The President among the Presidents

At the end of 1959, President Nasser, who at the time was Head of State of the United Arab Republic, visited the important MISR industrial center in Helouan, Egypt. Manufacturing looms for MISR had already started in 1958 and several loads left for the Port of Antwerp to be shipped. No less than 816 looms were ordered, which were taken to a new factory, for exclusive use in our weaving machines. Our engineers went to work in tropical temperatures, and were introduced to local practices. A tour on the 'ship of the desert' was naturally a must. And interestingly, camel fat was used in the preparation of various dishes. However, the engineers on the spot did find out that it was less suitable for making their beloved fries, since they would become stuck together… (photo: Roland Desquirez as a sturdy camel rider)

Cooperation with Yugoslavia

In 1959, a trade agreement was reached regarding the production of looms between Picañol and the Zagreb construction firm Tekstilstroj. This agreement practically ensured Picañol's monopoly-position on the Yugoslav market. The cooperation with Picañol was realized after Yugoslav representatives contacted several manufacturers, but came to the conclusion that the Picañol loom offered the most benefits for the Yugoslav market. (photo: Bernard and Emmanuel Steverlynck with the Tekstilstroj delegation)

The 1,000th employee

From 12-19 September 1959, another international ITMA-exhibition took place in Milan, following ITMA '51 in Paris, and ITMA '55 in Brussels. In Milan, Picañol introduced a new rationalized system for the supply of weft threads on its machines. The Unifil flying shuttle machine, which was of American origin, was built onto the President loom for the first time. Another innovation was the automated loading installation for weaving shuttles, from Swiss company Georg Fischer. At the fair, Picañol announced during a press conference that it had signed an agreement with U.S. firm Saco-Lowell from Boston. From that moment onwards, Saco-Lowell would represent Picañol in the United States and Canada. The prospects were very bright at the time. Large orders were received, and with regard to the prospecting of new markets, Emmanuel Steverlynck was highly enthusiastic about countries where up to that point it had seemed absolutely impossible to sell even a single loom (because these countries had their domestic products, and stubbornly persisted in using only products of own fabrication). The number of employees proves how much Picañol benefited from the textile fair in Milan: on 10 December 1959, Gaston Delameilleure, the 1,000th employee, was honored.

New weaving mill in Nijverdal

On 24 January 1959, a new, automated weaving mill was put into use at the Royal Textile Factories Nijverdal - Ten Cate NV in the Netherlands. At the time, this group was one of the largest textile companies in Europe, with 6,090 looms, one-fifth of which originated from Ieper. The new, automated weaving mill was built using the latest technology in temperature and humidity, and was filled with 360 President looms. The official inauguration was attended by many authorities of both the Dutch government and the textile world. The speeches were followed by the ceremonial start, in which all 360 looms were running within seconds. The success of the looms did not go unnoticed. In the late fifties, more and more guests found their way to Ieper. Delegations from Yugoslavia, Brazil, the Philippines, the U.S. and other countries visited the Workshops in Ypres.

New sales territories

In late 1958, however, the demand for weaving machines dropped. In the Works Council, Bernard Steverlynck explained that this was not a matter of Belgian affairs, but was due exclusively to certain countries suffering political turmoil. In Cuba as well as Venezuela, two countries with textile-oriented economies, there was political unrest, and both countries were on the brink of revolution. In both countries, the credit lines were closed, making any sales impossible. Meanwhile, in Mexico the market stagnated, and even European markets like Italy and France showed no market movement. All of this created an economic standstill for Picañol. Therefore, other countries on different continents were explored in search of new sales territories. This was done under difficult circumstances. When an order came in from Turkey for the supply of over 700 machines for the Sumerbank, Omer Deschacht and technical advisor Tony Debruyne were sent to Ankara. After days of discussions, in the freezing cold, a contract was typed in a hotel room on a borrowed typewriter. Photocopiers did not yet exist, and the carbon paper available was only able to make four copies. To further increase the workload, eight copies had to be made, not to mention the same number of versions in English and in French. Price calculations were still made on a mechanical calculator, on which one had to turn the reel to multiply. When, in addition, a detailed list of spare parts for two years should be included, the home front was called in – this saw Robert Bastil of the spare parts department having to ensure that all of the necessary information was sent to Ankara by telegram. However, all of this painstaking work was not in vain. A contract was signed for 750 looms, which meant that the company could run at full speed again.

Picañol at the World Exposition in 1958

The date 17 April 1958 saw the start of the much talked about World Exposition in Brussels, which would last until 19 October. Picañol participated in the event and did so with a President loom at the Symatex stand in the Belgian pavilion. On 12 July, Picañol organized a group outing with the Brass Band for the employees who wanted to visit the World Exposition. And on 4 September, Picañol appeared on Flemish television. The following Picañol employees – O. Deschacht, R. Desquirez, M. Dufromont and J. Liefhooghe – participated in a short television report. Thanks to this, our loom and the Picañol Workshops received the honor of becoming Symatex's most important member at the ‘Maison de la Metallurgie’ (the House of Metallurgy). The television reporter asked O. Deschacht a couple of questions about the evolution of the loom in the last 200 years.
- “Where are these looms manufactured?”
- “In Ieper, in the heart of West Flanders.”
- “Are they also sold in Belgium?”
- “Certainly, an important model company from Bruges has recently purchased numerous looms, however, many of them cross the seas to foreign countries.”
- “Could we see and hear this ‘fierce machine’ in action for a moment?”
- “Absolutely.”
And, following these questions, the Picañol loom roared at the Expo and on Flemish television for fifteen minutes.
(foto: Bernard Steverlynck at a presentation in the Atomium)

Telex automation

In the fifties, technology was advancing rapidly globally, not least at Picañol. Until that period, all correspondence with the international correspondents had taken place by telephone, letter exchange or by telegram. However, from 1955 onwards, Picañol put the first telex machine into use. At the time, this marked a milestone in the history of office automation. And from that moment on, office workers of Picañol could transmit messages, both nationally and internationally, without using the phone or regular written correspondence. By entering a telex-number (similar to dialing a phone number), one could reach the company to be contacted. The message could be typed directly, or punched onto the tape of the telex machine. This meant that many meters of tape would roll out of the machine to be converted to text.