Lindauer DORNIER GmbH today

Customer requests and requirements are perceived by DORNIER as chances to improve. Correspondingly, the approach to customer requests throughout the entire company is very apparent – from the development and engineering stages through to worldwide customer service. This list of examples representing improvements and product optimization, based on close cooperation with customers, is endless.

The lead position of the company is also thanks to a highly motivated workforce, which maintains considerable interest in technical progress and has made exceptional contributions in this respect. It is therefore a matter of course that the employees concerned are also included as inventors in patent applications.

From the very beginning the rigorously applied modular construction principle in development engineering and fabrication is one of the major facts at this time regarding controlling costs. This strategy is of decisive significance for a company producing small series of machines and concentrated on maintaining the technological edge. Also in the case of the special machines, the second largest business segment of Lindauer DORNIER, the same principles of modular construction apply. The special machines segment includes not only film stretching machines for the manufacture of magnetic tapes for video and sound recording, photographic and packaging film, but also industrial dryers and machines for textile finishing and sludge drying, the latter bringing the company into the field of environmental protection.

The first DORNIER loom, type DoTex

1950 to 1955: From human flight to shuttle flight

Lindauer DORNIER GmbH had its beginnings at the end of the Second World War. Following the unconditional sur-render aircraft construction was forbid-den in Germany, the DORNIER facilities either destroyed or dismantled. As a result DORNIER the aircraft construction company had to find another basis for its operation. The DORNIER works in Pfronten were still intact and it was only through a fortunate occurrence that this facility had not been confiscated by the Allies. This facility started to manufacture all kinds of what were considered useful products at that time. The DORNIER weaving machine manufacturing program originated at the Pfronten works. The ERBA textile company began to resume production and urgently required some parts for the old looms. DORNIER’s Pfronten works supplied the required parts, already optimized to specific requirements. 

The first DORNIER cardboard dryer at the Swiss company Christ

DORNIER moved back into the Lindau-Rickenbach works after this had been released by the French forces, and founded “Lindauer DORNIER GmbH” in July 1950. The first task was to build a loom for ERBA. The aircraft engineers had neither technical drawings nor a precise idea of how a loom worked. All the more astonishing that under the direction of the one time aircraft engineer Hermann Zippel the first “DoTex” loom was supplied after only six months. And even more astonishing, the machine proved itself right from the outset. Soon the 100th loom could be delivered. In postwar Germany there was an enormous pent up demand for textile products. The company became profitable in 1952 with orders from Eisenlohr in Reutlingen and Schöpflin in the Black Forest. But the textile industry was still skeptical as regards DORNIER. When the DoTex loom was shown for the first time in May 1951 at the Hannover Industrial Exhibition, it was described half in ridicule and half in acknowledgment as “the flying loom”, since the name DORNIER was still synonymous with aircraft construction.

the mid 50’s DORNIER introduced its high speed “Automatic Flyshuttle Loom” the SW4, with a revolutionary innovation, which was patented for the first time. This related to the design of the flyshuttle box, specifically the receiving mechanism for the flyshuttle where the braking and guiding elements controlling the position of the flyshuttle were separate entities. The growing interest in DORNIER automatic flyshuttle looms led to the appointment of agents in important export markets such as Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey. 

Textile finishing machines were also required by the textile industry. As a result of a licensing agreement with Messrs. Haubold, a company that had made a name for itself in this field prior to the war, Lindauer DORNIER Special Machines Division was started to manufacture machines for drying, bleaching, dye-ing and finishing. The experience gained led to other products. At the request of Messrs. Christ in Thal, Switzerland, a new type of jet dryer for the drying of cardboard was developed. The newly gained experiences were invaluable in the heat treatment of flat materials utilized in subsequently developed products.

Polyester appeared during the 50’s and was utilized for the manufacture of photographic and X-ray film, later also for magnetic tape for sound and video recording, as well as computer tape. Again it was possible as a result of a customer request and the Haubold experience, since this company had supplied a modified textile tenter frame to IG Farben, to develop the first industrially applied DORNIER film stretching machine. Important customers of our film stretching machines were and still are almost exclusively large enterprises engaged in the manufacture of stretched film and foils such as BASF and Hoechst in Germany, Agfa Gevaert in Belgium, Montecatini in Italy, Rhone-Poulenc in France, Cela-nese, Kodak, DuPont and 3M in the USA, Fuji and Toray in Japan, and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).

In 1955 after a decade of interruption aircraft construction was again permitted in Germany. As a passionate aeronautics engineer, Peter Dornier made significant contributions to DORNIER GmbH in Friedrichshafen and Munich parallel to his efforts to build up Lindauer DORNIER GmbH.

1955 to 1961: success with automatic flyshuttle looms and special machines

The initial success with the automatic flyshuttle loom was encouraging, but it was difficult to compete against the old established and mostly Swiss manufacturers. A small team of engineers under the direction of Hermann Zippel doggedly pursued the development of the high speed automatic flyshuttle loom. Gross sales increased. In 1957 the first export order was concluded with the Turkish textile concern Milli Mensucat in Adana.

Sales and customer service were continu-ally being strengthened. Not only were trained and experienced technicians utilizedfor installations, but also in sales discussions with prospective customers. What was considered sensational at that time was the flight of Peter Dornier, Her-mann Zippel and Dieter von Gehlen in a DORNIER aircraft of the Do27 series to Rheine in Westphalia to conclude a large order with the weaving company Hecking located in Neuenkirchen.

View of a DORNIER transverse stretching machine, part of a complete film stretching machine

In the meantime Lindau was feverishly working on a prototype machine, which would eventually have a decisive influence on the market share in film stretching machines. In this new machine roller clips were used for the first time. With this inhouse development of this technologically vital component DORNIER became independent of subsuppliers and cooperating partners. Gevaert purchased the machine for what at the time was the princely sum of DM 400,000. In those days one could purchase 4–6 single family homes or 40–50 automatic looms for that amount. Each individual roller clip cost DM 400, the equivalent of a month’s salary for a qualified technician at that time. In 1961 the leader of the country Francisco Franco, decreed that a state textile industry was to be developed in the south of Spain. Don Francisco Ortiz-Enchaque, general director of Construcciones Aeronauticas, remembered that his old aircraft engineering friend, Prof. Claude Dornier, also had something to do with textile machines. As a result DORNIER arranged its first licensing agreement in Spain. It didn’t take long before the first SW4 automatic loom was started up with a bang on the floor rails in the aircraft hangar of CASA in Cadiz. This hangar had been used during the mid 30’s to launch the DORNIER Whale flying boats.

1961 to 1969: the road of the rapier weaving machine

DORNIER was well established on the international market with its automatic flyshuttle loom. Annual gross sales had reached DM10-11 million. During these years Peter Dornier developed a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft commissioned by the Federal German Department of Defense. His concept of using four auxiliary engines mounted on the wingtips to provide additional lift received a lot of attention from the international aircraft industry.

Prof. Dr. Claude Dornier with his wife Anna and their two sons Claudius (2nd from left) and Peter (right)

The rapid pace of development in the post war years had also not let up in the textile machinery industry. Already in the early 60’s some manufacturers were experimenting with shuttleless weaving machines. With these machines the intention was to achieve a more economical and flexible weaving system. Hermann Zippel, the all round genius at Lindauer DORNIER responsible for engineering and sales, began to develop his initial ideas in light of this new technology. Nobody had any idea at this stage how long the road to travel from the initial concept to a tried and proven shuttleless rapier weaving machine would really be.

The first experiments for a shuttleless rapier weaving machine were carried out in complete secrecy under the direction of Peter Dornier. At that time a new person joined the team as an inventor and even without any technical experience he soon won the admiration of Peter Dornier. This was Nikolaus Kokkinis, a Greek national who started his career at Lindauer DORNIER GmbH as a design engineer in 1961. It was he who had a truly revolutionary idea in 1966. During the Christmas festivities he said to Peter Dornier, “We should design and engineer a positively controlled filling transfer system in the center of the shed. Nobody has such a system, but we can do it”.

In spite of many setbacks and difficulties the initial development of the rapier weaving machine was completed in only seven years. The fact that during the sub-sequent 35 years of industrial development and up until this day no comparable innovative concept has been put on the market illustrates how much inventive spirit was present in DORNIER engineering at the time. Today the spectrum of materials and fabrics which can be processed with the rapier weaving machine ranges from the finest pure silk fabrics, greige and multicolored cotton goods, woolen and worsted fabrics, mat-tress ticking, home fashions, decorative and upholstery fabrics to heavy industrial fabrics made from jute, wire, glass roving, monofilament, carbon fiber, aramid and tapes. Thus is the machine capable of satisfying the needs and requirements of the apparel, home fashions and industrial fabric weavers.

The first generation DORNIER Rapier Weaving Machine

Good business with the special machines supported the development of the rapier weaving machine during hard times. A large film stretching machine was delivered to the Japanese company Fuji-Film in 1967. In 1969 the rapier weaving machine also penetrated international markets: an initial order was received from the Swedish upholstery fabric weaver Oskarström. Then followed orders from the American companies Dorr Woolen and Anglo Fabrics, then later Collins & Aikman, at that time the largest manufacturer of upholstery fabrics in the USA. These orders started an avalanche of subsequent orders from companies such as Milliken, Riegel and Chatham. In December 1969 the first rapier weaving machine was delivered to the worldwide leading Italian woolen weaver Cerruti 1881, a company which would become decisive as regards the further development of the machine. 

On December 5, 1969 Prof. Claude Dornier died at the age of 85. Lindauer DORNIER has his farsightedness in developing the weaving machine and special machine businesses and to carry on with these developments even when pushing forward with aircraft construction to thank for its existence today.

As the advantages of the DORNIER Rapier Weaving Machine spread throughout the industry, rumors again began to spread to the effect that DORNIER would soon make the decision to concentrate exclusively on aircraft construction. To counteract this an unusual marketing strategy was implemented: trial machines were installed at customers’ facilities to convince them of the product. The Belgian textile company Bekaert had already purchased a tenter frame in 1955 and is a good example of many years of good customer relations with DORNIER. The weaving machine demonstration so convinced Bekaert that as a result this company even today is one of the largest customers for DORNIER weaving machines. Following the international breakthrough with the rapier weaving machine, DORNIER invested in the expansion of the engineering shop in 1970 with the addition of a second floor, thus significantly increasing production. The 1000th rapier weaving machine was shipped to Craigs in Scotland. 

In September 1973 Nikolaus Kokkinis died after a decade of inspired inventive spirit which had so significantly influenced the development of the weaving machine.

The technology of the DORNIER Rapier Weaving Machine could also be marketed at this time with the concluding of the first licensing agreement in India. Even in Switzerland, the country with the strongest competitive companies Sulzer, Rüti and Saurer, the rapier weaving machine from Lindauer DORNIER began to break through into this market. In March 1978 American DORNIER Machinery Corporation (Amdo) was founded in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, one of the most important export countries. At the ITMA 1979 in Hannover in addi-tion to a further improved rapier weaving machine, the continuous mercerizing machine was presented for the first time. The patented circular expander enabled tubular knit goods to be mercerized for the first time without selvedge marks.

The DORNIER Rapier Weaving Machine installation at the Spanish company Iberica de Confecciones 1976

On January 31, 1982 Peter Dornier cele-brated his 65th birthday and at almost the same time, the 15,000th weaving machine came off the production line. 

The enterprise was flourishing; in 1981 gross sales had grown to in excess of DM 150 million and in 1982 increased to DM 180 million. At the Lindau-Rickenbach facility a new spacious building for weaving machine demonstrations, final gearbox assembly, and the sales and marketing departments was completed. As a result practically all the possibilities for further building projects were exhausted. And since no suitable building land could be found in Lindau, in April 1985 Peter Dornier leased a fabrication facility for pecial machines in Esseratsweiler in the Achberg community.

The performance achieved by the company received official recognition during a ceremony in June 1983 when Peter Dornier received the Bavarian Order of Merit from the Bavarian Prime Minister Franz-Josef Strauß.

1985 to 2000: the step to independence

A decisive turning point in the history of Lindauer DORNIER GmbH came in 1985. Since its founding in 1950 the company had remained part of the DORNIER Group. As Daimler-Benz acquired a majority shareholding in the group in the summer of 1985, Peter Dornier assumed sole ownership of Lindauer DORNIER GmbH within the framework of a stock swap. The branch manufacturing facility in Esseratsweiler was further expanded, and this facility became the center for the entire fabrication and assembly of special machines. In the main facility CNC machining centers, in-house plastics manufacturing, and an electronic research and development department were introduced.

When Peter D. Dornier, the son of Peter Dornier, joined the company in 1989 Lindauer DORNIER was faced with a difficult situation in world markets. In the case of special machines gross sales abruptly became retrogressive. Business with video and magnetic tape after the boom in the 80’s was now in recession.

However, an upswing in business came relatively quickly and was largely due to a market development that occurred in India in 1993. In order to keep perishable foods longer in tropical climates, polyester film was in demand and being used more and more for packaging purposes. Since the Indian company entrusted with the project for such installations did not possess the necessary experience, it was necessary for one supplier to offer a complete engineering service for the installation of complete plants. Here Lindauer DORNIER trod on new ground. Up to this point the main focus in Lindau had been on the manufacture of the special machines themselves. Now it was suddenly necessary to undertake engineering assignments in connection with the supply and installation of complete production lines.

Clips closer on a DORNIER transverse stretching machine

In order for a medium sized enterprise located in Germany to compete internationally with large companies, there was only one way for Lindauer DORNIER, a way that has been resolutely followed to this day: technological leadership. It is mostly customers – often technological leaders in their own field – who challenge Lindauer DORNIER to ever higher levels of performance and improvements. One measure of technological leadership among many is the number of patent applications. Peter Dornier himself during his career had 45 patent applications and each year an average of 15 patents are applied for by the company.

In the area of weaving, the company introduced a new airjet weaving machine in 1988. The system of filling insertion by means of compressed air was incorporated into the existing frame of the rapier weaving machine. The new airjet weaving machine also incorporated, at that time for the first time, a new electronic control and monitoring system with CAN-Bus, which offers a high degree of flexibility and functionality and also has an open architecture to accommodate future developments. Today, more than 10 years later, over one third of total weaving machines produced are airjet weaving machines. There is an upward trend. In 1991 for the first time a system family of weaving machines consisting of rapier and airjet weaving machines was presented at the ITMA in Hannover. In addition, this exhibition saw the world premier of the Quick Style Change (QSC) system developed by DORNIER.

Group of subnozzles on a DORNIER airjet weaving machine

For the time being at least, the high points in the history of the development of weaving machines were demonstrated by Lindauer DORNIER at the ITMA 1999 in Paris. In addition to the intro-duction of a completely new family of selvedge formation devices, at the same time the widest airjet weaving machine ever built, with a nominal width of 430 cm and equipped with an electronic jacquard machine, was exhibited. This airjet had a filling insertion rate of 2,500 m/min. Simultaneously a new fashion trend in the area of circular knit goods – seamless underwear with a Lycra blend – led to the presentation of a heat setting machine, type EcoFix® . The heart of this machine is the patented circular expander from the series of finishing machines, which enables circular knit goods to be processed in tubular form.

Company owner Peter Dornier with his son Peter D. Dornier

Development is ongoing. Globalization, worldwide business to business network-ing with an increasing concentration of companies, as well as significant economic and financial crises as recently experienced in Asia and Russia are all challenges facing DORNIER today. The en-terprise is building its future on those qualities that have made the company a successful supplier to specialized markets during the last 50 years. In this tradition and with an exceptional response to challenge and opportunity, Lindauer DORNIER is being led toward a secure nd successful future by the son of the ounder among a group of 2nd generation executives.