Stitch World June'17

E D I T O R I A L At Texprocess, Frankfurt, Germany, besides meeting a lot of old friends and colleagues from the industry, all that I heard there was ‘Industry 4.0’… Every technology provider was talking about concepts like Internet of Things, additive manufacturing, manto-machine communication, machine-to-machine communication, SaaS, smart manufacturing, and artificial intelligence – each concept an integral part of the term Industry 4.0.

Many of the technologies I saw were tailor-made for western countries where labour is a scarce and expensive resource. The idea behind many of the machines was to eliminate human intervention and fully automate processes from design to production and in some cases even include retail and logistics.

So, does that mean Industry 4.0 is actually about taking production back to the West…? I have my reservations on how relevant Industry 4.0 is for the manufacturing world today. Even before automation has properly been adopted in Asia and other developing nations where production is happening, the focus of technology providers is already shifting to the next phase without fully perfecting the automation stage and making it suitable to the needs of the countries that are leading production today…

Can the technology providers afford to ignore the requirements of these manufacturing destinations, which are their biggest selling markets…? I don’t think so! In reality, the Texprocess platform is about the future, though in manufacturing countries the push is still on selling automation.

Most industry experts agree that the future is still a mystery and difficult to predict, what’s sure is that it would be very different from today and if companies do not start preparing now, they would be wiped out of business…

Our analysis of Texprocess is an attempt to decode Industry 4.0 as the debate gets louder… The same will continue in the next issue where many more technologies including IT solutions will be featured.

Even as technology providers move into the future, in a wave of retail bankruptcies, over 8,600 retail stores closure is being projected. Consumers are shifting a greater percentage of their disposable income to ‘experiences’rather than ‘shopping’, creating an ‘adapt or die’ situation for retailers. Ed Gribbin, President, Alvanon Inc. suggests some of the ways through which retailers can sustain in a competitive environment.

Another interesting read in this issue is WFX Cloud ERP that has integrated new features into the solution such as ‘Analytics’ tool, which enables control over complete supply chain, and‘Alert System’that notifies the user before the deadline.

Also, the second part of Kaizen Korner series addresses Lean Manufacturing, where David Permenter, Educational Director, DCC Print Vision LLC, tells how to identify waste and eliminate it.

Deepak Mohindra Editor-in-Chief Read and comment on my blog at http://stitchworldmagazine.blogspot.com

TECH BYTE

TECH BYTES Sewing thread is a significant accessoryin garment making and the cost implication is negligible.

Howdoyou select the mostappropriatethread for anystyle? Doyou use internal expertiseor thread suppliershelp youselect the right threadfor a style or doesbuyer's tech packindicate thread specification?

Howdoyou calculate thread consumption for anystyle? Doyou use anysoftware to calculate the thread consumption or you doit manually?

Big threadsuppliers are usually pre-informedabout the big brands’colour pallets andare already prepared with the recipe. How do the smallerbuyers/exportersapproachthe subject?

If I talk about the thread selection process followed in Shahi Exports, the know-how and the past experience of the technical team decides this for some buyers. There are other regular buyers who have already provided a list for sewing threads and their detail in relation to the GSM of fabric against Tex thread to be used.

Thereafter, thread consumption calculation is done majorly through a software. But, it doesn’t matter if one uses the software or calculates it manually as there is no big change if we compare both the operations of these two methods.

Also, availability of threads is not a big issue both in case of big buyers and small buyers as thread’s lead time is generally 5 to 7 days for bulk and 2 days for lab dip, so colours areeasily available for big as well as small buyers.

GAURAV THAKUR Sr. Merchandiser, Shahi Exports, Faridabad, India

In Matrix Clothing, we follow the buyer’s tech pack for ‘Sewing Thread Ticket No.’ as per his requirement of threads for any particular style.

As far as thread consumption calculation is concerned, firstly we have an excel sheet where we have the thread factor mentioned for all stitch types. In the next step, we measure the stitch length and this multiplied by the thread factor gives us the thread consumption for a particular stitch.

Similarly, we can calculate thread consumption for an entire garment. Well, even if there are software for calculating the thread consumption, we will still have to measure the stitch length manually.

If we talk about the colour selection approach, it depends on the desired thread quality. Once the thread quality is determined, we opt for the thread brand to be used. From the thread catalogue of that particular brand, we try to get the best match for the fabric or thread (as per the sample).

If none of the samples in the catalogue are matching as per the desired colour, then we go for ‘Indent Shade’. Here we are supposed to give the fabric sample to the thread supplier and he provides us with the exact match after applying dyeing process on the thread. This ‘Indent Shade Thread’ is costlier than those available in the catalogue.

Most of the exporters are applying this approach in cases where the thread brands are not pre-determined.

NIKHIL KUMAR Production Manager, Matrix Clothing Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon, India

Generally, a thread specification is selected based on various factors of a particular style.

If buyer does not give a thread code, then

a DTM thread is considered to be used for colour match. For thread quality, the primary factor in its selection decision is the fabric quality for which a style is being made; for instance, whether it is a cotton-based style, polyester-based or denim-based style or even a knit-based garment. This is the most important criteria while selecting the thread quality. The second factor is description of the style, for instance, whether it is a dress/ skirt or a shirt/top or a pant. The third factor in the selection decision is the tension of stitch in a particular fabric quality attained by a specific thread quality. We generally determine this after getting a mock or sample made because it gives an actual idea of the thread and seam strength.

In other cases, where buyer gives a thread code, thread is directly procured based on the code in most of the cases except if a particular code is MOQ-based and does not fulfil the quantity requirement. In that case, we give an alternate thread that matches the colour and quality to the actual code.

Overall consumption of thread for any garment is based on SPI (Stitch Per Inch). There are formulae to calculate consumption manually for a garment. However, there are some software also that give us more accurate thread consumption by filling in details like SPI, SBD (Size Break Down), quantity, etc. Personally, I prefer manual calculation because there are drawbacks of using software that may lead to excess ordering of bulk thread.

Smaller buyers or exporters are nowadays also aware of the thread codes. However, they are not too specific about using these codes and are thus open to alternatives.

So, generally the small-scale exporters are providing buyers with options to use a similar thread by getting it locally developed and meeting a requirement of non-bleeding and thread breakage.

SAKSHI MANCHANDA Sr. Merchandiser, Merchandise Control & Vendor Management Team, Century Overseas, New Delhi, India

In Richa Global, we send fabric specifications to thread suppliers for thread advisory. Based on thread advisory, we decide the thread quality and accordingly update the buyer.

As far as comparison between manual thread consumption calculation and software-enabled calculation is concerned, we use software to calculate thread consumption. We calculate seam length manually, and then put it on the software named ‘FMIS’ for thread consumption which is linked with our internal software system ‘GIMS’. Thereby, we keep a complete track of the thread used for different styles and this software provides us a better flexibility and consumption data management.

In case of thread colour pallets, we get colour standard from our buyers. After getting standard from them, we send the same to the thread supplier for lab dipping. Lead time remains somewhere around 2 to 3 days for this. So, this issue is not a crucial one especially for the big names in the apparel export industry.

ASHISH DHANKHAR Sr. Merchandiser, Richa Global Pvt. Ltd., Noida, India

TechByte StitchWorld JULY 2017 Question

Data manipulation is not acceptable anywhere. However, many a time, it is seen that daily production figures are deliberately manipulated in apparel manufacturing units to depict the expected figures and please the upper management. Not only the manual system but also data feeding in ERP system is reported to be manipulated.

Did you face any such issues in your organization? Whatare the waysto prevent data manipulation in maintenance of records?

Write your comments to us by 20th June 2017 at: editor@stitchworld.net or post your views online through our website: www.apparelresources.com

NEWS TRACK

India: CTA Apparels seeks to increase fabric sourcing

Sri Lanka: Brandix emerges as ‘most valuable exportbrand’

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From L-R: Shashi Bhushan Jha, Quality Manager; Manuj Dawar, GM (Operations); and Dinesh Kumar Dubey, GM (Production), CTA Apparels

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oida-based garment manufacturer and exporter, CTA Apparels Pvt. Ltd., is geared up to increase its fabric manufacturing capacity through itsverticallyintegrated textile mill.

Currently, the company is producing approximately 1,00,000 metres of woven fabric per month and further aiming to increase it by three times over the next two months to make it around 3,00,000 metres per month.

Talking exclusively to StitchWorld, Manuj Dawar, GM (Operations), CTA Apparels, said,“We are in quite early stage of fabric sourcing but we aretargeting to keep shrinkage parameter anywhere between +1% to

-2% to utilize the fabric in the best possible way.”

It’s worth mentioning here that being in high-fashion garment manufacturing, CTA Apparels feels timely delivery is a bigger concern than pricing which they are constantly strengthening through fabric sourcing from their own unit.

Dinesh Kumar Dubey, GM (Production) of the company stated,“By sourcing fabric through our own textile mill will enable us to minimize WIP on shop floor as well as help us end ourdependency on third party fabric supplier and we can make our further production processes even better.”

ri Lanka’s largest apparel exporter – Brandix has been ranked country’s most valuable export brand for the third consecutive year in Brand Finance’s 2017 ranking of the country’s leading brands. It also won two special awards for excellence in ‘Talent Management’ and ‘Learning & Development’ at the 2015-16 National Human Capital Management (HCM) Awards gala (formerly known as the National HRM Awards), once again demonstrating the Group’s commitment to its people.

The most valuable brand tag was given to the garment exporter due to its corporate vision; reputation and image; leadership and people; degree of innovation; and quality consciousness.

“The scale or size of the exporter plays a key role in being included in our listing, as it is based on the perceptions of survey respondents who are middle to senior managers in business,” Brand Finance reportedly said.

Brandix also won two special awards for excellence in ‘Talent Management’ and ‘Learning & Development’

TRADE INFORMATION Apparel Exports Contribution to US (January to March 2017)

Rest of theworld US $ 7,991.73million, 42.23% share

No. 5 isIndia US $ 1,044.36million, 5.52% share

Apparel Exports Contribution to EU (January to February 2017)

No. 1 isChina US $ 5,753.46million, 30.40% share

No. 2 isVietnam US $ 2,765.21million, 14.61% share No. 3 isBangladesh US $ 1,368.51million, 7.23% share

Rest of theworld € 5,183.52million, 37.41% share

China € 4,630.3million, 33.42% share

Vietnam € 545.25million, 3.94% share India € 932.96million, 6.74% share

Bangladesh € 2,560.62million, 18.48% share

Myanmar: SMART Myanmar develops mobile app for industrialworkers

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ith support from European Union and German international development organization GIZ, SMART Myanmar – an initiative to promote sustainable practices in the Myanmar garment industry, has developed an educational smartphone app, Shwe Job, for industrial workers in the country.

The app has generated lot of interest among the workers as it contains rich information on good practices for occupational safety & health in the workplace, and also counsels the workers on factory and labour laws.

It also contains a salary calculator which is a tool for workers to understand how their monthly wages are calculated. This app uses a combination of stories, illustrations and voice-overs.

The mobile app uses a combination of stories, illustrations and voice-overs.

As per the statement released

by SMART Myanmar, the goal is to provide a useful and educational tool to workers in an accessible format.

“When we started working with Myanmar’s garment workers, less than 1 per cent owned smartphones. Now, over 90 per cent do. This is an amazing shift in just 4 years.

It is this incredible change that prompted us to create a teaching tool which can make full use of the latest and most relevant technologies,” averred SMART Myanmar Team Leader Jacob A. Clere.

Bangladesh: Fortis Garments to opentwo more facilities

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Garments while speaking to StitchWorld.

“The new factories will produce denim and other woven garments and there might be sports item and ladieswear added later on,” maintained Sazzad Hossain, General Manager of Fortis

Fortis Garments was established in 2010 in Gazipur with production capacity of 600,000 pieces of various kinds of garments monthly. It is specialized in functional, technical and sportswear (such as Base/ Mid Layer, T-Shirts/Tops, Functional Polos, Woven Stretch Pants, Woven Shorts, Polar Fleece and Softshells) besides casualwear (Enzyme Washed T-Shirts, Polos and Sweatshirts). Besides garments, Fortis also has a packaging unit.

ortis Garments, one of the renowned garment exporters of Bangladesh, is going to open twomore factories soon, one of which would be for woven products exclusively and the other for denim, to be set up at Rajendrapur (close to Dhaka) and Chittagong, respectively.

The construction work is in full swing for both the units.

India: ATDC decides next course of action at Urja2017

Urja 2017 meet at ATDC National Headquarter in Gurgaon (India)

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rja 2017-Regional Managers’ Meet of India’s Apparel Training and Design Centre (ATDC) – the largest quality vocational training provider in the garment industry of the country, has not only set its eye on the new financial year’s skilling targets but also attempted to chart a new roadmap for taking up fresh projects and programmes under various skill ministries of State Governments. The two-day intensive meet was held at the ATDC National Headquarter in Gurgaon, Haryana recently.

Attended by over 30 key ATDC Regional Managers and State Coordinators from across India, the meet was graced by HKL Maggu, Vice Chairman, AEPC, in the presence of Hari Kapoor, Senior Vice Chairman, ATDC, G S Madan, Vice Chairman, ATDC, Darlie Koshy, DG & CEO, ATDC and others.

With the launch of “Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Programme” under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) in Ludhiana and signing of an MoU with Madhya Pradesh State Skill Development Mission (MPSSDM) to train 10,000 youth every year under MKSY, 3,000 candidates under NULM, and 2,547 candidates under RSLDC, Jaipur, ATDC is geared up for next stage of consolidation, organic growth and employability.

The focus is to strengthen quality and excellence in training and delivery.

Also the next on ATDC’s agenda is to double its intake in its B.Voc Degree Programme and the belief is that the seeds of the future lie in the efforts that have gone into the past. “We need to strengthen ATDC for the future challenges by working closely with the changing requirements of apparel industry and focus on quality, efficiency and delivery with the focus techniques. Going forward I have advised ATDC to focus on pursuit of excellence by raising the bar of quality and facility, course inputs and employment linkages,” stressed Ashok Rajani, Chairman, AEPC &ATDC.

Vietnam: Denimsandjeans.com to set stage for key denim industry discussions

India: Army may soon start using indigenous high altitude clothing

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iachen is the world’s highest and coldest active war zone with extremely uninhabitable conditions where Indian Army operates at height of over 20,000 feet. The valiant heroes up there, require specialized extreme winter clothing items such as special jackets, trousers, boots and sleeping bags.

The Indian Army imports even the most basic equipment and personal items required at an extremely expensive price. But things are changing now with the indigenous production increase involving the private sector in addition to the Defence Public Sector Undertakings.

Denimsandjeans.com Vietnam to take place on June 7-8 in Ho Chi Minh City

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enimsandjeans.com Vietnam’s second edition, themed ‘Street Style’, is set to roll out carpet on June 7-8 this year at the most premium venue of the country – Gem Center in Ho Chi Minh City…

The international trade show will see participation from 48 denim companies from 11 nations. Some of the prominent exhibitors will be KG Denim (India), Artistic Fabric Mills (Pakistan), Prosperity (China), Coats (Vietnam), Nexia (Italy), Sasha (Bangladesh), among others.

In addition, seminars and talks from internationally renowned experts will also be held at the upcoming garment trade fair. There will be a panel discussion on “Create Denim for the Future with the Care for People andthe Planet” with senior panellists like denim connoisseurs Sanjeev Bahl (Owner of Saitex), Christian from Bluesign Technologies and Sara Fesserfrom G-Star. The session will be moderated by Bill Watson, MD, Coats on June 7.

Stefano Aldighieri, former Creative Director, 7 For All Mankind will be holding a

KG Denim (India), Artistic Fabric Mills (Pakistan), Prosperity (China), Coats (Vietnam), Nexia (Italy), Sasha (Bangladesh) are some of the prominent exhibitors that will participate in denimsandjeans. com Vietnam.

seminar on “Denim Is Dead, Long Live Denim,” where he will talk about what direction denim has taken andwhere it is heading.

Dilek Erik, a renowned denim consultant from Turkey, will share her views while presenting her thoughts on “Denim Producers Guide to Success in Foreign Market” on the secondday, followed by an important session by Watsonon “Vietnam’s FTAs with Europe and Other Regions – An Analysis of Impact on Textile and Apparel.”

It may be worth mentioning here that the Army spends about Rs. 500 crore every year on basic personal items for its soldiers. These items include super high altitude clothing such as rucksack special socks, thermal insoles, snow goggles and High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema (HAPO) bag.

“Over the last two years, five items costing about Rs. 100 crore annually have been produced locally. Over the next 3-4 years, the target is to indigenize the remaining Rs. 400 crore,” reportedly said an Army personnel.

Walking on the same lines, the third Defence-Indian Technical Textile Association (ITTA) joint seminar and exhibition, was held last month in New Delhi, themed “Indigenization and provision of improved products to our soldiers”.

Around 40 companies from Indian textile industry displayed items of general stores including high altitude/extreme cold climate clothing for Special Force and Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) protection. Lt. Gen. RR Nimbhorkar, Master General Ordnance (MGO) said, “Such initiatives supported by the textile ministry and defence ministry will lead to price competitiveness, transparency and entry of quality players which will automatically bring in the much required R&D and indigenization…”

Ethiopia sets US $ 30 billion target from T&C exports by 2025

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lanning a whole new trade strategy,Ethiopia has set a target to generate US $ 30 billion from export of textile and clothing by the year 2025. In 2016,the African country could only produce textile and clothing shipments to US worth US $ 33.14 million and nearly US $ 82 million to the rest of the world.

India: Textiles Ministry claims Rs. 3,000 crore investment in garment industry

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n the occasion of completing three years of Modi Government, Smriti Irani, Union Minister of Textiles held first ever official meet of the Ministry and media in New Delhi. In an hourlong briefing, the Minister touched each and every aspect of the Indian textile industry and highlighted Government’s achievements.

related to the textile industry were made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, MoT has executed them on ground. She assured the industry that National Textile Policy will be put in public domain as well before finalization, though she didn’t give any indication on when it will be rolled out.

She highlighted that special package of Rs. 6,000 crore which was

1. MoT will soon announce a big package for knitwear industry.

Five main points of MoT’s press conference:

Dr.Arkebe Oqubay, Special Advisor to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, explained,“The plan will transform Ethiopia to a compelling new sourcing hub for brands, retailers andtheir suppliers.”

He exclaimed that by 2025, the Government wants to make Ethiopia the leading apparel and textile manufacturing hub in Africa and that’s the single and bold vision they have.“It is a challenge, but we are confident that we can achieve this target. We believe if Vietnam can do it, if Bangladesh can do it, Ethiopia can do it even better,” explained Arkebe.

It may be noted here that until 2010,the prime focus of Ethiopia was on agriculture but now the country is giving more attention to manufacturing keeping apparel and textiles on top priority because it’s one of the largest employing industries that can help the country capture the significant international apparel market.

Adding to the development plan, Ranjan Mahtani, Chairman and CEO of Hong Kongbased Epic Group, commented,“The one thing that is unique in Ethiopia is that there has never been such an organized roadmap dedicated to textile and clothing…, not in any country in the world.”

Also, in addition to the current 50,000 employees in the textile sector, the Government is hoping to create a further 350,000 jobs over the next four years and the number may increase after 4years.

Indian Textiles Ministry celebrates 3 years of Modi Government

announced last year has so far attracted investment worth Rs. 3,000 crore for the apparel industry. The Minister further informed that in the period from July 2016 to February 2017, Indian apparel exports grew by 4.7 per cent.

2. Under the Special Package, investment of around Rs. 3,000 crore has been made so far.

Irani also stressed on the upcoming ‘Textiles India 2017’ fair and averred that this event will be able to fetch lot of investment for the textile industry.

Around 25 countries will take part in this mega event.

The Minister added that whatever announcements

4. Rs. 5,800 crore subsidy has been given to the industry in past three years under Amended TUFS.

3. The Minister also had a meeting with Indian Army Chief to see how MoT can increase opportunity to meet Army’s needs.

5. Office of Textile Commissioner has become pro-active in recent years with push from MoT.

Indonesia: Textile industry optimistic of reaching US $ 12 billion this year

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Chairman of Indonesian Textile Association (API).

“One of the factors instrumental in improving the performance of the Indonesian textile industry was the US decision to exit the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). We can optimistically reach US $ 12 billion until the end of 2017 although global market scenario today is as better as it was 2 to 3 years ago,” averred Ade Sudrajat,

According to Ade, the positive performance for this labourintensive sector is in the export of apparel but it is not encouraging for textile products. He further stated that the textile industry is still faced with many concerns such as the increase of UVR which is changing every year.

This is one of the factors that will derail the income projection unless the textile companies make some effort to enhance efficiency and increase their productivity.

he first quarter of2017 has witnessed an export increase of about 3 per cent to US $ 2 billion for Indonesian textile industry.

India: Labour shortage pushes India Today Fashions to start factory in Gurgaon Though Jaipur (India) is a cost-effective garment manufacturing hub, especially when compared to Delhi-NCR, labour shortage is an issue there which forced India Today Fashions, an apparel exporter based in the region, to move out and start a new unit in Gurgaon (Haryana).

The company is well aware with extra cost of production that it will have to bear in Gurgaon, coupled with logistic cost, and that it will have to coordinate from Jaipur…, but as the apparel supplier is facing acute labour shortage, it had to take this step. “Already some of our jobwork is being done in Gurgaon so we thought why shouldn’t we set-up our own factory there as it is hard to get new skilled workers in Jaipur, the same is easily available in Gurgaon. Very soon our new factory will be operational,” shared Rajendra Bhatia, MD of the company.

Bangladesh: BGMEA shifting its HQ to Uttara

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ollowing Bangladesh’s Supreme Court upholding of the 2011 High Court verdict which states demolition of the 16-storey building of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturer and Exporters Association (BGMEA) reportedly built in an illegal way, the apex garment exporters’ body is now planning to shift its headquarters (BGMEA Bhawan) from Karwan Bazar to Uttara (in Dhaka), following allotment of about 3 acres (110 katha) of land by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), recently.

It may be mentioned here that the High Court on April 3, 2011 ordered demolition of the BGMEA building within 90 days after apetition was filed by a group of green activists. The BGMEA subsequently filed areview petition with the Apex Court, which stayed the High Court order. However, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court dismissed the review petition later maintaining that the building was built illegally and therefore must be pulled down, but granted a time period of six months to bring down the structure following another petition seeking time.

The BGMEA got the allotment letter from the RAJUK (the authority to allocate land in the vicinity of Dhaka), which allotted the plot with the rider that the same cannot be used for commercial or residential purposes.

According to experts, the BGMEA building stands in the way of the storm drainage system – one of the Hatirjheel integrated scheme’s prime objectives – to drain stormwater out of Paribagh, Karwan Bazar and Eskaton.

Rajendra Bhatia, MD, India Today Fashions

Despite initiatives from IL&FS for skill development and training in apparel manufacturing, and presence of ATDC training centres, Jaipur is facing labour shortage from past many years. As minimum wage is high in Gurgaon and expenditure of operators is same as Jaipur, a big chunk of migratory workers who belong to UP or Bihar, prefer to work in Delhi-NCR rather than Jaipur.

More than 25 years old, India Today Fashions manufactures womenswear and kidswear. Having exposure of working with K-Mart US, Target US, Lindex AB Sweden, Landmark Group (Dubai), Tree of Life (Australia) and Itochu Corporation (Japan), the export house recently started working with few top buying houses too.

Vietnam: Construction of Nha Be garment factory gets underway

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onstruction of the new garment

factory of Nha Be Textile Garment Company (NBC) commenced in theMekong Delta Province of Soc Trang on 19 May. “With a total investment of more than VND 300 billion (US $ 13.2 million), the factory will generate jobs for 4,000 workers,” averred Pham Phu Cuong, Chairman – Board of Directors ofNBC. Notably, the first phase of the garment factoryis slated to commence its operations in February 2018, employing 2,000 workers,whereas the second phase of construction will begin in 2019. The garment factory has a design capacity of 25-30 million products per year, with estimated export turnover reaching US $ 90100 million per year in the first years of operation.

“The new factory will create jobs for local residents and contribute to socioeconomic development,” said Tran Van Chuyen, Chairman, Provincial People’s Committee.

It is worth noting that NBC is one of the most distinguished enterprises in Vietnam’s textile and garment industry, having 37 affiliated companies and nearly 30,000workers.

The exportturnover of the NBC was US $ 729 million in 2016 and isexpected to reach US $ 820million this year.

Bangladesh: Garment industry to get Euro 7 million aid from Germany

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erman Government will provide Euro 7 million financial support to Bangladesh. The amount would be given through Germany’s KfW (formerly known as KfW Bankengruppe, a German Government-owned development bank) and GIZ (German Society for International Cooperation, which supports the German Government in achieving its objectives inthe field of international cooperation for sustainable development) under the project“Financing of Environment and Safety Retrofits in the Bangladesh Readymade Garment (RMG) Sector”.

Economic Relations Division (ERD)Bangladesh and German Embassy in Bangladesh signed an agreement to roll out the project to this effect recently in Dhaka. Muhammad Alkama Siddiqui, Additional Secretary of ERD and Thomas Prinz, German Ambassador, signed the agreement for the project on behalf of their respectiveorganizations.

The objectives of the project are to enhance the capacity of the selected commercial banks to better address the funding needs of the RMG factories in Bangladesh and support those in bridging the knowledge gap regardinginvestments

The funding would enable an effective utilization of the credit, promote workers’ safety and improve environment standards in the garment industry. and remediationupgrades while also supporting the actual implementation of these investments.

The German Embassy said in a statement that the funding would enable an effective utilization of the credit, promote workers’safety and improve environment standards in the apparel industry ofBangladesh.

India: Gaiety Fashion expanding capacity; adding new buyers

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irupur (India)-based apparel exporter Gaiety Fashion, which was established in 2009, is expanding its capacity, setting up a new printing unit and adding fresh buyers too…

The company currently has 320 stitching machines and is in the process to add 110 machines more.

At its printing unit, the focus will be totally on screen printing. Machines of M&R have already been booked for the same. The establishment of the unit will however take some time as the company is yet to finalize the location in a bid to ensure there is no pollution issue.

S N Boopathy, Partner of the company shared with StitchWorld, “We are investing almost Rs. 2.75

RVS Mani (first from right) and S N Boopathy (second from right), Partners – Gaiety Fashion with their colleagues

crore in this expansion and hopefully it will be completed by November this year. Once the process is completed, we are expecting at least 40 per cent growth.”

Manufacturing valueadded ladieswear and kidswear (60 per cent of the total production), the garment exporter is

already working with some German brands and in future it plans to add two brands from Spain as well. It has also upgraded its SA 8,000 certification recently.

With an average FOB of US $ 4.5, the company noted a Rs. 30 crore turnover last year.

PEOPLE

ACCELERATING SPEED IN AN ‘INDUSTRY 4.0’ WORLD!

Ed Gribbin, President, Alvanon Inc.

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onsumers,more than ever, are inundated with demand for their attention and their attention spans are getting shorter.They’re spending far more time on their mobile devices than they do in stores; as a result, we are facing a record number of retail bankruptcies this year and Bloomberg is projecting over 8,600 retail stores closure. In addition, consumers are shifting a greater percentage of their disposable income to experiences, such as entertainment, dining out and travel. Also, shoppers have started realizing that they don’t actually need new clothes, so why to buy?

The reason for the same would be too much stale inventory, too many stores and too much time taken to bring new products to the market.

You must have heard of the ‘housing bubble’. Well, welcome to the ‘apparel bubble’! So, what can brands and retailers do to prevent the ‘pop’? They can start by recognizing that we arealready in an Industry 4.0 world and that they have access to technologies and processes that canhelp

Brands and retailers need to fundamentally re-invent how they create products and launch them in the market at earliest if they want to compete for the attention of an increasingly fickle and rapidly changing consumer sentiments. Ed Gribbin, President,Alvanon Inc. suggests some of the ways by which retailers can sustain in a competitive environment.

them maintain their relevance, continue to excite and retain customers, and even grow their businesses. The convergence of huge amounts of data, advanced analytics, machine learning and digital to physical transfer have created a path not just tosurvival but to success for the companies that embrace and exploit them.

With the online consumer search data that is available today, we can know what ismacro-trending across our entire target customer demographic (forexample, 78 per cent of 18-24 years old women searched for ‘floral print sundresses’ in the past three days); we can get down to know what an individual wants and even what you and I are looking for.

Personalized offering, focused on an audience of one, can also be produced.

The challenge we face is how do we make or source the products that are in demand if we are stuck in an ‘old world’ 18-month product development cycle? Even the incremental improvement will not work; we must blow up the old model and start over. If anyone

The reality is supply chains have gotten incredibly long and complex over the past thirty years, primarily because brands and retailers have been chasing lower and lower costs.

thinks it’s not that urgent, consider that Amazon has, in a few short years, become the largest seller of clothing in the US and was recently awarded a patent for an on-demand manufacturing system designed to quickly produce clothing – and other products – only after a customer order is placed.

The computerized system envisions an order being placed on a mobile device that goes directly to automated spreading, cutting, assembly and delivery technologies, and gets the product to the customer, customized to fit their body shape, almost instantly; most likely by a drone directly from the factory.

The change that the industry needs requires four critical components: • Decisive leadership and empowered product teams; • Embracing ofdigital technologies; • Shorter andmore responsive supply chains;and • Direct-to-consumer logistics plan.

Getting it to the customer is what matters and this is something that Amazon excels at.

Consumers no longer want to wait and, frankly,they don’t have to.Someone out there will get them what they want,and when they want it.

The transformationneeds to start by changing the leadership mindset from developing ‘Fall/Winter ’19’to developing this‘July’.

How is that possible? Well, it starts by developing a reliable portfolio of fabrics that are consolidated and staged as greiges or finished goods with reliable suppliers, many of whom are hopefully in close proximity. Zara, as an example, sits on 8+million metres of fabric and can design on fabrics that already exist and produce new styles in two weeks. Not everyone can do that,but everyone can develop a fabric strategy that enables fast-trackproduction.

It also starts with decisiveness on the part of the creative, merchandising leadership and product teams.If you are developing a season that is 16 or 18 months ahead, you get ‘smarter’ throughout the process and tend to change or tweak and request more sample iterations until the last possible moment. If you are deciding on styles for ‘July’, you better decide quickly, looking at maybe one sample, perhaps even a‘virtual sample’.

3D visualization and virtual prototyping technologies exist today and are being embraced by the most progressive brands and retailers. The software’s ability to render fabric aesthetics and even performance characteristics realistically has improved radically over the past year to the point that in many cases,a virtual prototype will look like a high-resolution photo of an actual garment.

From a decisiveness standpoint, the additional good news is that if you are only producing for ‘July’, you are not committing to tonnes of inventory expected to sell over a 4-6 month season.You are only buying for a month and actually mitigating the risk involved.And, if you’re only buying for‘July’,you better start thinking about‘August.’

All of a sudden, there is no time for second-guess, re-sample and debate.The entire chain in the product development cycle has to be empowered to look, assess and decide. This includes buyers, merchandisers, technical designers, sourcing teams and suppliers. Everyone in the chain needs to be trained to assess, approve and move on; they all may not have the skill sets or confidence to do that today, but training resources exist to enablethat.

Top retailers have embraced Vendor Fit Management (VFM) programs where a third-party trains and certifies specific vendors to manage technical fit approvals at the factory level significantly speeding up the production process. Many VFM programs also utilize 3D virtual fitting beforeproducing any sample so that the one physical sample actually produced is pre-approved for fit, style, colour and detail, and is actually the pre-production sign-off sample.

The reality is supply chains have gotten incredibly long and complex over the past thirty years, primarily because brands and retailers have been chasing lower and lower costs. The length of a supply chain,however,is actually a

cost in itself that most brands and retailers don’t consider.

The longer it takes to get from design to the customer, the more value erodes from the product. Low Freight On Board (FOB) price is no longer an advantage if it’s not what the customer wants right now.

Sourcing at least some portion of production domestically, or in proximity to market, is a critical step in being responsive. Product that sits in a container, on a boat or train or truck, for eight weeks or more, is the product that is just waiting to get marked down.The major sportsbrands – Nike, Adidas and Under Armour – have all committed to domestic production of some styles specifically to be faster and more responsive to their customers; and they have the added capability of being able to customizeproducts for individual customers at the same time.

Lastly, moving products from ports to distribution centres and from distribution centres to retail stores is not working out for most retailers. Getting it to the customer is what matters and this is something that Amazon excels at.Then it’s no surprise that this is why mall traffic is down and stores are closing in record numbers.

Every brand and retailer need to have a direct-to-consumer strategy that takes waiting out of the equation.Consumers no longer want to wait and, frankly, they don’t have to. Someone out there will get them what they want,when they want it.

The age of the smart factory is on its way and it will be controlled from the cloud.

Stantt – a men’s shirt brand finds a ‘Genie’ in unique sizing system There is a start-up men’s shirt brand in New York named Stantt which figured out that standard men’s shirt sizes don’t work for over 60 per cent of men. If the chest fits, the belly may be tight; if the shoulders fit, it might be too long. The problems go on and on. So they came up with a ‘unique sizing system’ that has nearly 80 different sizes and considers all possible fit/measurement combinations. You cannot profitably stock all of those sizes in a store, especially if they’re available in hundreds of fabrics.

Their solution?

When a customer places an order online, for their custom fabric and size, the order electronically appears in an automated cut queue in a factory in Central America. It’s cut, sewn, finished and shipped in about two days. That’s fast, that’s responsive and that’s how every brand and retailer need to think in this consumerdriven 4.0 world.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

NEW FEATURES AND QC MOBILE APP KEEP WFX AHEAD IN RACE

Jatin Paul, CEO, WFX

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ith over 15,000users across 23 countries, WFX is a well-known name among apparel manufacturers such as Gokaldas Exports, Matrix Clothing, K Mohan & Company, Indochine, SQ Group and more. Constantly changing customers’ requirements and demands, along with increased pressure for squeezed margins, push ERP solution providers to continuously launch new features and upgrade the existing ones.

“Nowadays exporters are moving out of their native boundaries across various countries, hence it is very important for them to have a system that is not bound to any particularserver or location,” Sunil comments.

The company’s solution canbe accessed on desktop, tablets as well as mobile phones, thus

As apparel supply chain has become more complex, the need to integrate it into one seamless process and address the challenges like time, quality and quantity have become issues of utmost importance.In turn,stimulating the need for IT solutions which give complete control over the entire supply chain. Cloud computing is one such initiative that makes it easy to manage various operations in the chain as it uses the internet and central remote servers to maintain data and applications, and WFX through its Cloud ERP solution gives an edge to its users, enabling them to access data irrespective of location and devices. In an exclusive interaction with Team StitchWorld, Jatin Paul, CEO and Sunil Arora, Director, WFX talk about the features that make the company a pioneer in the IT field.

breaking demographic barriers and bringing together the various operations carried out in different countries.

“Data is essential to run a company. Companies are now utilizing data to make business decisions. Since material is the largest input cost in any garment organization, controlling it gives you a huge advantage,” avers Jatin. WFX ERP helps reduce material cost by keeping arecord of inventory, thus enabling less wastage of fabric as well as cost savings…

Witnessing the fast and rampant change in the adoption of IT technology in Indian market, Jatin says, “In order to grow their businesses, people don’t want to lose their profit margins, which now range from 2-15 per cent. One mistake and you are

WFX QC Mobile App automates the quality control process by enabling QC personnel to conduct, capture and record quality inspections on-site with any iOS-enabled mobile device.

out of the competition.” Such aggressiveness in the adoption of IT solutions is determined by two trends that are prevailing in the Indian apparel manufacturing industry...

Firstly, a lot of established manufacturers, who started business 40 years ago, are now handing over their business to their next generation. GenNext, the younger management, understands IT technology’s importance and considers it as a major tool to run and grow their businesses.

Secondly, the hiring of professional managers by companies to better handle their operations and reduce waste and maximize profit is another trend that is rapidly being opted by the companies. “These managers suggest investing

The Alert System can not only be used as a preventive measure to control risks but will also help in finding the root cause of the problem.

in solutions like WFX to sustain the competition in the market,” informs Jatin.

Constantly upgrading and rolling out new features in the market for its users have kept WFX ahead of others. Someof its newly launched features are WFX QC Mobile App, Analytics tool andAlert system.

WFX QC Mobile App eases factory quality inspections Quality control of shipments is a very critical step where no apparel manufacturer wants to get knocked down. WFX QC Mobile App, which is an easy-touse app, automates the quality control process by enabling QC personnel to conduct, capture and record quality inspections on-site at the vendors’ location with any iOS-enabled mobile device.

Loaded with features such as inspection schedule that creates, allocates and schedules inspection requests, easy display of pending inspection requests on iPAD, in-built inspection calendar to plan weekly inspections, the app is integrated with Google maps to track inspection locations with an ability to tag inspection start and maintain log of start and stop times. It quickly records actual measurements and instantly highlights points offailure. Also,

WFX Analytics understands the user’s needs and combines them in such a way that the user is able to make a quick decision based on the precise analysis that this tool willprovide.

even in remote locations with no data connectivity, it can capture inspection data.

based on the precise analysis that this tool will provide,” explains Jatin proudly.

Real time data capturing like deviations and defects during factory inspections allows to analyze checkpoints. The user can also use the iPad’s in-built camera to capture and annotate inspection photos.

‘Alert System’ – A preventive measure!

‘Analytics’ tool enables control over entire supply chain Launched as part of WFX Cloud ERP suite, ‘Analytics For Fashion’ module is a strong and core initiative in the management ofan apparel manufacturing unit which provides managers and owners a clear-cut picture as to how their business is doing.

The WFX Analytics enables business profiles to have their own dashboard to control management, finance, merchandising, sourcing and production. This tool provides control over entire supply chain inside an apparel unit.

“With this feature, users will not have to go through chunks of data as ‘Analytics’ will enable them to find out the relevant information. This analytic solution tool understands the user’s needs and combines them in such a way that the user will be able to make a quick decision

Yet another module, ‘Alert System’ is the company’s new feature added to the WFX Cloud ERP suite. The Alert System will allow users to create their own customized metrics, and set certain tolerance ranges for each of the parameters.

As soon as it will reach the tolerance point, it will send a push message (notification) to its user, reminding him/her to take care of that particular parameter. Ultimately, the user will be warned and he can reduce reworks.

This feature can not only be used as a preventive measureto control risks but will also help in finding the root causeof the problem. Furthermore, as the system keeps on running in the background, the user gets the leverage to continue with another work/task.

“Mistakes determine somebody’s success or failure. Every order needs to be shipped on time, with lowest possible wastage and JIT management, quick inventory turnaround, right quality with the required number of people involved. These determine whether you are successful ornot,” concludes Jatin.

INDUSTRY 4.0

INDUSTRY 4.0: A WELCOME ‘DISRUPTION’ AT TEXPROCESS… Technology has seen a steady evolution from the early days of industrial revolution to the advent of the internet, which exploded with a huge resource of information and data, and triggered a new phase of development. This phase, popularly being addressed as Industry 4.0, is not about evolution but ‘disruption’…, disruption of old systems of working to adopt digitization as a tool to give consumer more value through technology which is autonomous and agile. “Any company that is looking at Industry 4.0 as an evolution, has got it wrong, it is about creating new businesses and opportunities that never existed,” says Peter Santora, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, SoftWear Automation, US.

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ndustry 4.0 was the resonate theme of the recently concluded Texprocess 2017 at Frankfurt, Germany and every participant was showcasing how their company is strategically aligned to welcome this upcoming trend.

Though most industry experts agreed that future is still a mystery and difficult to predict, they unanimously confirmed that it would be very different from today and if companies did not start preparing now, they would soon be wiped out of business. “Industry 4.0 and the digitization ofthe apparel industry in particular is a powerful way to enable new and better business models.

Every company’s strategies must include digitization. It is not small firms, but the slow firms that get eaten up,” argues Dr. Mike Fralix, President & CEO of Textile Clothing Technology Corporation [TC] 2 .

Mike has recently been roped in as Technology Evangelist in SoftWear Automation to support

the company’s expanding autonomous Sewbot™ work-lines for the sewn products industry.

SoftWear Automation believes that single operation automation is dead. “The continued ‘innovation’ of automating a process still manned by a person is too evolutionary. The path forward is full automation from roll to finished goods and the challenges that exist are very much solvable,” advocates Peter Santora.

While the impact of Industry 4.0 is still under debate, what can theoretically be expected in the future considering the direction of its development, is that the consumer will be driving the market and the production cycle. “In contrast to the way things used to be, changes today originate with the consumer, they want what they want quickly and they want the products to be individualized and personalized,” says Michel Byvoet, CEO, Bivolino, a Belgian clothing manufacturer,

The US is the third largest producer of cotton, yet no American company is manufacturing T-shirts in the country. It is being imported from low-cost countries…, but for how long?

– Peter Santora

specializing in customized shirts. The projections suggest that a customer can sit at home or his office and customize his clothes, both for fit and design preferences, on a digital platform. He can select his own fabric, pattern, accessories and then virtually see how all these fit his actual body shape and size in three dimensions.

At the manufacturer’s end, the patterns can be automatically selected and adapted to fit the order.

Even the manufacturer will not move the traditional way…; all the processes will be automated – the marker can be made automatically, fabric can be automatically called from the warehouse and fed to a digital printer and then conveyed directly to an automated cutter. The cut pieces can be moved and monitored between operations using an automated handling system right to the dispatch of the garment, with

“In contrast to the way things used to be, changes today originate with the consumer, they want what they want quickly and that too individualized and personalized.”

– Michel Byvoet

(L-R) Dr. Mike Fralix, President & CEO of Textile Clothing Technology Corporation [TC] 2; Karsten Newbury, SVP – Software Solutions, Gerber Technology; Philippe Ribera, Software Innovation Director, Lectra; and Dave Gardner of Spesa

manufacturing instructions fed directly into the machine or operator. Furthermore, the order can be monitored at every stage right till the actual delivery of the order.

With this basic understanding in place, technology providers are attempting to fill in the gaps.

Lectra has already unveiled its Apparel 4.0 strategy that facilitates intelligent production by incorporating ‘Internet of Things’, ‘Cloud Technology’ and ‘Big Data’.

Lectra’s new strategy embeds the concept of integration of software in the CAD service horizon reinforced by cloud.

This offer is capitalizing on real-time data picked up from the factories and then analysing the same for informed decisions. New industry-specific services will reinforce the offer, enabling Lectra to continually improve customer processes. “Initially tested in 2017 with selected

customers, some of whom have been involved with the offer since the beginning of the design, the new offer under Apparel 4.0 strategy will be commercialized from 2018,” informs Philippe Ribera, Software Innovation Director, Lectra.

Keeping pace, Gerber Technology presented how companies, both manufacturing and retail, could embrace digital technology with their support. “You don’t need a digital strategy, but your strategy definitely needs a digital technology,” stresses Karsten Newbury, SVP Software Solutions, Gerber Technology. He pointed out that companies that go through the digitalization process are more profitable and sustainable. Creating the right infrastructure is important and Gerber is not only helping with its

products, which are already specialized in digitalization procedures, but also with its team that is helping to modernize the processes, to synchronize and simplify them; in short, to shape the digital reality in which the companies live.

In the new digital world, the centre of all development will be ‘communication’ and ‘integration of processes’ – machine will talk tomachine (M2M) and machine will also talk to people, so we will need better skilled people to understand. Education in the apparel industry has to change to meet the new needs. Michael Ernst from University of Applied Sciences in Germany shares that the university is doing their best to send out students, who are well educated and up to speed with contemporary ideas and techniques, into the fashion and textile industries.

“It will take time as there is not even one fully integrated end-to-end 4.0 compliant factory in the world yet.

But for sure digitization has the power to bring about irrevocable change that companies looking to survive have to adopt.”

– Dave Gardner

“You don’t need a digital strategy, but your strategy definitely needs a digital technology.”

– Karsten Newbury

Peter Santora (fourth from left), VP – Sales & Marketing, SoftWear Automation addressing at Texprocess

In the debate on what 4.0 holds, there are two schools of thought. While one firmly believes that the digital word will be a reality in a few yearswith robotics, virtual fitting rooms and artificial intelligence creating sewing lines with no human intervention, the other feels that it will take at least two decades to be a reality. Among the fast movers, SoftWear Automation claimed that a fully automated line for T-shirts would be available in the market by January 2019. “T-shirts are worn by everyone and 90 per cent of T-shirts manufactured are being exported, which means they are not being made in the market of consumption.

This is an unsustainable model,” says Peter. He goes on to propagate the concept of Sewlocal which means to produce where the demand is. “The US is the third largest producer of cotton, yet no American

company is manufacturing T-shirts in the country. It is being imported from lowcost countries…, but for how long? It is like wood in a forest, people are moving from one forest to another in search of wood, but soon it will be a scarceproduct…

Similarly a production model founded on cheap labour is a broken supply chain model, as brands cannot keep jumping from one cheap manufacturing base to another. We have to build capabilities independent of workers,” he argues. He and his company are seeking to bring production back tothe country. “Shirts made in the US would be much easier to get hold of, from a logistics point of view, and also, therefore, cheaper – and, above all, more sustainable and more environmentfriendly, as a result,” reasons Peter.

So, does that mean Industry 4.0 is about

taking production back to the west? “I have my reservations on how relevant Industry 4.0 is for the manufacturing world today.

Even before automation has properly been adopted in Asia and other developing nations where production is happening, the focus is already shifting to the next phase without fully perfecting the automation stage… Are we moving too fast or is the need of such nations not really the thrust anymore?” questions Deepak Mohindra, Editorin Chief, StitchWorld. Also, is the fashion industry ready for change…? Michael Ernst was vocal in his belief that the fashion industry is still hesitant of going down the digitalization route, though he added that the solutions are already around. The sector just needs to approach them with determination.

Even as the debate goes on, one thing is for sure – the change is for today, not tomorrow and nobody can expect, any longer, to be successful in the long-term with a traditional production line. But, as Dave Gardner of Spesa says, “It will take time as there is not even one fully integrated end-to-end 4.0 compliant factory in the world yet. But for sure digitization has the power to bring about irrevocable change that companies looking to survive have to adopt.”

BIERREBI ITALIA’s NEW ‘GREEN’ SINGLE PLY CUTTER CRYSTAL IS A TRUE TIME-SAVER!

n a scenario where customer demands can change at any instance and a large inventory canadd extra bucksto the total cost, customization or JIT manufacturing is topping the charts. Founded in 1963 by Mario Roda and Cesare Beccari in the industrial heartland of Bologna (Italy), Bierrebi – acronym for Beccari, Roda and Bologna has perfect solutions for the cutting room and its latest offering –Crystal is the single-layer cutting system, which is the current need of the industry.

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Initially, the race was to have multi-ply cutting to speed up the cutting for

single ply cutting machine, perfect for any type of fabric, does not require vacuum. It owes the same to its patented“double blade” cutting, which separates the material through pressure, without forcing the fibres or pulling the fabric threads.

Perfect for optimizing the cutting in sample making, tailoring, prototyping and product development, Crystal’s software is user-friendly, easily accessible and compatible with the most commonly used CAD systems.

Moreover, the glass planarity of the cutting machine offers maximum flatness,eases laying and collection

Standing in front: Umberto Ferrari (L), General Manager with Marco Rossi, Sales Manager, Bierrebi Italia with their team

mass production, but as order sizes reduce, single ply cutters not only guarantee a perfect cutting process but also lead to reduced wastage, greater productivity and space saving.

Did you know that you can cut a suit in 9 minutes with only 500 watts?

Has the above question grabbed your attention…? Well, this not a gimmick, but is actually possible with Crystal. With perfection and assurance of ‘Made in Italy’ tag, Crystal, the company’s innovative

of the fabric and less friction. Its innovative retention system, an electro-magnetic retention using an ionizing bar, guarantees no tension, deformation or fraying of fabric.And the company claims consumption of less than 500 watts by this cutting machine to cut a suit, making it a ‘green’cutter.

With more than 30 years of experience in the textile industry, Bierrebi Italia’s subsidiary Bierrebi International,

headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina (USA), exports automatic cutting machines to around 30 countries all over the world. A well-established name in tubular fabric cutting, Bierrebi is eyeing a market with great potential – India, which is soon going to have the second subsidiary of Bierrebi Italia with the name Bierrebi Cutting Solutions based at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The highest number of installations after the US puts India in the spotlight for the company.“Most of the underwear and innerwear manufacturers are our customers in India,” informs Umberto Ferrari, General Manager, BierrebiItalia.

Sharing its logic of choosing the southern region of India as its subsidiary location, the company reasons that the number of tubular fabric garments are higher in that part of the country, whereas the northern part – Ludhiana and New Delhi – is handier with open width fabric.“The reason behind success in South India is that besides having a majority of tubular cuttingmachines, Tamil Nadu is a major manufacturing cluster which produces large bulk quantities. This attracts even manufacturers from West Bengal and Ludhiana who have shifted their factories here.That's why we focus on Tamil Nadu,”shares Ferrari.

Bierrebi is tryingto widen its horizon not just in India but everywhere in the world, even in countries such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Around 3,000 companies in Europe, the US, South Africa, the Far East, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Latin America and Canada have already installed Bierrebi machinery and with India as its new focus, the numbers are expected to increase significantly.

KRISHNA LAMICOAT: A FRONTRUNNER IN SUSTAINABLE SPECIALTY PAPERS FOR CUTTING ROOM

hough the garment industry internationally is humming the tune of ‘Industry 4.0’, it is heartening to know that companies are also keeping pace with sustainability needs, not forgetting their responsibilities towards socially and environmentally sustainable products and processes. In fact, in many cases, the two move parallel. Among the frontrunners in sustainable solutions is Krishna Lamicoat, a leading manufacturer of specialty papers and films for use in the industry. The company has now added a recyclability feature to its transfer print papers. “Used once, the transfer print papers are moulded to make beautiful paper bags,” says Ashok Chhajer, Director, Krishna Lamicoat.

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Apart from recyclability, another highlight of these recycled paper bags is how they are made. Their development initiates a social cause as it empowers unprivileged people who cannot step out of their homes due to social reasons. These people take the raw material to their homes, make the product and give it back to the company. “In order to ensure consistency in each paper bag, we also provide them training on how to cut, fold and paste the paper,” details Ashok.

Following the ‘Going Green’ initiative and spreading its importance around the globe, this Indian manufacturer is making a small documentary addressing the social and sustainability issues.

“As more and more technology is being developed, people are becoming more and more costconscious. I do believe that the day would come soon when the

(L-R) Ashok Chhajer, Director, Krishna Lamicoat; Brandy Moore, Vice President, Global Service & Aftermarket; and Ron Ellis, Director, Hardwear Product Management, Gerber Technology

In its ‘Going Green’ initiative and to spread its importance around the globe, Krishna Lamicoat is making a small documentary that will address the social and sustainability issues. garment industry will come out of using paper,” avers Ashok, adding, “If I need to sustain in the business and be No. 1 by 2020, I need to do something different from others.”

Already ahead in its thought process, Krishna Lamicoat has introduced a heatseal paper.

Conventionally having plastic hot melt, this heatseal paper instead has an eco-friendly water-based glue, which can stick at lower temperature also. Moreover, this paper can be easily recycled by the paper mills unlike the existing polycoated heatseal paper which cannot be recycled. “You have to think differently to see how an existing product can be replaced with something more economical and beneficial,” opines an optimistic Ashok.

The company’s economical 12 micron plastic film clear polyoverlay having a high melting point of almost 250 degrees reduces the possibility of plastic melting and thereby adhering to blades and transferring to grinding stones which reduce sharpening of blades and hence increase the consumption of blades. Another product, 12 micron recycled plastic printed polyoverlay is a rejected and recycled film that offers 40 per cent price reduction from the conventional use of material. Ashok takes pride in informing that all the leaders in cutting solutions like Gerber, Lectra, Morgan Tecnica, FK Group, IMA, etc. recommend the use of Krishna Lamicoat paper to their customers.

INDUSTRY IS BECOMING ‘4.0-READY’ SMART FACTORY IS THE FUTURE Technology providers are readily bracing up themselves for a digital transformation.

Texprocess Germany 2017 was a platform for the same where each and every exhibitor was talking, deliberating and discussing about Industry 4.0 and how it will change the future. Even the products/technology on display were claimed to be in line with Industry 4.0 with a thrust to connect people to machines. This was a significant means to communicate with each other in order to decentralize the decision-making process, provide instant technical assistance and thus help create ‘Smart Factories’!

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he term Industry 4.0 isthe culmination of many jargons and concepts that are being circulated – Internet of Things (IoT), additive manufacturing, man-tomachine communication, machineto-machine communication, SaaS, smart manufacturing, artificial intelligence – each concept is an integral part of the term. Even as these waves of change continue to shape up a competitive scenario, manufacturers must also identify and decide where to invest in the new technologies in order to sustain in the race.

Many new machines and software at the show had unique propositions for the future. IMA Italy, the cutting room solutions provider in the industry, picked up Internet of Things as a means of presenting Industry 4.0 to its clients. Shifting focus from developing better cutting room solutions, the company introduced a new software that can connect all the machines.

Owing to the digital technology incorporated, the software will not only connect the machines but will also give a feedback of each machine. Irrespective of

geographies, the manufacturer is now able to monitor in real-time, each and every machine in any factory, on his mobile phone. Not only monitoring, the software also empowers the manufacturer to ask for maintenance directly through the software. Moreover, the data is stored on Microsoft server, thus ensuring the safety of

Morgan Tecnica’s latest single ply cutting machine – Ply 1 is one of the fastest single ply cutters with a speed of 180 m/min. It can also reach 3G acceleration.

Luciand P.I. Sardini, President (L) and Mirella Sardini, Director, IMA Italy

the data.“Today, data collection, analysis and dissemination of information so analysed to improve performance are as important as the technology itself, so we are focusing on supporting our customers to run their factories/machines on a digital platform in a more informed manner,” said Mirella Sardini, Director, IMA S.P.A. It is increasingly being recognized that when machines become faster, production also becomes faster, so controlling and monitoring the process cannot be done in the traditional way. Morgan Tecnica, cutting room machinery and software premier, locks Artificial Intelligence in its upgraded and completely redesigned high-ply automatic cutting machine – Next 2. Behind this intelligent machine are the sophisticated algorithms that allow best self-handling of processes such as sharpening cycle and realtime speed control. Available in versions 5, 7 and 9, Next 2 can self-detect all the operating anomalies by drastically reducing breaks andmachine

stops. Equipped with sensors, it can automatically manage the path of machine to ensure cutting quality and machine performance higher than 15 per cent compared tothe other machines.

Another product compatible with Industry 4.0 concept is Ply 1 – Morgan Tecnica’slatest single ply cutting machine.

Revolutionizing on-demand manufacturing, it is one of the fastest single ply cutters with a speed of 180 m/min. It can also reach 3Gacceleration.

It functions like digital printing – developing cut plan, mixing the sizes, patterns,then printing it through digital print. Beneficial for sportswear industry, Ply 1 can manage the orders until the cut parts for even very small custommade orders. Furthermore, electromagnetically driven,

Manik Chowdhury (L), MD of Eastman Technocrafts with Morgan Tecnica team

the cutter does not have any pulley and belt and there is no rack & pinion driven attachment, only linear movement.“This is the fastest technology for single ply in the market and as fashion requirements move tomadeto-measure, this technology will be a must-have for retailers/manufacturers,”

argues Anandkumar D, MD, Morgan Dynamics.

The ultimate goal of digitalization and automation is enhanced production capacity. Martin Group, the Italian leader in manufacturing of fusing machines, presented a fusing machine that has feeding belt to improve large production capacity.When the

accessories are not needed, it can be taken out and be used like standard fusing machine.

The machine uses software which is able to analyse various production steps and generate data that can be used to optimize production chain, control costs, improve working process also with remote control on mobile

International Vibemac team at Texprocess

TUKA3D Designer Edition allows designers to show their concepts virtually in three easy steps: Build, Look and Present.

Build – a virtual garment building feature that lets designers build new styles from virtual assets; Look – allows assess of print repeats and placements in true scale on a real garment body; and Present – allows showcasing final concept with images.

phones, tablets, computer. On the other hand, the company offers automatic stacker device which requires no labour in picking up of pieces.

Conquering the hike inlabour costs,the stacker can be used on all machines and on other brands as well.“While the European market is really appreciating the machine, Indian manufacturers too have shown interestand we are looking to do good business in India with this fully automated fusing machine,” states the company.

If a manufacturer is happy with a machine’s performance and results, he would definitely love it. In order to make manufacturers fall in love with the machine, technological improvements are necessary. Under the tag line,“LOVE IT or LOVE IT”, Veit offered intelligent process solutions. Veit Fusing 4.0 technology enables control of fusing process from anywhere in anetwork where the machine can communicate with other

machines. The company’s FX Diamond fusing machine along with this technology allows it to maintain the fusing results consistent at all times by monitoring and intelligently adjusting all process parameters.

Another 4.0 technology, Veit Pressing4.0, facilitates ironing machines tobe integrated into the customer’s own company network.

The machine can report on maximum pressure, process times and ironing programs used.This technology delimits the material flow investigation and the communication between the product and the machine.

Technological breakthrough in the jeans making process is also allowing manufacturers to meet the increasing demand for greater productivity and expected quality efficiently.

Being a market leaderin the technology ofjeans manufacturing, Vibemac was seen showcasing its range of machines. The model 1010V4 DCS, equipped with

an automatic loader-unloader system, increases productivity by 25 per cent; the machine allows even an unqualified operator to manage three machines simultaneously.

Apart from embroidering the pocket, 1010V4 DCS can stitch pockets with a single or double colour thread, apply labels, patches and Velcro,stitch flaps, make darts and pleats.

Vibemac also offers 2516V4 DCT, an automatic back pocket setting machine, which aims to eliminate labour cost as a component of flexible jeans products as well as increase productivity.

2516V4 DCT applies any kind of pre-passed patch pockets on jeans with the ability to stitch any shape of pockets.

It is possible to sew darts and pleats, apply labels and sew flaps with this machine.“It can store 512 pocket patterns in the internal memory and USB flash memory stick,” informs Farhadur Rahman Jewel, Manager of Vibemac, Bangladesh.

ZÜND’s DIGITAL CUTTING SYSTEMS SETTING ‘PERFECTION’ BENCHMARK

onsumer trends have driven many changes inthe way garments arebeing manufactured over the years.While 10 years ago, mass production was a norm, today the focus is shifting to customization or made-to-order garments as consumers wantto stand out as individuals. This change has found reflection in the choice of technology at all levels. So while earlier manufacturers were opting for multi-ply cutters to facilitate quicker and faster production for large number of orders, today the need for single ply cutters is surfacing like never before.

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Synonymous with precision, performance and reliability, Zünd, which specializes in digital cutting systems, has integrated every bit of ‘Swiss’ extravaganza in their machines. Since 1984,the company has been designing, producing and marketing modular cutting systems and in no lapse of time realized the need for single ply cutters. Peter Hohl, Product Manager, Zünd Systemtechnik AG, explains the importance of single ply cutting in today’s context,“First, it offers flexibility to have JIT production.

And secondly, fabrics are getting

expensive and if you cut in high-ply, you need to leave much more space between the parts which creates wastage in some units.”

The latest addition to the company’s product portfolio is D3, a single ply digital cutting system. Based on a modular design concept, the cutter not only lends greater flexibility and adaptability but can be upgraded for the ever-changing cutting needs also.

Certain features in Zünd D3 make it a perfect choice for every manufacturer.

A few of them have been listed below:

Automatically loadsfabric…

The single ply cutter leaves human role next to minimum as it offersthe advantage of automatic loading of fabric. The suction cups pick up the ply of fabric and load it smoothly to the cutting surface.

Doubles productivity in one g o …

D3 is raising the performance standards with its innovative dual beam system.The two beams can each be equipped with up to three different modules, and can undoubtedly increase the throughput in a leap.The intelligent cutter

Peter Hohl (L), Product Manager with Daniel Bischof, Marketing & Communication, PR, Zünd

controller leaves no chancefor human beings to intervene. It automatically allocates the jobs optimally between the two beams and thus ensures the highest possible productivity.

Flexible tool configuration…

The tried and tested modular tool system is available on both beams of the Zünd D3 cutter. The operator can configure individual tool combination from the Zünd modular system according to the function that the cutter has toperform.

Checks bladeperiodically….

The integrated Tool Initialization (ITI) allows automatic tool calibration, i.e., automatically adjusts the processing depths of blades, router bits and crease wheels. It sends automatic tool inset check notification toensure best quality. If a blade is not working properly or gets damaged, it instantly sends a notification to inform about the problem. The operator can replace the damaged/non-working blade with a new one. The D3 comes with two standard ITI units – one in the front, the other diagonally across at the back of the cutter.

Innovative technology, superior standards of construction, solid performance, and outstanding quality are few of the adjectivesthat have made Zünd a popular choice in many countries.The company has thousands of cutting systems installed all over the world through its seven England subsidiaries in USA, China, Netherlands, Italy, Thailand and India. Based in Bangalore, Zünd India Pvt.Ltd. was established in 2012 with Prasanna Venkatesh as the GM of Zünd India.“We chose India as one of our locations to cater to the ever growing demands of the customers from India and neighbouring countries through easier access and service support,”shares Hohl.

Industry 4.0 is driven not just by technology, but also by data, information and analytics as well, allowing the manufacturers to face challenges that exist at the broader level. the successor to the analogy Moodboard. Sketches, images and existing designs can be compiled here – and data from the PLM system is connected directly and always available.

The story continues with the defining of the target group in iSize, the international body dimension portal. Then it’s time for the next step in this digital product development, during which all the necessary decisions for the collection are made and price ranges, materials and the required accessories are determined in the PLM system. A pattern is then developed in Cad. Assyst and simulated and visualized in Vidya – naturally in 3D. The result is a pattern file with which one can start production.

Visitors at Industry 4.0-ready Veit booth

Gianluca Benassai (R), General Manager, Martin Group inconversation with a visitor

Indeed Industry 4.0 is driven not just by technology, but also by data,information and analytics as well, allowing the manufacturers to face challenges that exist at the broader level.

The Human Solutions Group showcased how digitization is revolutionizing product development in the apparel industry.“We are showing our guests just what digitization can do for them – and that it’s no longer a pipe dream. Digital is now – we have developed our solutions to such an

extent that the entire product development process chain is now digitally possible andcan be integrated into a perfect interactive process to reduce time to market significantly,” says Dr. Andreas Seidl, CEO of Human Solutions.

In the Digital Design Room, the ideal prototype can be completely designed, tested and approved digitally. This is the room in which the entire process for creating a new collection is staged. It starts with the collection of ideas on the Digital Fashion Board,

Tukatech, a leading provider of fashion technology solutions, launched Cloudbased product development solutions which will eliminate sketching and enable collaboration and communication of design ideas at the fraction of time and cost.The digital tools like TUKA3D Designer Edition, TUKAstudio, Adobe Illustrator Plug-In, TUKAcloud and TUKAbank grabbed attention at the show.“The fashion industry is moving very fast, those who do not keep pace will die, getting on to the digital platform sooner than later, is the only way forward,” argues Ram Sareen, Founder, Tukatech.

In line with what the company believes is the future, TUKA3D Designer Edition, an upand-coming visualization

application, gives designers the freedom to show their concepts virtually in three easy steps: Build, Look and Present. Build – a virtual garment building feature that lets designers build new styles from virtual assets; Look – allows assess of print repeats and placements in true scale on a real garment body; and Present – allows showcasing final concept with imagesin a design meeting, in a tech pack, or directly to a vendor.

Another offering,TUKAstudio is a suite of applications for print development and used with graphic design software. It allows to create and preview repeat pattern options, colourwayvariations, and even separatecolours for print screens with ease. It also enhances digital fabric development with fabric texturing modules.

Qondac Networks (a part of Duerkopp Adler), the winner of Texprocess Innovation Award 2017, makes instant knowing andquick reaction a reality with digitized sewing production. The possibility of online monitoring, measuring productivity and analysing status of sewing machines all in real time at any time open new optimization potentials for any organization. Not only status updates, it generates warning in case of material bottlenecks, inefficient machine usage or exceeded deadline as well. Slated for a launch in Spring/Summer nextyear, this plug-and-play system lays the base of a fully automated production process.

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

KAIZEN KORNER – II ‘LEAN ON ME’ ELIMINATING WASTE FROM SCREEN PRINTING PROCESS How would you react if 90 per cent of your production efforts are wasted? The reaction would be definitely an extreme one. To the uninitiated, this may sound absurd and completely unbelievable, but it is not. The Kaizen Korner three-part series delves into the synergy created when combining best practices in printing, manufacturing and leadership. In Part II, David Permenter, Educational Director, DCC Print Vision LLP David Permenter, Educational Director, DCC Print Vision LLP

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ean or Lean Manufacturing, as some refer to it, is an operating philosophy of continuously increasing value for our customers through the never-ending course of eliminating waste in our processes.

In a Lean environment, any activity or motion that does not directly add value for the customer is considered waste and must be eliminated from our processes.

Does extra inventory on your shelves provide value to your customer? Can you invoice him for it? How about moving your goods to and fro throughout your facility, or between facilities? Can you itemize that on your customer’s invoice? I don’t think your customer would find it agreeable to pay for such a thing. Yet, the cost is there.

Let’s look at one of the most common sources of waste in a printing facility, one that we can all relate to, and see how waste leads to more and more waste. ..

‘Over-production of ink’! In a typical scenario, colour masters “guess”how much ink is needed

addresses Lean Manufacturing andwhat it is all about…

“You want to play the blues, you have to live the blues,” once said a great Blues singer.

Lean cannot be dictated.

Lean must be lived! It is not a project, it is a philosophy and a culture that must be developed and nurtured over time.

– David Permenter

for a job rather than using already available tools such as“theoretical ink calculator”. This is a simple spreadsheet or online calculator that allows one to estimate consumption based on screen mesh, image dimensions, coverage area, number of print strokes, etc.

So, we guess. And we guess on the heavy side so we don’t run out of ink during production and have to make a new batch. Thus, we have the first waste (over-production).

Because we matched that ink through eyes when it went out to press, we find that being printed on the actual substrate and through the actual production screen, the colour that comes is an off-shade (defect).We stop the press (waiting time) and begin laboriously adjusting the ink (wasted motion and overprocessing). After the print run, the press-return ink is then put on the “dead ink shelf” (excess inventory) where it generally sits forever. This is the typical waste involved in one ink colour. Now, let’s assume your typical job has an average of six colours. And how many jobs you run in a day? Do you see how

waste leads to more waste? This is a daily recurring scenario in your facility and it has been going on for years and years. You probably have just accepted it as“partof the process” and just“the way things are”. WRONG! Let’s look at an alternate scenario.

Your process involves using proper recipe management and a theoretical ink calculator so that you use the minimum amount of ink required for the job.The ink is properly tested before sending it to the press so that shade variation goes away, further eliminating the wasted motion and over-processing associated with on-press adjustments. Though some ink will always come back from production, use of an ink management software allows you to recycle that dead ink back into new colours thereby reducing excess inventory.

Now imagine that a tiny fraction of the waste from a day or two ofproduction might actually free up enough employee genius toimplement such improvements!

8 Deadly Sins of Waste

In any lean process, including screen printing, waste can be classified into eight forms: Over-production: Producing more than the customer requires. Batch work,opposed to one piece flow, is the first and most critical form of waste from which many otherforms follow.

Over-processing: Along with over production, now we have all of the additional processing associated with inventory that we don’t even need – quality inspections, packaging, administrative activity,etc.

Learning to see waste is not that hard. As you learn and practice lean, you will begin seeing waste everywhere. You will see what has been happening before your eyes for years and years actually went unseen. Only then will you begin to accept that 90 per cent of what you do is waste! It truly is an eyeopening experience.

For years, I have been reminding manufacturers and business owners of what they already (often painfully) knew.As a manufacturer: You get no gold medals for producing quality goods.

This is the minimum price you must pay just to be in the game.

Without achieving or exceeding required quality levels, you have no customers. So, don’t pat yourself on the back too much about your quality level.

You don’t even get to set your own prices. The market is happy to take this responsibility off your hands by dictating what it is willing to pay you for your efforts.You may be able to charge a little more or a little less due to your quality, service, logistics, etc., but that has only a small influence on price. You have no control on pricing.

Cost is all you have left. You can control your costs, and to a far greater degree thanyou

probably ever thought possible by continuously eliminating waste from your processes!

This advantage can then bepassed on to your customer. Remember, lean is customer-focused..., an operating philosophy of continuously increasing value for our customers.

A true lean environment is dependent upon creating a company culture that transforms the way all people think and work – from the top executive, down to the housekeepers keeping the floors clean and shiny. Lean requires absolute commitment from the top andthe participation of everyone in anorganization.

Imagine what would happen to your business if every single employee was eliminating waste and improving processes every single day,if such activities were, in fact, the actual job! Lean can be fun and exciting, electrifying an organization.

Creating a lean culture is neither an easy task nor something you do“starting Monday”. But, it can be learned and it can be done.

For those willing to educate themselves about lean and are absolutely committed to its successful development in their organizations, the rewards are beyond belief.

Excess inventory: And now we have to store it.

We all know that inventory is a huge cost and we work too hard to minimize it. Now we have the additional cost and struggle to carry more of it than weneed.

Defects:Nearly every manufacturing process has some level of defects. We expend huge resources to minimize this number. By overproducing, we are also adding to our defects.

Higher the production, more the defects.

Higher the over-production, more the needless defects.

Transportation: You have produced it, now you have to move it probably many times before it finally finds a home with the customer.

Wasted motion: This is generally found in every step of a production cycle. Add them all together and the waste can be huge. How many steps from your press to your dryer? How far is your squeegee storage area from your press?

Waiting time: Nearly every waste also creates friction in the workflow.Friction means struggle which means things don’t run as smoothly and timely as they should. This always results in lot of waiting time: waiting for materials, waiting for information, waiting for colleagues, etc.

Unused employee genius: If a lean environment requires the participation and contribution from everyone in the team, any time lost due to waste is time and energy not being expended on making lean improvements! Having stated this, all other lean improvements come from the people involved in the processes, and this is the greatest waste ofall.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

GUNINA SOLUTIONS CREATING WIN-WIN SITUATION AND VALUES FOR GARMENT WORKERS THROUGH TRAINING Empowering under-privileged sewing machine operators by providing them social and technical skills, enhancing their income and social status as well as benefiting garment manufacturers by giving them the best of the trained people are the goals which drive Gunina Solutions and its success. “While focusing on‘Social Entrepreneurship’, we realized that there is a gap between apparel industry, employees and entrepreneurs, and to bridge this gap, I had to take this leap and come to this field of training,” shares Shalabh Srivastava, Partner & Founder, Gunina Solutions.

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y the end of March 2017, Gunina Solutions had achieved about 70 per cent of the planned target by bringing in gainful changes in the lives of about 70,000 young workers employed in the apparel and textile industry. “We aim to enhance technical and social

status of migrated workers from rural areas of UP, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand,” comments Shalabh.

Shalabh further states that through strong tie-ups with Government schemes, NGOs and other agencies, his company brings migrated people to the

Reasons for low productivity are ‘poor’ supply chain, monitoring of production processes and maintenance.

– Shalabh Srivastava

training centres. Speaking about the training methods applied to upgrade workers’ skills, he describes, “We have certain SOPs and we train people on these SOPs to make them understand what exactly apparel units want from them.”

Additionally, a living area with safe and protected environment is provided to these workers as they have to change their living location for earning. “Once a worker feels secured about his living place, we impart technical skills to them,” comments Shalabh.

Shalabh Srivastava, Partner & Founder, Gunina Solutions

After providing them a place to live, the next 10 to 15 days are reserved for training on sewing machines.

Firstly, they are asked to work on simple sewing machines (Non UBT) keeping quality factor on priority and after

Too many skills provided at the same time are often wasted as the operator is initially put for one or two sets of operations only.

15 days, they are propelled to produce garments keeping both production and quality on top of the list.

Shalabh opines that a training programme should be effectively designed to impart skills to the workers as demanded by the apparel industry. Too many skills provided at the same time are often wasted as the operator is initially put for one or two sets of operations only, where he or she has to gain efficiency and stamina to work for longer duration. Gradually, the skill matrix can be enhanced for the line/unit through planned intervention of industrial engineering and upskilling.

He also emphasizes that training of trainers is another area which GS works on being an advisory to enhance efficiency and technical skills of the trainers who are pivotal in providing rightful training to the operators. Shalabh briefs about his expectations from a trainer specifying, “By technical skills, I mean the trainer must know about the quality aspects, machine maintenance, industrial engineering principles, role of efficiency, productivity calculation, method study and time study.”

A trained operator is just useless under an untrained mid-management of a garment factory. “The major responsible factor for less productivity is managerial gap which almost accounts for 90 per cent of the total loss in a production line,” says the Founder of GS, who

did a root-cause analysis for identifying the reasons for low productivity which were ‘poor’ supply chain, monitoring of production processes and maintenance. He adds that these trigger a need for secondlevel training programme and GS is geared up for that.

Goals and Objectives One of the most aspiring visions of GS includes building a team of 100 social entrepreneurs during FY 2017-18, who will be entrusted to bring positive changes among the unemployed youth of the country and connect them with the apparel industry. “GS Skills Accelerator, an initiative of the company, will provide technical training to the entrepreneurs with an aim to provide centralized curriculum development, financial management services, liaison with various departments and agencies, business plan and strategy formulation, creative problem solving, and enhance the calculated risk taking ability through innovative training models,” informs Shalabh.

He sincerely believes that the entrepreneurs need to understand the business side of skill development programmes and to spread this understanding, the company will create a platform with adequate infrastructure and human resource to invite technical graduates from NIFT, Pearl, AIM, TISS, XLRI and XISS to participate in this endeavour.

We aim to enhance technical and social status of migrated workers from rural areas of UP, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand.

– Shalabh Srivastava

What is Gunina Solutions all about?

Gunina Solutions is a Gurgaonbased skill development advisory and support system provider which is dedicated towards the upliftment of the workers of apparel and textile industry. This is done by the company’s training wing ‘GS Skills Accelerator’ which has a collaboration with Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISDS) of Ministry of Textiles (MoT), India.

Working with ISDS as a training partner, GS Skills Accelerator is currently collaborating with an Implementing Agency called Clothing Manufacturer Association of India (CMAI) under Component-II of ISDS, while in Component-III (state sponsored), the company is a partner of SPINFED, Odisha.

Thus, through collaborative efforts, it plans to achieve the qualitative and quantitative target of training about 100,000 youth in the next one year.

Apart from workingwith ISDS, Gunina Solutions has also tied-up with Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY) to fill the gap between demand and supply ofskilled manpower. The role ofthe company will be to ensure that all the stake holders do not miss the opportunity created

by PMKVY.

TECH TRACK

USA: Gerber Technology launches Yunique PLM’s Design Suite Plugin

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eading technology provider for apparel

and fashionindustry, Gerber Technology, has launched YuniquePLM’s Design Suite Plugin to help designers transfer data easily betweenapplications while creating and managing theirbusinesses.

Easier to install, the Design Suite Plugin allows updates and new features to be delivered directly through the Adobe store to their users. Key features of the Design Suite Plugin include Colour Plugin that allows designers to create new and access existing colour palettes, including PANTONE® libraries, from YuniquePLM’s colour folder; Image Plugin, from which users can access all Adobe Illustrator digital artwork, sketches, graphics, inspirational boards, detail sheets and CADs in YuniquePLM; and Style Plugin that enables designers to create new styles from sketches in Adobe Illustrator; and all the updates can be seen instantly in YuniquePLM. “The Design Suite Plugin is another step in that strategy. By putting the power of PLM in the designers’ hands, we streamline the processof delivering new products to the market,” said Clayton Parker, PLM Product Manager at Gerber Technology.

UK: SHIMA SEIKI participates in Meet the Manufacturer 2017

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eading Japanese flat knitting machines manufacturer SHIMA SEIKIMfg. Ltd. together with its European subsidiary SHIMA SEIKI Europe Ltd., participated in the UK’s leading textile trade show and manufacturing exhibition Meet the Manufacturer 2017, held on 24-25 May 2017 in London.

The company demonstrated WHOLEGARMENT® knitting technology through flagship MACH2XS machine that features original SlideNeedle™ on 4 needle beds and patented springloaded full-time sinker system.

At the event, it also showed traditionally woven items such as gilets and jackets using a special inlay technique that yields novel knit-weave hybrid fabrics suited for such items.

Shima Seiki displays its flagship MACH2XS machine at Meet the Manufacturer 2017

Japan-based Shima Seiki and its European subsidiary present latest innovations at meet the manufacturer ’17.

Additionally, the company exhibited SDS-ONE APEX3 3D design system. With comprehensive support of the knit supply chain, APEX3 integrates knit production into one smooth and efficient workflow from planning and design to machine programming, production and even sales promotion.

Bangladesh: CSL Software Resources teams up with SAP

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AP, a market leader in enterprise application software, has recently introduced SAP B1 in Bangladesh. SAP B1 is a robust and compact ERP solution for the small- and medium-scale industries.

However, to make the solution entirely workable under local requirement for garment manufacturing industry, certain additional functionalities need to be plugged in with the SAP B1.

On the other hand is CSL Software Resources Limited, a Bangladesh-based company, which offers software development services such as Kandaree, an apparel ERP software and Kormee, HR solution

CSL offers software development services such as Kandaree, an apparel ERP software, and Kormee, HR solution software.

software. The company believes that keeping the SAP B1 as a central solution, and combining the functionality of other essential modules from Kandaree for garment industry, lot of benefits for

the end-users could be generated at an affordable price scheme.

To act accordingly, CSL Software has teamed up with SAP as an extended business member and is currently in the process of combining both the solutions to cater to the vertical specific needs of country’s garment manufacturing units.

It may be mentioned here that Kandaree has a successful track record of integrating its relevant modules with other external solutions such as Datatex, MAPICS, Fast React, dyes chemicals auto dispensing solution, core banking solution.

Germany: Texprocess Innovation Award honours latest developments

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he Texprocess Innovation Awards, honouring outstanding achievements and new developments along the Texprocess product chain since 2011, were presented to the deserving technology exhibitors during the recently concluded 2017 edition of the international trade show in Frankfurt, Germany.

The awards are given in two categories – ‘new technology’ and ‘new process’. The winning productsare selected on the basis of criteriasuch as innovativeness, choice of materials and ecological.

Coloreel, a Sweden-based company, was able to convince the jury members about a technology that enables the white basic thread to be dyed during the embroidery process that

Embroline enables the white basic thread to be dyed during the embroidery process.

Swiss company Coloreel bags award for its new technology – Embroline

is, Embroline, which results in unique and colourful patterns, and bagged the ‘new technology’ award.

Another winner in ‘new technology’ category was DDL-9000C, Juki’s offering that allows inter alia, thread tension and stitch length to be adjusted and stored on the machine.

Industrial-sewing machine specialist Xi’an Typical Europe also bagged an award for Vetron Trace, a new technology that permits pedal-less sewing. Sensors on the machine trackhand movements and pass on the information to the machine in real-time.

Coming to the ‘new process’ category, Duerkopp Adler, the sewing technology giant, won the award for an online monitoring system for industrial production which checks parameters like productivity and the status of up to 1,500 sewing machines in a network in real-time.

China: TAL Apparel improves efficiency via Nutanix solutions

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pparel manufacturer TAL Apparel was finding it tough to keep with the pace of its business expansion in Asia. Complex issues in IT infrastructure and shortage of skilled IT talent in local markets added to the woes.

That’s when the company adopted Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform

by Nutanix, a leader in enterprise cloud computing. The solution has helped the apparel manufacturer in reducing time required for IT infrastructure management, and focus more on leading innovations in garment manufacturing.

With the deployment of Nutanix, solutions including the JBoss application server on Linux, Apache webserver, IBM WebSphere application server, IBM DB2 and file server, as well as network services including Windows Active Directory, DHCP and DNS servers were successfully migrated to the new platform.

“With years of experience deploying legacy infrastructures in multiple markets, we believe that web-scale, hyperconvergence and cloud-like infrastructure should be our way moving forward.

As we expand our footprint across a number of growth markets, IT infrastructures

at our corporate offices and off-site locations must operate with both simplicity and scalability in order to ensure efficiency and give us peace of mind. The Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform enabled us to evolve past our legacy IT infrastructure and scale out anytime, anywhere,” said Kai Yuen Kiang, Vice President, Information Technology, TAL Apparel.

With its installation at the corporate offices in Hong Kong and factories in eight countries across Asia over the past year, TAL Apparel was able to cut the time needed for day-to-day infrastructure management by 65 per

cent, the overall rack space reduced by 82 per cent and power consumption by 72 per cent.

It may be mentioned here that Nutanix has completed one successful year of installation at TAL Apparel.

“Our enterprise cloud offerings not only allow TAL Apparel and other customers to embrace the evolution of next generation enterprise IT infrastructures with ease, our solutions also enable easy, non-disruptive upgrades and automatic dispatch of preventive alerts to ensure operational efficiency,” said Edward Yeung, Managing Director, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Nutanix.

Germany: Tukatech launches Cloud-based solutions to simplify fashion product development process

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ounded by Ram Sareen, Tukatech, a leading provider of fashion technology solutions, has launched Cloud-based product development solutions that will eliminate sketching and enable collaboration and communication of design ideas at the fraction of time and cost.

TUKAstudio allows to create and preview repeat pattern options, colourway variations, and even separate colours for print screens with ease.

The technology provider showcased special digital tools like TUKA3D Designer Edition, TUKAstudio, Adobe Illustrator Plug-In, TUKAcloud and TUKAbank at the recently held Texprocess in Frankfurt, Germany.

Look – allows assess of print repeats and placements in true scale on a real garment body; and Present – allows showcasing final concept with images in a design meeting, in a tech pack, or directly to a vendor.

TUKA3D Designer Edition, an up-and-coming visualization application, gives designers the freedom to show their concepts virtually in three easy steps: Build, Look and Present. Build – a virtual garment building feature that lets designers build new styles from virtual assets;

Another offering, TUKAstudio is a suite of applications for print development and used with graphic design software. It allows to create and preview repeat pattern options, colourway variations, and even separate colours for print screens with ease. It also enhances digital fabric

development with fabric texturing modules.

Perfect for on demand manufacturing, thecompany’s Adobe Illustrator plug-in sends graded patterns to TUKAmark, where a highpowered marker-making engine configures the pattern pieces into the most efficient layout. Then, a digital printer prints only thearea which is filled with colour, saving cost oninventory and fabric utilization.

Furthermore, eliminating the hassles of carrying designs

along and endless e-mail threads, TUKAcloud, a webbased digital sample room, houses data exported from TUKA3D and other systems to contain all information for a developed style on a common, user-friendly platform.

Last but not the least, TUKAbank allows to find PDF patterns or 3D virtual style files which designers can download for their own use, or upload their own contributions, and even get rewarded when others use them.

USA: Apparel manufacturer Hansae selects BlueCherry Shop Floor Control solution

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pparel manufacturer Hansae International S.A. and Hansae Haiti S.A. have selected CGS’s BlueCherry® Shop Floor Control solution to improve productivity, quality and labour-related compliance of its manufacturing operations in Nicaragua and Haiti. CGS is a New York-based global provider of business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing services.

The shop floor control solution provides powerful

BlueCherry® Shop Floor Control solution will provide workers with productivity and performance benchmarking. tools that automate the collection and reporting of production, enabling realtime shop floor visibility and control, improving factory operations and productivity

while reducing costs. The implementation in both countries will provide workers with productivity and performance benchmarking, driving incentive-based earnings.

“With factories around the world, we needed a way to truly optimize production. BlueCherry Shop Floor Control enabled us to have the real-time visibility needed toimprove production by motivating our employees, from which

we’ve seen immediate results,” said Francisco Diaz, QA Manager, Hansae.

CGS has over 30 years of experience in the apparel, footwear and consumer product market and understands the value of having the right solutions in place to efficiently run business operations.

Currently, themanufacturer has 12 global corporations in 6 countries (Vietnam, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Indonesia, Myanmar and Haiti).

Brazil: Audaces launches ‘Audaces 360’ for garment industry

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udaces, a developer of automation system for the production of clothing, has recently launched a new software ‘Audaces 360’. The goal of the new product is to provide an even better user experience, where the passage of information from one step to another is facilitated, with even more action tools available.

Revolving around the vision – ‘integration is the concept, efficiency is the goal and productivity the result’, Audaces 360 creates 4D clothing; develops high quality and precision

moulds; and makes afitting fabric yield for apparel manufacturers.

Explaining the incorporated technology, the company reports that the aid of 4Dalize technology allows the visualization of the clothes from the first moment, in a threedimensional mannequin, facilitating the refining of the creations. Each drawing generates an automated and very complete technical sheet that favours the communication between the stylist and the modeller.

creation. In this way, it is possible to verify if the price of a certain part is compatible with what will be offered in the market.

Audaces 360 also enables the simulation of costs with fabrics, fixtures and labour necessary for the production of a part or collection in the stage of

Additionally, the software offers automatic clothing modelling functions, with size graduation and fit calculations. This technology allows to streamline and optimize the amount of raw material needed for production.

It may be noted here that in India, Audaces is supplying its products through its dealer Welco Garment Machinery Pvt. Ltd.

Germany: Intex Consulting takes Industry 4.0 on cards at DCC

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ntex Consulting, amarket leader in providing ERP solutions for textile industry, in collaboration with consultancy firm McKinsey & Company along with 8 other industry leading companies and rewarded research centre ITA at RWTH Aachen University, has recently opened Digital Capability Center (DCC) in Aachen, Germany.

During the inauguration, the Center showcased Industry 4.0 applications in warping, weaving, thermofixation, coating, digital printing, auto cutting and sewing of an individualized smart wristband, which will automatically transfer the order and customer information from an app to Intex ERP software, generating MRP & production orders, simultaneously producing order network with realtime

Production line of DCC, Aachen

material tracking/movements on the shop floor through an RFID interface.

DCC can facilitate areduction of cycle time up to 50 per cent, maintenance cost and downtime up to 50 per cent, and an increase in productivity up to 55 per cent. ERP and MES software solution – Intex ERP Business Suite by Intex Consulting is the digital

backbone of this Center in Aachen. Additionally, since it aims to offer a platform to managers to experience the real potential of Industry 4.0-related technologies in a live environment, Intex will enable smooth flow of operations through its vast technological offerings.

“The key challenge of digital transformation for the most textile producing companies

is that the ERP system is not supporting the fluent integration of technologies,” claims the Center. Thus, being the technological leader in the market of ERP systems for the textile industry, Intex Consulting offers the knowhow to support this process.

The Center is also expecting a textile production line soon, which is currently in testing phase.

India: Uditya Tech to offer GEMSWEB ERP solution at economical price

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here is a buzz for affordable housing, affordable health care, etc., then why not for affordable software?.

With enquiries already pouring in from eager garment manufacturers looking for an ERP solution at a reasonable price, New Delhi based software solution provider, Uditya Tech Pvt. Ltd., is happy to announce that GEMSWEB will be a very reasonably priced Apparel ERP software without any compromise on features.

“Having gained knowledge by working in the industry for last 25 years, it is now time to give back. Apparel manufacturing start-ups and small manufacturers can now afford to have GEMSERP installed at a nominal one-time cost with minimal monthly subscription charges,” said Avadhesh Tyagi, Managing Director, Uditya Tech.

‘GEMSWEB’ software has been designed to help garment manufacturers control costs and earn more profits. With this software, garment exporters can improve overall efficiency, resulting in improved material utilization, timely production and on-time delivery with savings at every stage for better margins.

USA: Simparel acquires Shopfloor Support LLC

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imparel Inc., aleading developer and marketer of next-generation business solutions for fashion and consumer goods brands, manufacturers and vertical retailers, has announced strategic acquisition of real-time Shop Floor Control (SFC) developer Shopfloor Support LLC. “Since we first saw the fresh thinking that Shopfloor Support was bringing to manufacturing, we knew that we had to be apart of taking this exciting technology to the fashion market. With the full global resources of Simparel now behind the product, we look forward to accelerating the success of Simparel SFC,” explained Roberto Mangual, President and CEO, Simparel.

The recent acquisition of the wireless production data collection system, Android-

Acquisition of shopfloor suppot will help Simparel expand its product portfolio

based productivity app, cloud-based management dashboard and analytics solution expands the portfolio and reach of the company’s premier end-to-end business solutions. Shopfloor Support will continue to provide ongoing product development, customer support, and sales for Simparel SFC from a newly established Simparel office in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

“After working closely and so successfully with Simparel, we realized that the best option for taking the product to the next level was through their strong organization and market reach. We are pleased to have the significant resources of Simparel behind the product and look forward to accelerating the development and sales of Simparel SFC,” added Justin Hershoran, Partner, Shopfloor Support.

USA: SoftWear Automation joins hands with industry stalwart Dr. Mike Fralix

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oftWear Automation Inc., a US-based machinevision robotics firm, has brought on board Dr. Mike Fralix’s industry experience which clearly demonstrates SoftWear Automation’s continuing focus on creating and expanding autonomous Sewbot™ worklines for the sewn products industry. Fralix will be working with SoftWear as a Technology Evangelist.

With decades of experience in apparel manufacturing, Fralix will establish SoftWear’s Sewbots™ onto the factory floor while

helping to identify key partners who will support and enable more local manufacturing.

“Mike brings a remarkable amount of industry knowledge and expertise.

We’re thrilled to have him evangelize our technology to help redesign the textile and apparel industry supply chain,” said Raj Rajan, Chairman and CEO, SoftWear Automation.

Holding Doctorate in Textile Technology Management, Fralix is the current President and CEO of Textile Clothing

Technology Corporation and will continue in that position while working with the company. He also serves on the Board of Directors of AAFA (American Apparel and Footwear Association).

“The sewn products industry is ripe for innovation, and SoftWear Automation is perfectly positioned as a leader in this space. I’m excited to join the team at this rapid stage of its growth. This is a fantastic opportunity to help lead the adoption of SoftWear’s unique robots in a market I know so well,” said Fralix.

USA: EFI Optitex unfurls first virtual collaboration app for fashion industry EFI Optitex has announced the launch of O/Cloud Collaborate, the first webbased software as a Service (SaaS) solution offering visual collaboration specifically geared for the fashion industry. The solution incorporates photorealistic 3D viewer and streamlines collaboration across the global supply chain for better products and faster decisions and less errors.

Asaf Landau, EFI Optitex’s Vice President and General Manager, commented, “This new visual collaboration platform cuts development times by many weeks, allowing the world’s leading retailers and brands to design better products, faster.”

The company reports that O/Cloud collaborate allows internal and external parties to manage, share and collaborate on any product related file including 2D/3D models, graphic designs as well as tech-packs in one secure location.

Additionally, having an updated centrally stored SVOT (single version of the truth) for product development, along with a photorealistic digital view of how garments will look and act, allowsusers to easily identify issues. It also gives them theability to address and implement design ideas before physical samples are everproduced.

Guy Alroy, EFI Optitex’s Head of Products, added,

O/Cloud Collaborate incorporates photorealistic 3D viewer and streamlines collaboration across global supply chain

O/Cloud renders a photorealistic digital view of how garments will look and act.

“Having this platform directly integrated with the CAD authoring tools allows users to be incredibly efficient in exchanging ideas and comments, speeding up the decision-making process and thus the time to market.”

USA: Browzwear announces launch of Open Platform

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rowzwear, the leading provider of 3D solutions for fashion design, development and merchandising, has announced the launch of Open Platform. The Open Platform is the cornerstone of a program designed to enable fashion brands and retailers to leverage a growing ecosystem of integrated software solutions as part of their digital apparel process.

With the Open Platform, Browzwear is bringing together many different solutions that can play a part in the digital process, and enable retailers to leverage the power of 3D. Partners in the Open Platform program provide software for asset management,

Some of the partners of ‘Open Platform’ are Dassault Systèmes, Foundry and GRAFIS Software. pattern design, costing, merchandising, showcasing, online shopping, workflow and more.

“Each of our customers has a unique process and we are committed to ensuring that their digital transformation is a success.

We created the Open Platform program so that we can help every customer create the right solution for their business, through a

combination of True-to-Life 3D, expert services, and complimentary products and technologies,” said Sharon Lim, CEO, Browzwear.

Some of the partners of ‘Open Platform’ are Dassault Systèmes, Foundry and GRAFIS Software. “The Open Platform is an important step forward for the digital transformation of thefashion industry. Browzwear’s 3D digital technology together with Dassault Systèmes’ Product Lifecycle Management solutions can streamline the way fashion companies design, develop and manufacture products,” said Chris Colyer, VP – Consumer Goods & Retail, Dassault Systèmes.

According to Shane Griffith, Product Marketing Manager,

Foundry, Browzwear’s true-to-life 3D design and development together with Modo’s photorealistic rendering give designers the ability to showcase their garments effectively long before samples are available. Through the Open Platform, designers can now launch a Modo render with a single click.

Another partner GRAFIS Software from Germany plans to facilitate its customers to instantly simulate their patterns by integrating GRAFIS 2D CAD software with Browzwear’s 3D prototyping. Dr. Kerstin Friedrich, Managing Director at GRAFIS Software said, “The integration with Browzwear’s API allows simulation of style modifications to fit and design in seconds.”

TOP-LIST

P O P U L AR 1 0 I R O N I N G / P R E S S I N G / F I N I S H I N G TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS Used interchangeably, ironing and pressing have two different meanings. Ironing involves relative movement or friction between two flat surfaces, while pressing involves compression between two surfaces (but no relative motion). Whereas in finishing, the garment is worn over an inflatable dummy and steam is applied to inflate it. The steam thus applied removes the crease; the hot air follows steam to remove the remaining moisture.Team StitchWorldbrings to its readers the 10 popular ironing/finishing/pressing technology providers...

sleeve and armhole pressing of jackets. It offers the advantage to combine four operations in one cycle, assuring a reduced garment handling. Furthermore, it also reduces the downtime, both in case of one or two operators by allowing them to work on twodifferent

1

Veit Germany-based Veit Group is a leadingmanufacturer of ironing equipment, fusing machines, under pressing and final pressing machines. The company’s latest offering BRISAY SC/ VC Series is designed to increase flexibility in trouser finishing. The extremely fast movement of the machine provides maximum pressing efficiency.

With e-motion system,the factories can also witness a dip of 40 per cent in energy cost.

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Indupress From over 40 years, Indupress, again aGermany-

steam generator units instead of central steam piping that reduces energy consumption in a factory.

Coated with Tufram (an aluminium surface that is converted into aluminium oxide), it facilitates smooth ironing with no wrinkles.

Also, the electrically heated steam hose prevents condensation even at 120 oc.

5

Hoffman/NewYorker based company, has been offering various finishing, pressing and ironing technologies for the apparel sector. The latest offering by the company is a highly automated pressing technology named IPN-VCD-21-14A/C for outerwear with a new generation of touchscreen micro-processor machine control and a new height adjustment (electro pneumatic angular adjustment) for shoulder pads.

3

Macpi Macpi, a well-knownItalian company which is famous for its pressing, finishing and cutting solution, offers Macpi 234 forshoulder,

stations of the machine which are completely independent.

4

Naomoto Established in 1948, Japanbased Naomoto is apopular provider of iron series, steam generators, ironing tables, press systems and special purpose machines for apparels.“Ecovalore”, the company’s ironing system,uses individual

Hoffman/New Yorker Inc. is the specialized manufacturer of garments and laundry/dry-cleaning presses for the apparel industry. Its new RSS 4000 Robotic Shirt Finishing System was developed for apparel manufacturers to finish the entire body and sleeves of men’s and ladies’ shirts, blouses and knits, in one operation. The machine has self-

contained vacuum for positioning, setting and cooling of the placket, and automatic side-seam and back tensioning. Shirt manufacturers running two machines in tandem can witness output rates of 80 to 120 shirts per hour.

PLC option with userfriendly touchscreen for simplification in operation.

7

Alba Makina Founded in 1969, Alba Makina Co. Ltd. is a market leader in garment finishing technology in Turkey. With more than 35 years of presence in the industry, the company produced the country’s first robotic ironing machines, computer-controlled ironing presses and steam generators.

6

Ngai Shing Concentrating on the garment industry for more than 60 years, Ngai Shing has patented designs on pressing system and energy-saving drying tumbler. Headquartered at Hong Kong and manufacturing in China, Ngai Shing is an environmental technology service provider which has large scale pressing and finishing technology.

equipment for apparels, along with equal expertise in producing automatic sewing machines, conveyor hanging system and special auxiliary equipment for garment manufacturing.

The company’s product AZT018 is a trouser side seam pressing automat with a computerized controlsystem for steam time,pressing time and vacuum time. The head and buck shapes have separate vacuum, steam spray and blowing functions.

9

Rotondi

One of them is‘Automatic Utility Press’ which is the company’s latest development having model no. NS-7218.The equipment is suitable for pressing coats made up of different fabrics.

It incorporates automatic pressing options with adjustable pressure.

Additionally, it provides

Its form finishing machine C01 provides high productivity at low cost with its peculiarity of time adjustable blowing and steaming system. Weighing 150 kg, the machine consumes steam at arate of 25-30 Kg/h.

8

Weishi Founded in 1992, Shanghai Weishi Machineryspecializes in manufacturing of finishing andpressing

the world, thecompany provides the best of solutions for customer’s technical and economic needs. The company’s Jacket Line (2060 series) exclusively for finishing jackets have automated form finishers with a body that rotates 300 degrees, and has an ergonomic design in order to give correct form to the jacket. The machine has a height of 130 cm which is adjustable pneumatically.

10

Surpass Star Owned by Shanghaibased Shanghai YueJiang Electric Company, Surpass Star designs and develops steam iron bases, besides providing heaters to steam iron manufacturers, with expertise in aluminiummagnesium and base plate casting technology.

Rotondi Group, an Italian company, produces hi-tech pressing equipment for men’s and ladies’ jackets, trousers, jeans and shirts.

Installed in 156 countries in five continents throughout

The two most popular versions of boiler type steam irons from the company are 300 and 94A. Equipped with a high quality thermolator for temperature control and soft touch button for release of steam, thesteam irons only take 30 to 50 seconds to reheat, saving on power andtime.