Acquire competencies and expand offerings

Recently, the potential and capacities for this were significantly expanded. On April 28, 2022, KM.ON acquired the cloud technology developed by Digitale Strickmanufaktur (Digital Knitting Factory), thus, expanding its portfolio of cloud solutions for textiles. In addition, the team of the Krefeld-based start-up was integrated into the KM.ON team. Together, they will continue to launch innovative textile solutions. "We are very pleased that our technology has been taken over by the KARL MAYER Group and can thus be made available to a very large customer base even faster in the future. Our solution fits in very well with KM.ON’s approach of offering new solutions on the market via the cloud," says Christian Zarbl from Digitale Strickmanufaktur.

With the newly acquired cloud solutions, flat knitting machines from STOLL can be networked with the cloud. Customers can thus take advantage of further digital offerings, for example to transfer their individualized products directly to the machine and produce them without any administrative effort. This eliminates the need to manually individualize the knitting file.

The cloud solution developed can also play a role in industrial-style on-demand manufacturing in the future. More and more products are being ordered directly via online stores, e.g. from major brands or sporting goods manufacturers. With cloud technology, the order can be routed directly to connected production facilities and the goods manufactured and shipped to the customer without detours. This saves on warehousing costs and reduces cost-intensive markdowns. In addition, there are fewer climate-damaging emissions because the product can be transported directly from the producer to the buyer. The latest acquisition enables KM.ON to make the most of opportunities arising from future scenarios such as these.

"By acquiring the cloud solution of Digitale Strickmanufaktur, we are ensuring that we are prepared for significant future topics such as on-demand manufacturing, mass customization and automated regional production," says Max Kürig, CEO of KM.ON.

About KM.ON

KM.ON GmbH was founded on November 3, 2017 and is based in Frankfurt am Main. The company’s goal is to quickly and flexibly develop new digital solutions with perceptible added value for customers.

The company employs a team of software specialists and technology experts. It can build on the solid financial base, know-how and capacities of the KARL MAYER Group. The innovative global market leader KARL MAYER is the sole shareholder of the young software start-up. The digital portfolio of products and services will be combined under the family brand KM.ON.

About Digitale Strickmanufaktur

Digitale Strickmanufaktur (Digital Knitting Factory) was founded in April 2020. The start-up has developed a cloud service that makes it possible to connect retailers with producers via the cloud. With the help of the solution, customers will be able to order individualized garments with desired size, color and design. The order data is transferred via the cloud and can be retrieved for production anywhere in the world.