At Heimtextil 2024 Robotic Textile Sewing Automation By ACG Kinna Automatic Of Sweden Is Praised By Värnamo CEO

PRESS ROOM

1 Feb

Written By Debbie Mckeegan

Image By Courtesy of ACG KINNA AUTOMATIC

Continuous investment in the latest automation technologies – involving a long-standing and close cooperation with TMAS member ACG Kinna – has ensured family-owned Värnamo Sängkläder AB has retained its leading position in the production of high-quality bedding against heavy odds.

At the recent Heimtextil exhibition held in Frankfurt, Germany, from January 9-12, Martin Åhlander – the third generation CEO of Värnamo, which has specialised in high quality Nordic bedding since its foundation in 1951 – explained that his company is now the only producer of pillows, mattress protectors and quilts with manufacturing remaining in Sweden.

“Around fifteen years ago, our competition from Asia got very intense, as companies over there started exporting bedding products of very high quality at much lower prices than we could possibly produce conventionally in such a high-cost country as Sweden,” he said. “Our solution was investment in the latest automated technologies, enabling us to be both flexible and to respond very quickly to the needs of our customers while cutting costs. This has proved to be a winning approach.”

Värnamo first started collaborating with ACG Kinna in the 1980s, initially with the installation of automated overlock stitching units for quilt production, followed by further moves such as bringing in-house polyester ball fibre filling technology into its plant with Nowo filling machines.

High volumes

In a more recent development, Värnamo became one of the very first companies to install an ACG Kinna robotic pillow line.

With the ability to fill and finish some 3,840 pillows in an eight-hour shift, this line configuration enables the completely seamless fibre handling, filling, sewing and packing of pillows.

Complete process

Nowo – a long-established name in fibre filling technologies – became part of ACG Kinna at the end of 2021 and most recently, EyeTech, a young, Swedish developer of machine vision solutions for manufacturing, warehouse and factory automation has also joined the company.

“EyeTech exploits 2D, 3D and deep learning techniques for inspection, measuring, and robot guidance and is further enabling us to fulfil our promise of ‘complete process – one supplier,” explained ACG Kinna marketing and sales manager Tomas Aspenskog. “We now provide complete customised automation for the entire production chain – from the opening and weighing of the fibre to the packaging of the final products.

“Our relationship with ACG Kinna is beneficial to both companies and we’re constantly exchanging ideas on both new process and technology improvements,” concluded Martin Åhlander.

Heimtextil 2024

“ACG Kinna had a very successful Heimtextil 2024, along with another TMAS member, Automatex, which is developing further technologies for home textiles with the emphasis on fully automated and highly integrated production lines,” said TMAS Secretary General Therese Premler-Andersson. “These technologies enable significant resource savings to be achieved, while making production in high-cost countries once more profitable. Cost effective manufacturing closer to the customer is also more sustainable, while enabling companies like Värnamo to change their cost structures but also increase their capacities and flexibility.”

About ACG Kinna Automatic

Since 1977 we are one of the world’s most experienced manufacturer of innovative automation solutions, specialized in machines for automatic production of filled pillows, quilts and mattress protectors.

Premium quality, designed and built in Sweden.

Let us introduce our home textile concept COMPLETE PROCESS - ONE SUPPLIER® including a machine range which covers the whole production chain from the initial handling of fiber processing, the filling, sewing, QC Vision inspection and packing.

Starting with a fiber in bale, ending with a packed pillow or quilt in a sealed carton, fully automatic.

Since 2013 we are a part of the ACG Group – a local and financially strong family-owned industrial group with over 100 years of history. We offer top-of-the-line solutions within these areas: