The many half-timbered houses that characterise the image of Bramsche already show: the town in Lower Saxony is a historical place of craftsmen. As early as the 16th century, the clothiers‘ guild made the town on the Hase its headquarters.
In the mid-19th century, the guild built a cloth factory with more than 100 master craftsmen‘s workshops to produce high-quality fabrics for Germany and beyond with modern textile machines. Today, the former production site houses the clothmakers‘ museum and makes industrial history visible on running machines.
One company that has shaped textile processing in Bramsche from industrialisation to the present day is Sanders-Kauffmann GmbH. Founded in 1885 by Gustav Wilhelm and Otto Sanders, the European company with its headquarters in Germany today looks back on more than 130 years of experience in finishing the finest down-proof fabrics and manufacturing high-quality bedding. The group of companies combines several innovative companies with a total of 4 traditional brands, all specialised in the production of bedding made of feathers and down as well as fine-threaded fabrics.
“We use our finest Bramscher cotton fabric for our pillow and duvet covers,“ says Norbert Grüter, production manager at Sanders-Kauffmann.” These are particularly breathable, soft and high-quality fabrics“. As early as the 18th century, the name Bramscher Tuch was considered a seal of quality that distinguished particularly fine fabrics. The House of Sanders is the last Bramsch cotton finisher to carry on this craft tradition and seal of quality.
To ensure that the bedding from Sanders-Kauffmann maintains its exclusive quality, fabrics with a high thread density are used. These are not only particularly cuddly, but also tight against escaping down. For these high-quality products, in which the German national football team bedded down during the European Championship in Poland/Ukraine in 2012, the highest precision must be applied in the entire production line.
„The fabrics consist of a vertical warp and a horizontal weft thread. Only if these are exactly at right angles in the end product does it meet our standards,“ says Grüter. Production is also a challenge because of the high number of threads in the fabrics. The people responsible at Sanders Kauffmann thought about how to master this challenge early on – and found the right partner more than 30 years ago in Mahlo GmbH + Co. KG from Saal an der Donau in Bavaria.
The bedding manufacturer was looking for a reliable automatic straightening system that could meet the highest quality standards. Who better than the market leader MAHLO with decades of experience. As early as the end of the 1980s, Sanders- Kauffmann installed a 7-span stenter frame with an ORTHOMAT straightener, type RFMC-9. The automatic distortion detection and correction was the most modern technology on the market at the time.
„Even then it was clear that the device had to run absolutely reliably and accurately,“ says Grüter. „Plus points, besides the technology, were the production in Germany, the short distances and the good direct contact.“ In addition, the stable design was convincing. How reliably a MAHLO straightener runs became clear over the years. It was only in 2021 that the device had to make way for a new installation. „In the course of a production expansion, we decided to invest in a new stenterframe, and thus also to replace the automatic straightener with a device of the latest generation.“ Of course, the decision again went to a MAHLO system: the ORTHOPAC, type RVMC-15.
MAHLO sales manager Thomas Höpfl explains what distinguishes the machine manufacturer‘s core product: „Its particular strength is its high straightening accuracy and progressive straightening speed.“ A stepless positioning drive of the straightening rollers combines the shortest positioning times with the highest precision and lowest maintenance requirements.
“The fabric run concept is optimised so that the system responds quickly to rapidly changing fabric distortions.“ The “15“ generation of machines was specially developed to meet the requirements of the market and optimised for almost all applications.
At Sanders-Kauffmann, the new automatic straightening system ensures that the weft alignment adheres even more precisely to the corresponding specifications than before. “In addition, the fabrics can be sewn better due to the exact angular position of the warp and weft threads,“ Grüter describes the improvements that have become apparent after the system was put into operation. Another advantage: reduced fabric waste, especially at the beginning and end of a batch. In times of rising costs and shortage of raw materials, this is an important step towards efficient production and profitability.
