewed

What It Is / How It Works

Picanol offers both weft-insertion methods that dominate cotton weaving. Air-jet looms insert weft with compressed air and are fast on fine, light fabrics; rapier looms use mechanical grippers and handle more yarn types. The company’s history includes the MDC electronically controlled shuttle machine (1971), OptiMax-i and GT-Max rapiers (2007), and terry-cloth machines (2015). Group activities extend beyond weaving into engineering and other industrial markets. The Picanol site’s parent-company link points to Tessenderlo Group’s code of conduct, but no ownership relation is stated.

Notable Developments

  • 2015: TerryMax-i and TERRYplus Summum launched.
  • 2007: OptiMax-i and GT-Max rapier machines launched.
  • 2003: Plants opened in Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico.

Claim Verification

Claim: “Our world’s leading weaving technology”

Status: Unverified

Supporting sources:

  • Picanol — marketing wording; GM Insights names Picanol among five leaders without individual shares

Refuting / questioning sources:

  • None found.

Summary: Leadership is plausible but share figures are not published in sources reviewed.

Sources

← prev next →