The technological barriers in high-end finishing equipment are being dismantled by a cross-border licensing agreement. In July 2026, EFI, through its subsidiary EFI Reggiani, signed a multi-year manufacturing and licensing deal with Danitech Engineering in Italy and Suzhou Danitech Intelligent Technology in China, covering the Mezzera and Jaeggli textile finishing machinery portfolios. This means that precision desizing, mercerizing, washing, and dyeing equipment, traditionally concentrated in Europe, will now be produced locally in China.
Background
The Mezzera brand has accumulated over half a century of engineering expertise in textile finishing, renowned for its precise control over fabric tension, temperature, and chemical concentration, serving high-end European fabric and luxury supply chains. Jaeggli specializes in continuous washing and dyeing units, occupying a technological high ground in finishing processes for wool and blended fabrics. Both product lines were previously manufactured by EFI Reggiani at its Bergamo, Italy, plant, with global delivery lead times typically ranging from 6 to 12 months.
Danitech Group has years of experience in textile automation and engineering integration. Its Suzhou subsidiary has established installation and after-sales networks in China's key printing and dyeing clusters, including Shaoxing Keqiao, Wujiang Shengze, and Nantong. The core of this agreement is to authorize Danitech to manufacture Mezzera and Jaeggli equipment in China, while EFI Reggiani retains R&D and critical component supply roles in Italy. This means technical drawings and process parameters will cross borders, but core patents and control systems remain under Italian control.
Industry Impact
For printing and dyeing enterprises, the most immediate changes are in equipment procurement costs and delivery times. After localization, the factory price of Mezzera-level equipment is expected to drop by 20% to 30%, with delivery cycles potentially compressed to 3 to 4 months. More importantly, local spare parts inventory and engineering teams will drastically reduce fault response times—from weeks of flying in Italian engineers to within 48 hours.
From a technology diffusion perspective, this collaboration may accelerate the upgrade of China's finishing processes. Currently, domestic dyeing mills generally have higher energy consumption and wastewater discharge indicators than European standards. Mezzera's advantages in low-liquor ratio and online process control precisely address the pain points of environmental upgrades. When evaluating equipment investment returns, buyers should factor in the operational cost savings from water conservation and emission reduction.
However, technology transfer does not mean full autonomy. EFI's retained R&D leadership means that core control algorithms and software upgrades still rely on the Italian team. For plants planning to introduce these machines, it is advisable to explicitly stipulate in contracts the software update cycles and local parameter tuning permissions to avoid a situation where hardware is localized but software remains locked.