Textile Insight

March/April 2018 ~ Textile Insight • 13 textileinsight.com IN THE MARKET | SOURCING AT MAGIC Production On-Demand Digital & Physical Come Together to Form a Modern Work Line ew technologies to move textile and apparel design into the future dominated not only the conversation at Sourcing@MAGIC, but the physical space as well. A micro factory set up in the sourcing section inside the Las Vegas Convention Center, displayed how goods can be made using the latest in digitalization and automation. A t-shirt designed, printed, cut and stitched in four minutes flat – no problem. A factory delivered to your door by truck – doable. These, along with other production scenarios, no longer seemed unrealistic as attendees watched garments come off a work line during live micro factory demos during the February trade fair. A fast-paced marketplace — with no sign of slowing — is a main driver in today's quest for new manufacturing methods. Contemporary trends in customization, the rise in e-commerce and small batch production are also factors contributing to keen industry interest in lean, on-demand domestic production. Patrick Clark, president of Nextwave, has his sights set on a micro factory future built on expertise from corporate collaboration. "We're putting together a consortium of tech partners to form the apparel micro factory," says Clark, who describes his Buford, GA-based firm as an "integrator." Clark has been in textiles for 30 years and watched as 600 factories that once dotted his region's landscape dwindle. "Lead times as much as eight months, and the concept of running 10,000 units of something and then hoping it sells, that's gone," states Clark. In its place is emerging model for production to begin only after an order is placed. Bringing manufacturing back to U.S. soil requires a fresh approach and Clark recites a handful of advantages a micro factory can offer including shorter, quicker turns with greater design flexibility, scalability, cost savings, no environmental impact, better inventory control and incremental job creation for a labor force that lacks experienced sewing skills. Click to Design, Print, Cut & Sew in a Flash The micro factory process runs on product from a handful of industry partners, including EFI-Optitex and EFI-Reggiani; Zund, Swiss Cutting Systems; Klieverik; and Henderson Sewing Machine Company. Software technol- ogy featuring 3D imaging and digital printing align with automatic cutting and sewing equipment. Each step in the production reads a file and adjusts accordingly. "You can design a shirt, hit click and be finished sewing in as few as four minutes," says Clark. "Its an assembly line so once you turn it on it keeps going until you turn it off." Different fixation units can accommodate different fabrics for print — pigments for cotton, dye sub for polyester, for example. Clark adds, "The digital printing process is clean, with zero pollution involved in the process." Sizing is built into the software and because the equip- ment is semi-automated high-level sewing skills and training is not required. Clark states. "We lost two gen- erations of sewing labor in the U.S. In those days you needed 10 years to be a good sewer. Today that's not necessary – and its not here anyway." The micro factory on display at Magic was a first-of- its-kind entry-level model. Installation can be as quick as two days and has a price tag of $500,000. The unit has the ability to run 5,000 units/week and is scalable to produce up to 100,000 units/day. An entire operation can run with five people, says Clark, who explains that Nextwave can customize a micro factory to fit client needs and product -- whether that is making core pillows, leggings, or t-shirts. The front-end configurations, even down to the cutting is pretty universal, the real trick is in the automated sewing. Other markets, such as signage, have already adopted digital technology, as have fast fashion European apparel brands like Zara, H&M and Top Shop. Based on interest shown on the trade show floor in Vegas last month, the future of micro factory production in the U.S. looks promising. "Our dream is multiple factories that all work in unison," said Clark. O View a video of a live demonstration of the micro factory during Sourcing@Magic on YouTube here: youtu.be/ONPdGxY-f-8 Micro factory Sourcing@MAGIC 2018 setup and components Photo: Juan Villamizar/Nextwave N

• Cover