en.Wedoany.com Reported - Germany's Karl Mayer Group announced on June 18, 2026, that it plans to sell part of the assets of the former "Stoll Business Unit" (H. Stoll AG & Co. KG) to Chinese knitting machinery manufacturer Ningbo Cixing Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Cixing"). The transaction involves the Stoll brand, some inventory, and related technical assets.

Founded in 1873, Stoll was initially located in the small German town of Riedlingen, and moved to Reutlingen in 1878. It once held a leading position in the global flat knitting machine sector. During the pandemic in 2020, the Karl Mayer Group acquired Stoll. However, by 2025, Karl Mayer decided to refocus on its core business and announced the closure of the Reutlingen plant, resulting in the unemployment of all remaining approximately 270 employees. Production lines in Reutlingen have ceased operations, though spare parts supply and after-sales support remain available through the company's website, with spare parts inventory stored in Obertshausen, where Karl Mayer's headquarters is located.

Ningbo Cixing, headquartered in the eastern Chinese port city of Ningbo, employs approximately 1,700 people and is one of the world's largest knitting machinery manufacturers. According to reports, Cixing plans to conduct business on a portion of the original factory site and intends to establish two new companies. The Karl Mayer Group stated that how these assets will be used in the future falls within the scope of Cixing Group's own responsibilities, and Cixing will announce its future development plans at an appropriate time.

This acquisition marks another instance of a Chinese knitting machinery company acquiring brand assets from a traditional German enterprise, following the acquisition of German company Mayer & Cie. by a Chinese firm at the end of March 2026. This trend reflects that many long-established German manufacturers, facing increased competitive pressure from Asian, particularly Chinese, companies, are encountering operational difficulties and subsequently being acquired by Chinese firms.

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