Why Rapier-Tape Manufacturers Choose to Produce Textile Machinery Parts

From the mid-to-late 1980s, the Chinese textile industry began to introduce rapier looms. At that time China's capacity to independently develop and produce rapier looms was still weak, and the equipment relied heavily on imports. In particular, along with the imported equipment, a large number of wearing parts and spare parts also had to be imported, which not only caused great inconvenience to textile enterprises but also greatly increased costs. Before 1986 no domestic enterprise produced rapier tapes. It was not until 1986 that the former Ministry of Textile Industry decided to organize domestic enterprises to independently develop rapier tapes, and a number of enterprises, including the joint-stock company affiliated to the 43rd Research Institute, took on this research task that filled a domestic gap.