A Coventry, UK, hotel was the venue for SWF’s Euro/World conference in January. The Korean-based embroidery machine manufacturer actually has its own European base in Vienna, Austria, but decided to hold the event in the UK because of the strength and consistency of this market.
The SWF conference was attended by delegates from all over Europe, both east and west, as well as from Australia, South Africa and Nigeria and was an opportunity to share experiences and techniques from a wide selection of markets and cultures.
It was also the perfect opportunity for everyone to meet the new President of SWF, Mr Kim, who was introduced to the delegates by the company chairman Mr Inchul Park.
Apart from presenting information about future advances in machine developments, SWF also confirmed their continued growth in Europe with a commitment to expansion of their European base guaranteeing a more efficient and faster response time for their European customers in all areas of business including supply and service. This will be a great advantage, not only to the distributors, but also to SWF machine users. European stock of machines and spares is bound to result in a more efficient support and supply system. As was said at the conference, “Two days from Vienna or seven days from Korea, which do you think is better?” Of course they also have a full technical section in Austria to support the technical departments of each individual distributor.
SWF also used the conference to launch two new machine series – the DM Dual and the K series.DMSeries2 The latter has undergone many ‘under the bonnet’ upgrades so, on the surface,
there is little difference but the hidden improvements certainly make a big difference to the overall performance. The DM Dual combines two of the company’s key advantages in the ultra-high-speed DM and the unique Dual Function, making the DM Dual the fastest and most flexible machine on the market. The first full European showing of these machines was at the Printwear and Promotion exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, UK.
The conference also allowed SWF to bestow a rare honour on Roger Stendall – Technical Manager of Your Embroidery Services Ltd. He was presented with an award from company chairman Inchul Park in light of his continued dedication to YES Ltd. and SWF. Roy Burton (Managing Director of YES Ltd.) said: “This sort of presentation is rarely seen outside of Korea and for it to be presented to a UK technician should give us all a feeling of pride. We obviously know Roger’s value and skills but for that to be recognised in Korea is quite something.”
