Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/952449
THE MAKE: MANUFACTURING TAILORED FOR FACTORIES OF THE FUTURE A NEW MANUFACTURING MINDSET IS EMERGING THAT BODES WELL for domestic production. Invest, collaborate, ideate, communicate, and educate are fast becoming modern fundamentals for success in today's marketplace defined by speed and specialization. Work lines built on efficiency and flexibility are the new norm. Solving production problems by teaming digital resources with physical components is leading edge. Maker spaces, incubators and alliances with academia are taking shape to engage next gen thinkers and build community. Nowadays thinking "niche" is big and customization key. An entrepreneurial spirit is energizing manufacturing models and lending fresh perspective to how goods get made. Conventional business models and hulking textile plants are phasing out and fast being replaced by micro factories streamlined to transform ideas into commercial product in no time. "We get orders Monday morning and can ship Monday afternoon. If a customer needs fabric tomorrow we can put it on a plane and get it there. That's our model." Jeff Bruner, Quantum Textile suppliers, brands and individuals are investing in innovation with gusto. Companies are doubling down on technology and equipment to out-pace market forces and accept the needed rise in digitalization, automation and robotics. "Over the past five years, we made significant investment with our infrastructure. It's about speed, particularly with knitting. It was invest or die." Steve Perry, Darlington Fabrics Education is central to this mission. As of 2015, U.S. government basic research funding had dropped to only 44 percent, from a high of 70 percent in the 1970s. Corporations are stepping up, realizing that tapping into student talent will pay off down the road. "We will gain talent from the university. This will help us train the next generation of chemists and engineers." Zeru Tekie, Chemours For an industry once content to compete within their separate silos, collaboration has taken hold. Company execs now describe the importance of listening, connecting, researching and developing with customers. This is happening all along the supply chain, from large players to small. "The goal is to streamline communication from molecule level to the mill partner." Cindy McNaull, Cordura Companies also find value in hiring from outside the industry to bring innovation in. Be it from automotive, high-tech or consumer products, manufacturing going forward will consist of designers sitting next to engineers and software gurus sharing lunch tables with yarn experts. "After leaving IBM and beginning my new career at DTV I saw opportunity to bring Lean concepts to this enterprise." Kirk Smith, Darn Tough Vermont Thinking differently is the new attitude. Execs believe we are on the forefront of a new made in America. Indeed, these days automated machinery complete with high tech computer systems goes hand in hand with personalized innovation. Young entrepreneurs especially don't want to adopt models they view as what pushed production overseas. "People have been frustrated long enough and want to do things differently. They do not want to continue on that same path." Kim Ortengren, Wallace James Clothing Company B Y E M I L Y W A L Z E R March/April 2018 ~ Textile Insight • 19 textileinsight.com