Textile World
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Knitting / Apparel
New Plant & Equipment, M&A
TWA
OBERTSHAUSEN, Germany — September 30, 2026 — KARL MAYER has just unveiled its new RDJ 7/3 Jacquard Double Needle Bar Raschel Machine in the international trade press, and the innovation is already causing a stir in the market: The Long John Group, a leading manufacturer of performance footwear fabrics and a long-standing partner of renowned brands, was the first customer to invest in the new machine and celebrated its official launch at its Indonesian plant on August 20.
Long John celebrates the commissioning of the new RDJ 7/3 from KARL MAYER
Guests at the event included representatives from well-known global brands in the athletic footwear sector and from KARL MAYER’s Management.
On site, guests experienced the RDJ 7/3’s enormous innovation potential firsthand. With its three wireless Jacquard bars and other clever technological features, the machine opens up entirely new possibilities for the development of footwear textiles. Complex patterns, precise functional zones, innovative structures, and expressive design effects can now be created with unprecedented flexibility and efficiency.
A key supplier to the global footwear industry
The Long John Group is one of Taiwan’s leading supplier of footwear fabrics and ranks among the largest and most experienced manufacturers in the industry in Asia.
Karl Josef Mayer, grandson of the founder of KARL MAYER, in conversation with Kevin Wen (back left), son of the founder and Chairman of Long John, Jeff Wen, about the latest textile innovations
The company was founded in 1983 by Jeff Wen and has continued to grow ever since. Today, Long John has facilities in Taiwan, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, as well as a sales office in the United States.
Production is fully integrated and includes spinning, weaving, knitting, warp knitting, dyeing, and finishing. The production capacity is impressive: fabrics for more than 313 million pairs of shoes have already been produced on the Jacquard Double Needle Bar Raschel Machine.
The warp knitting division plays a key role in the company’s innovative strength. Here, open-designed stretch tricot fabrics for uppers and linings are produced, as well as high-performance spacer fabrics with plain or trendy Jacquard-patterned mesh surfaces, which are used in a variety of ways in modern athletic shoes.
Innovation Is Inevitable
Long John Group products are characterized by high quality, innovation, and a keen sense of trends, and are manufactured using high-tech machinery and state-of-the-art processes.
To bring new design concepts to life, the company has now expanded its machinery fleet to include the RDJ 7/3 from KARL MAYER. The new technology enables:
Hole designs with nearly perfect and significantly larger rounds
Precisely integrated patterns and functional zones with unprecedented design freedom
Custom-designed jacquard patterns with striking two-tone effects and creative c
