by IPM Staff
As many industry organizations are doing, Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas, are taking in-person symposiums and bringing them online. Virtual Symposium: A Monthly Webinar Series is designed to provide attendees with information from leading players in both the industry and academia. Divided into two tracks—Technical Textiles and Sewn Products—these monthly webinars are planned through April 2021 with the goal of sharing the latest trends and insights into the future of textile-related industries.
Technical Textiles
The Technical Textiles track looks at topics surrounding textile engineering and innovation with sessions supported by Georgia Tech’s School of Materials Science and Engineering. The program explores the latest research in technical textiles, covering topics like high-performance fibers, nonwovens, smart textiles, materials informatics, the circular economy, and three-dimensional (3D) printing.
Sewn Products
The Sewn Products track focuses on new solutions and technologies
in manufacturing. The track covers the latest trends and emerging technologies in seven comprehensive sessions and panel-style discussions featuring industry leaders and subject matter experts. It examines all levels of the supply chain, exploring how production has changed and how industry players—from suppliers to manufacturers to retailers—are adapting to it.
The Factory of the Future
The webinars launched in the beginning of October, and we sat in on the first one scheduled for the Sewn Products track, The Factory of the Future. It focused on how the textile industry is experiencing a shift from mass production to custom service and rapid distribution. Opportunities to apply robotics, artificial intelligence, visual systems, and advanced path planning
are prominent.
The panel included a number of speakers who collectively represented small start-ups to government suppliers to market leaders—Andrea Madho, DEO/cofounder, Lab141; John Martynec, EVP of manufacturing and operations, Hickey Freeman; Eric Spackey, CEO, Bluewater Defense; and Giovanni Tracanella, global industrial director, U.S. operations VP, Vibram.
Key takeaways from the presentation included commentary from Madho, who shares that the fashion industry is a $2.4 million market in flux. To combat this, efficiency is essential.
Spackey made it known that the more efficient you are as a producer, the more money can be made.
One way to do this is by adapting some of the newest technologies
in the space, as brought up by the moderator, Arnie Kravitz, CTO, Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing. 3D knitting is one of those technologies. While it’s popularly used in the manufacturing of footwear, bags, and other structural elements, Madho says that it is especially beneficial for the creation of seamless components like undergarments or intimate apparel.
The technology bonds the fabric together instead of sewing, creating that seamless result.
Keep Connected
If you are interested in learning more about Virtual Symposium’s upcoming webinar topics and their participants, visit techtextiltexprocess.us.messefrankfurt.com.
Stay on the lookout for the latest news related to the Techtextil North America trade show, which assembles all vertical aspects of the technical textile industry under one roof. The 2021 edition is scheduled to take place in Raleigh, NC from August 23 to 25. IPM
Nov2020, Industrial Print Magazine