The Main Stenter Machine Brands and Where They Are Built

The Brands You Will Meet

Stenter frames come from a surprisingly small group of builders, spread across Germany, Taiwan, Korea, India, China and Italy. The main names are Bruckner of Germany, Monforts of Germany, LK of Taiwan, IL SUNG of South Korea, Mamata of India, Harish of India, Babcock of Germany, Shaoyang of China, Artos of Germany, Stentex of Germany and Unitech of Italy.

Knowing which builder made your machine is the starting point for a parts list, but it is only the starting point. Every one of these brands changed its rail patterns over time, so the machine name narrows the search rather than ending it.

The German Group

Germany accounts for five of the eleven: Bruckner, Monforts, Babcock, Artos and Stentex. Between them they built a very large share of the frames running in finishing mills worldwide, and Monforts and Bruckner are the two we carry deepest.

Bruckner is the one that catches people out. We hold four chain patterns, four clip references and two pin plate patterns for Bruckner alone, because the rails genuinely differ across machine generations.

The Asian Builders

LK of Taiwan and IL SUNG of South Korea are the two Asian brands we are asked for most. LK frames are widespread across Asian finishing mills, often running on the same floor as a German machine, and we carry the whole LK rail from chain through to BESLUX chain oil.

IL SUNG is the harder case. The machines are good and the spares are difficult to find outside Korea, which is usually how IL SUNG owners end up contacting a Chinese parts maker. We make the IL SUNG pin plate and the PEEK lead rod nut, and quote other parts against a sample.

Italy and the Compact Machines

Unitech of Italy builds stenters, and we make the 265 x 90 mm brush wheel for them, the largest diameter in our range.

Italy also gives the finishing industry its compact machines. Ferraro and Lafer compact lines relax and shrink knitted fabric rather than heat setting it under width tension, and we make chain for both. A knitted goods finisher very often runs an Italian compact machine behind a German stenter.

What to Do With a Mixed Park

Most mills of any size end up with three or four brands on the floor, each with its own agent, its own lead time and its own minimum order. That is expensive in stock and worse in downtime.

There are two ways out. Consolidate the supply, so one supplier covers every brand from one purchase order. Or consolidate the machines, by converting rail guides so several machines run the same plates, clips and chain. Artos rail changed to Monforts rail and LK rail changed to Monforts rail are the two conversions we do most often.