With the rising input costs, apparel manufacturers today are struggling to save every possible penny during production and the best solution to the problem is cutting down on the cost of the raw materials. A major contributor to the same is fabric which, if used economically, can provide relief to the manufacturers: In a time of shrinking profit margins, saving 5% of fabric can increase profitability by up to 30%. Therefore, a manufacturer cannot afford to neglect the cutting room any more. CAD/CAM provider, Assyst Bullmer, recently organized a 2-day workshop called ‘Intelligent Solutions’ in association with its Indian Representative Mehala Machines where the focus was on bringing down the cost in the cutting room through automisation of all operations and implementation of planning solutions.
Addressing the select audience representing the industry, Shreyan, the Managing Director of Mehala, highlighted the downtrend in the recent international markets contributing towards shrinking production volumes in all the major apparel manufacturing bases worldwide. Offering a solution to this fast growing problem, he said, “An enterprise backed by earnest endeavour never fails. In this age of growing uncertainty with shrinking profit margins, the key is to minimize wastage during production. Here technology steps in: Intelligent solutions provided by companies such as Assyst Bullmer not only cut down on human errors, but also streamline the workflow in the cutting room and offer solutions to sustain the same. Therefore, the Indian exporter needs to understand the value of such a product line to explore options on reducing costs and boosting their profits”.
Improving quality, increasing efficiency and trimming the costs of operations in the cutting room was the focus of seminar ‘Intelligent Solutions’. In a time of shrinking profit margins, saving 5% of fabric can increase profitability by up to 30%.
The seminar which began with Intelligent Solutions for garment industry was followed by seminar for technical textiles on the second day. The focus on both days was on improving quality, increasing efficiency and trimming the costs of operations in the cutting room. Talking about the technology absorption in Indian garment industry, Thomas Heinrichs, Managing Director of Assyst Bullmer, said “Presently, the industry is not utilizing the technology at its disposal to the full extent. In order to reduce the cost substantially, planning the work is very important. One has to do accurate pre-planning in order to determine the proper usages of the material ahead of time in order to avoid excess purchase.”
In his presentation, Heinrichs briefed the industry about Assyst Bullmer’s line of automised machines designed specifically for cutting room operations and pattern making which include spreaders, cutters, roll magazines, and plotters to cater to varying capacities and a wide range of fabrics be it light, heavy or technical fabric.
Corina Gidei, Application Consultant for Assyst Bullmer, demonstrated the CAD/CAM applications developed by the company including apparel assist, vidya, create marker, cadassyst and automarker.com. “The combination of mechanical technologies with software technologies results in the highest mechanical availability with best output,” said Corina. Of all the softwares discussed, vidya drew most attention and queries from the audience. An obvious reason for the same is the 3-dimensional technology offered by this software. The vidya module opens the way into 3-D real time simulation through a direct link to the cadassist 2-D design. Here the pattern master can visualize new designs on the dummy in the desired size instantly. The garment can also be selectively displayed to examine fit problems and undesired garment stretching. The pattern maker can accordingly alter the accurately detailed information on the 2D pattern sections. The software makes it possible to test the prototype in real time accelerating the development process while eliminating preliminary pattern and alteration costs.
However, the presentation on technical textiles attracted more attention from the industry. Assyst Bullmer offers a specialized range of cutters, spreaders, and CAD/CAM solutions to cater to the needs of technical textile manufacturers. The most popular was the SIRUS 1000 cutter for compressed cutting of up to 100 mm of non-woven fabrics, insulating materials, foam, etc. This cutter is particularly popular with the automobile industry. Another product that was discussed was Premium Cut, which cuts the components straight from the roll as per requirement and is used for cutting textiles, flexible materials and composites.
“Our technologies are today used by more than 7000 customers in 50 countries,” concluded Heinrichs. Even as the 2-day event drew to a closure, many participants shared their satisfaction with not only the immense knowledge they had gained through this experience but also how they plan to use the same for their benefit. Shailesh Kumar, Quality Assurance Manager of Meenakshi Polymer, manufacturer of automobile accessories and car seat covers shared, “We already have a presence in the technical textile industry: We work for Hero Honda motor bikes and few leading tractor companies of the country. However, we are now planning to expand our business to other segments as well. The product line offered by Assyst Bullmer completely takes care of all our requirements.” Another visitor, Sanjay Kaul from RICO, a company associated with the automobile industry shared, “We have already invested in Assyst machines and this event has been an excellent exposure for us to learn more about the same.