Prince Albert as a guest at ITMA Basel

From 27 September to 6 October 1967, Picañol participated in the fifth international trade fair for textile machinery in Basel (Switzerland). After previous editions in Lille, Brussels, Milan and Hannover, a record turnout of more than 110,000 visitors from over 100 countries attended the new ITMA fair. Picañol was the big star among the 28 Belgian participants present. ITMA Basel was no less than six times larger than the first edition in Lille, which also showed how strong the textile machinery industry had grown in the meantime.

There were 11 President looms at the Picañol stand, complemented with six looms at other stands. Old and new customers were received by an extensive group of 40 Picañol employees. Offers were formulated, orders were booked, and whenever it got too hot, everybody hopped into the bar for a cool drink. In the late morning of 6 October, Prince Albert, as President of the Belgian Foreign Trade Office, also visited our stand.

Picanol of America moves to new premises

In September 1967, Picanol of America moved to a new building in Charlotte, a city in the state of North Carolina in the United States. This was necessary due to the large increase in the number of Picañol looms in the United States. By the end of 1967 there were already over 5,000 President looms divided over 35 American weaving mills. In addition to offices and sales services, the new building held a technical education center, a demonstration hall, and several warehouses.

Listed on the stock exchange

In 1966, Picañol was listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange. The main reason for the public offering was the appointment of Charles Steverlynck at the Banking Commission. Namely, it was forbidden for a member of this commission to have substantial interests in a company. That is why the Steverlynck family decided to convert Picañol into a limited liability company, and list their stock on the exchange. The family did, however, buy the majority of the stock.

The first towel loom

To meet the expanding market in Belgium and other European countries, Picañol launched its first towel loom on 15 November 1965. It was entirely built on the already successful multi-color loom, and included with the necessary parts for weaving loops. The loops were formed in the fabric according to the principle of movable reed that is adjustable from 0 mm to 19 mm. With a simple adjustment, the loop-pile could be created in two ways, in which a loop was formed by either three wefts or four wefts. The flying shuttle-towel loom would enjoy a long life. Picañol would supply machines of this type until 1985. The last towel loom was destined for Algeria. Today, Picanol is offering the TERRYplus 800 airjet weaving machine specially designed for weaving of terry cloth, based on the OMNIplus 800 series.

23rd Southern Textile Exposition

In 1964, the ‘23rd Southern Textile Exposition’ took place in Greenville (USA). The fair was a tremendous success, and a large proportion of the American textile industry visited the Picañol stand. The big attraction at the stand was the CC-C loom, on which dense rainwear poplin was woven. The warp and weft mixed 65% Dacron and 35% cotton. During the first days of the exhibition, the loom reached a speed of 260 wefts per minute. However, upon the request of Emmanuel Steverlynck, the speed was increased by 10 wefts every day. On the last day, the President ran with a speed of 304 wefts per minute. These speeds greatly impressed the visitors. And the numbers speak for themselves: Riegel Textile Corporation purchased 200 looms of this type.

The Flying President

In 1963, Picañol achieved a first in the history of the Belgian textile industry. For the first time, Picañol shipped a weaving machine across the Atlantic Ocean - to Mount Vernon Mills in Baltimore (USA) - by plane. This remarkable 'stunt' was performed on the occasion of the 75th birthday of Charles Steverlynck, but also, and above all, in order to meet the demand of an important U.S. customer in record time. Thanks to good cooperation between Picañol and the airline Pan-Am American Airways, the new President loom could be delivered in less than three weeks. Under normal circumstances, a delivery to the United States would have taken several months. This spectacular feat not only attracted the attention of the press, it also immediately gave Picañol a foothold in the U.S. However, conquering the U.S. market was no easy task. Up to that moment, Picañol had only been able to make a few modest sales in the United States. At the time, the market was being controlled by two national companies, in particular Draper, which held a near monopoly. Nevertheless, Emmanuel Steverlynck was determined to penetrate this market, even against the advice of his father Charles. Armed with an address book and his business card confirming his status as a manager, Emmanuel crossed the ocean. The first contacts with several large weaving mills proved to be very positive. However, as soon as the subject of purchasing was raised, the first question of the customers always related to where they would get spare parts from. To this end, Emmanuel Steverlynck leased a local garage and had four looms shipped in from Ieper. After showing the potential customers the looms, he had them dismantled. This way, Picañol already had some spare parts before even selling the first weaving machine. This effort proved not to be in vain, because shortly afterwards the first small orders were coming in.