The European textile machinery sector is very volatile at the moment. Some areas are growing and doing well, while others are experiencing difficulties due to a variety of factors, including recent events in the past two decades.

We are still living in the middle of a pandemic. The war in Ukraine is still raging. It has created a horrible situation. Both crises have huge impacts on global society as well as economic systems. Investing is being slowed down by increasing interest rates and inflation. In addition to rising energy costs, more producers are looking for machines that use less energy.

Each crisis is a threat that brings about new opportunities. We as a manufacturer will use the time to support our customers in these difficult times by providing new products such as our new ‘myze’ software platform to increase their business. We also try to limit price increases whenever possible.

We are interested in any market, but we can only say that each market is unique. It is no surprise that the UK’s screen-printing industry and the Italian fashion industry are exceptional examples of major markets. Anyway, the diversity of innovative businesses in Europe, Middle East and Africa are great and we also learn from our customers’ new applications.

However, at the moment we can see that many European producers are returning to Europe. This trend will likely continue over the next few years.

Our GTX600 DTG printer, which we launched at the start of 2022, has received overwhelmingly positive feedback. This industrial printer is high-capacity, and has new features to create a sustainable environment. Other models such as GTXpro Bulk or GTXpro Bulk will also be in demand.

Industry cannot afford to not adopt IoT DTG printing. However, it is imperative to have a competitive production process. The digitalization trend is being driven by the sustainability enforcement and reshoring trend.

Brother has used the past two years to listen to customers and translate them into new product launches. In case of hardware, we introduced the new GTX600 high-capacity printer, and we introduced the new ‘myze’ software platform during FESPA 2022 in Berlin. We are also working on new technologies that will be available to our customers in the coming months.

Local productions can be made in MicroFactories, with automated printing and sustainable on-demand productions. The rising costs of raw materials, logistics, and energy will force all these trends. The missing dedicated manpower is another factor that will influence these trends.

Japan’s Brother Headquarters launched the Vision 2050 & Targets 2030, which clearly set out the Brother’s goals to reduce their CO2 footprint. The three goals of ‘Reduction in CO2 emissions’, ‘Resource Circulation’, and ‘Biodiversity Conservation’ set forth in Environmental Vision 2050 will help us achieve ‘At your side’ for the environment, focusing on sustainability and on leaving as small a footprint as possible, which At your side 2030 aims to pursue.

These values and objectives are already reflected in new product developments such as the GTXpro Series Series and the GTX600. These new products have new technologies to reduce waste of inks or maintenance parts. We digitalized our service and introduced the TECNET platform to provide faster support and greater efficiency. 

Our short-term goal, however, is to be there for our customers in these uncertain and challenging times. This will allow us all to remain successful and uphold the higher expectations of our consumers. We stay in constant contact with our customers so that we can respond to their needs and provide individual solutions.

Our long-term goal is to continue to improve technology, including hardware, consumables, and software, according to the market trends. We also aim to become CO2 neutral (Scopes 1) company.