The continuous challenges of the market have motivated many companies to relook at their business model as also their product offerings. This trend has also affected the technology manufacturers and up-front companies like Santoni S.p.A which have accepted the challenge and through consistent R&D, upgraded and modernised their entire range of circular knitting machines.
Now the focus is on the footwear market in collaboration with the R&D department of Lonati Group that dominates the market of socks’ machines, thanks to its revolutionary ‘closed-toe-truelinking system’, an automatic system directly incorporated in the machine that allows performing a stitch by stitch finishing.
The collaboration between Santoni S.p.A. and Lonati S.p.A., two market leaders, has resulted in the creation of the innovative X MACHINE, which offers the possibility to knit countless intarsia items for obtaining seamless uppers. The machine allows mapping different areas according to the type of yarn used and the various combinations chosen, so as to produce a final product that is ready for application of the sole, the last manufacturing stage of the shoe.
The incredible production times (from 5 to 7 min. per piece) and the quality, reliability and ease of use, allows minimising costs and production times. The shoe uppers have dedicated areas aimed at matching unlimited patterns and colour combinations, including three-dimensional areas and eyelets for the laces. This gives the shoe uppers a unique shape. The X MACHINE offers infinite patterning possibilities and colour combinations; it is fully electronic and includes a revolutionary intarsia system that allows creating unprecedented 3D patterns.
Sharing its machine frame and electronics with the latest generation of LONATI GROUP sock knitting machines, it can be offered with the famous SbyS (Stitch-by-Stitch) automatic toe-closing device. The new Santoni programming software based on the S.I.S (SANTONI INTARSIA SYSTEM) offers a programming experience that makes the preparation of the Intarsia structures intuitive and easily accessible to all programmers and technicians.
USP of X MACHINE
This 4-feed knitting machine is based on INTARSIA technology, designed expressly for the footwear market, and has the ability to offer unlimited patterning possibilities and colour combinations.
The fully electronic X MACHINE is a single cylinder machine controlled by an ‘on board’ microcomputer, and is also fitted with a revolutionary needle selection system that allows unprecedented 3D patterning.
Each feed can offer the possibility of selective terry.
The needles have been designed to match with an extended range of yarn counts and yarn types.
This new model is fully produced in Santoni, along with its efficient knitting machine production lines. Currently the company builds knitting machines along 3 distinct product lines, including sock machines, seamless machines and large diameter fabric and garment machines liaising with well-known brands in all aspects of textile development.
The MEC-MOR circular knitting machine is also one of the most interesting new products proposed by the world-renowned Santoni company. Considered the most complete knitting machine in motion, the MEC-MOR was recently redesigned to meet the latest challenges of the footwear market, such as cutting of the lateral selvedge and rolling up of the knitted fabric for the final phase of the footwear production process. The machine comes with a large number of feeds, which allows a higher productivity of seamless uppers with maximum precision and performance.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
