Care Solutions for perfect all-round support

For the KARL MAYER GROUP, after-sales service means more than just supplying spare parts and providing reactive services. The global player takes a holistic view of the subject and offers "Care Solutions" aimed at maximizing the overall effectiveness (OEE) of its machines and minimizing operating costs (OpEx). It’s all about service4you and more: expert support, supply of spare parts and online services. In particular, a strong focus on digital support offerings means that customers benefit from unique next-level support. Anyone wishing to take advantage of this will have quick and easy access to the individual solutions through a new, clearly structured Customer Portal. The new platform and its features will be available at the KARL MAYER GROUP’s stand at ITMA, hall 4 B119 of Fiera Milano, for visitors to get to know and try out. First insights and advance information on further exhibition highlights from Care Solutions can be found below.

Easy access through the Customer Portal

The new Customer Portal ensures that customers are always kept up to date in their day-to-day work. Fast, location-independent support and remote assistance, 24/7 inquiries and orders for spare parts, training and services, or all machine data at a glance at any time and any place – no matter what is required at the moment, the online cockpit provides access to all of the KARL MAYER GROUP’s digital products and navigates the user quickly and unerringly through the diverse support world of Care Solutions. Information on the status of service requests is also available under "my Tickets". The new ticket system ensures speed and transparency for service requests, from which customers benefit greatly. A new energy monitoring solution provides a clear overview of energy consumption.

Those who want to know more about the latest machines, textiles, business opportunities and topics in their industry can also log on to the online information portal my TEXTILE NEWS via single sign-on.

The offers of the Customer Portal have so far been available to all warp knitting customers of the KARL MAYER GROUP. An extension to all other business units is being planned. At the ITMA, visitors will be invited to try things out and experience them. Under the motto ‚Touch & Explore‘, large-format touchscreens will be available for a tour of the Customer Portal with its wide range of support solutions.

Remote service for maximum machine availability

On-site support, but from a distance! Thanks to the KARL MAYER GROUP’s Remote Service, the service experts of the global player can be contacted easily, directly from the site of the incident, in the event of complications on the machine, and data for diagnosis and problem solving can be exchanged in an uncomplicated manner. The customer benefits from maximum production reliability and machine availability. Downtimes in production are reduced and no travel costs are incurred. Accessing the highly efficient troubleshooting remotely is child’s play via the new Customer Portal. The prerequisite is the connection of the machine to the secure cloud of the KM.ON business unit of the KARL MAYER GROUP.

Perfectly networked with the Connectivity Package

The KARL MAYER GROUP’s Connectivity Package makes it possible to network the machine with the cloud. True to the motto "Your access to the digital world of KARL MAYER", the combination of hardware and software forms the basis for access to all of the KARL MAYER GROUP’s digital solutions. The package also includes the prerequisites for fast remote communication – especially through simple, secure data transfer via the "k.ey" edge device – and offers the k.manangement dashboard for monitoring machine operation.

Care X-Tend package with a choice of support solutions

In addition to the Connectivity Package, the KARL MAYER GROUP also offers a range of selected Care Solutions packages to provide comprehensive, personalized support. One such package is the Care X-Tend Package. Those who order the support services in a combined format can minimize unplanned downtime and maximize the safety and profitability of their machine operations. In addition, costs and times for maintenance work become more calculable, and shift work can be better coordinated. All this is made possible by selected after-sales services, including an annual machine health check, which is also rewarded with an extension of the goodwill period, unlimited remote service, and the replacement of non-wear parts as part of the goodwill services.

In addition, specialists and experts are available with their know-how online and on site by individual arrangement. Remote communication takes place via e-mail, Microsoft TEAMS, telephone or chat. The subject of the consulting sessions are questions about individual machines, the quality of the goods produced and textile product developments.

Transparency in energy consumption

Energy Monitoring provides customers with real-time information on the energy consumption of their machines in order to identify efficiency and optimization potential. Different operating states – production, standby and heating – and different reference values – per article and per main shaft revolution – are considered. The C02 footprint and costs can be derived from the data. How this works will be demonstrated, among other things, by a live demonstration at a HKS 3M-ON in Milan in conjunction with a preview of the newly developed monitoring solution at the Care Solutions booth in the "Touch & Explore" area.

In addition to real-time data, Energy Monitoring provides historical data of the individual machines – also as an overview of the total consumption, i.e. for the entire machine fleet.

This transparency helps the customer to save energy, for example by optimally matching the machine speed and thus the energy costs to the production targets.

In addition, the consumption data of different machines and different articles can be compared. The comparison can be used to balance out consumption peaks by selectively switching machines on and off. Past data can also be compiled into energy reports, for example, for grant applications or environmental certifications. These and other use cases for unfolding the optimization potential of the new energy monitoring will be presented in Milan.

WEBSHOP SPARE PARTS with new features

The WEBSHOP SPARE PARTS makes it possible to order spare parts from original production at the click of a mouse. The online tool for 24/7 shopping without detours is available in 12 languages and now includes more than 4,000 spare parts that can be easily identified via high-quality product images when ordering. Fast delivery is ensured by numerous store and stock centers in all parts of the world, while useful features such as the recommendation of further, related spare parts and the creation of a user-specific interactive spare parts catalog provide added value when using the tool.

Just in time for ITMA, the WEBSHOP comes up with enhanced performance. New features include the "Offer & order" function, which quickly transforms an offer into an order, and the "My parts list" for even simpler ordering through an individual shopping cart list. When working with selected transport service providers, customers can also find out about the delivery status of their shipment, and a filter function helps them find relevant documents.

Pattern changes easier than ever before

The web-based software solution k. innovation CORE LITE enables patterning in the cloud, with unlimited repeat lengths and without time-consuming handling with pattern discs. In addition to maximum flexibility, benefits are offered for the overall process. For example, costs and environmental impact due to production, transport and storage of mechanical data carriers can be saved, changeover times reduced and risks due to operating errors reduced.

Conveniently from any mobile device, the first step is to define the basic data such as article designation, machine type, gauge and pattern length. Subsequently, the chain link notations of already created patterns can be imported and easily edited with k. innovation CORE LITE or – for the creation of new patterns – the lapping values of simple designs can be entered for each ground guide bar. A visualization of the pattern provides an overview. Finally, a plausibility check is carried out by the software, the sample data is transferred to the KM.ON cloud and downloaded from there directly to the machine. Suitable are models with KAMCOS® 2 equipment and electronic pattern drive that are networked with the cloud.

Data security is the top priority

KM.ON considers machine data to be an asset worth protecting. This protection is provided by using established and recognized security procedures. The company pursues a connectivity strategy based on state-of-the-art solutions that ensure the highest standards of security and performance.