Gammill Quilting Machine Company Purchases Statler Stitcher; Acquisition Recognizes Rapidly Growing Market for Computerized Quilting.

WEST PLAINS, Mo. -- Ron Parker, chief executive officer, Gammill Quilting Machine Company, today announced that the well-known manufacturer of large-throat, hand-guided quilting machines (known by quilting enthusiasts as "longarm" machines), has purchased the Statler Stitcher Company. Statler Stitcher is the market leader of computer software and hardware available for longarm quilting machines.

"The Statler Stitcher is the state-of-the-art computerization designed for longarms," said Parker. "Their equipment is well ahead of the curve in this emerging longarm market."

Quilting is a $2.3 billion industry and one of the fastest-growing hobbies and businesses in America, which has more than 21 million quilters, according to the 2003 Quilting in America survey commissioned by the International Quilt Market & Festival and Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. There are roughly 18,000 longarm quilting machines in the United States, which are used by small businesses and serious hobbyists to finish large quilts.

"The advent of computerization in the longarm market expands possibilities for both the hobbyist, and for those quilting as a business, making it possible for quilters of varying skill levels to supervise production of a quilt that's completed with incomparable accuracy, artistry and efficiency," adds Parker. "A Gammill machine equipped with Statler Stitcher computerization can handle an intricately patterned, king-size quilt in a matter of hours rather than days, and is guided by the computer instead of by hand."

Unlike conventional hand-guided longarm machines, the Statler Stitcher enables the quilting machine to move on its own through the use of electric motors. Patterns and spacing are selected from a computer database of designs connected to the machine.

"I've been involved with the development, design and sales of computerized, hand-guided quilting machines for 16 years and I am delighted to now be associated with Gammill Quilting Machine Company," said Paul Statler, inventor of the Statler Stitcher. "Gammill is a pioneer in the manufacturing of longarm quilting machines, and their vision is helping to fuel interest in quilting as both a hobby, and as a thriving home-based business."

Computerization for longarm machines is the latest development in their evolution since being introduced by Gammill twenty-five years ago. Previous improvements have included a larger capacity bobbin, electronic needle positioning, and stitch-regulation, an advance that has revolutionized the longarm industry.