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.