At Colombiatex 2025, we had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Gerd Paul Wienands, Regional Sales Manager at Trützschler, a leading company in the spinning and textile machinery industry. During our interview, Mr. Wienands shared insights on the current state of the spinning sector in South America, global market trends, and the company’s outlook for 2025. He also discussed the challenges and opportunities facing the industry in the coming years.
Question 1: Mr. Wienands, how do you view the current development of the spinning sector in South America?
Mr. Wienands: The development of the spinning sector needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis—country by country, and even customer by customer. Many of our customers are vertically integrated, meaning they handle everything from spinning preparation to final product confection. Even with that integration, many of these customers continue to install or update their spinning and preparation machinery. We have long-standing customers with significant potential for machine upgrades. So, generally speaking, there’s still a lot of spinning activity happening in South America, despite the fact that Andean markets face considerable competition from Far East Asia.
Question 2: Are you seeing any shifts in where yarn is sourced from in the region?
Mr. Wienands: Yes, absolutely. Depending on factors like energy costs, political situations, and other local conditions, some customers may end up sourcing yarn from overseas. We’ve actually seen a significant increase in participation from Far East Asian yarn manufacturers in the Colombian market and surrounding areas over the past 10 years. These companies see the potential in selling their yarn in South America, and this is contributing to the shift.
Question 3: Which South American countries show the most promise for Trützschler?
Mr. Wienands: Brazil and Argentina are key markets for us. Brazil is one of our largest markets and continues to show huge potential with ongoing investments in the spinning sector. Despite the recent changes in government in Argentina, we’re still seeing customers there updating their equipment to meet increasing competition. However, in South America at the moment, we’re not seeing many large new spinning mill projects starting from scratch.
Question 4: How do you view the global modernization trend, especially in high-volume markets?
Mr. Wienands: The global modernization trend has been incredible, particularly in countries like Turkey, where we’re seeing a boom. In my 30 years with Trützschler, I’ve never seen such a surge in investment in spinning and preparation machinery. This global investment has led to extremely long delivery times—while we typically have six-month delivery times, at one point we were facing delays of up to two years. That was a major challenge for both our customers and us as suppliers. However, we’ve overcome that, and things are back to normal delivery times now. Last year was slightly slower, but we’re optimistic about the potential for 2025, especially in the second half of the year.
Question 5: How are global factors such as energy costs and political instability affecting the spinning industry?
Mr. Wienands: We’re seeing some markets being heavily impacted by high energy costs, declining consumption in Europe, and people saving money due to economic uncertainty. These factors are affecting the imports of machinery and raw materials in certain regions. That said, if some of the obstacles our customers are facing—such as rising energy costs and political instability—are resolved, we’re very positive about the outcome. For example, significant improvement in regions like Lebanon, Syria, and Ukraine would have a positive impact not just in those markets but also in the broader region.
Question 6: How do you see the outlook for 2025?
Mr. Wienands: We’re seeing good potential for 2025, especially the second half of the year. While last year was a bit slower, we believe the improvements in global markets and the ongoing investments in machinery will set the stage for a strong year ahead. As long as the challenges around energy costs and political instability are addressed, we’re confident that the industry will continue to rebound and grow.
