January 1 , 2004
BenchMark Clothiers has announced that it is now providing men's upscale custom clothing using [TC]2's body scanning technology. It is also currently experimenting in providing women's custom clothing on a limited basis. BenchMark has currently placed a scanner in a single retail outlet but soon intends to offer its services in multiple locations. The company has already successfully produced several hundred suits for its customers using the new technology. Last year the company acquired [TC]2's full body scanner model 2T4s in its portable configuration, which allows for easy setup and transport. BenchMark plans to operate the scanners both in fixed retail outlets along with providing what it terms, “roaming” scanners, to limited time venues such as large conferences, entertainment and vacation sites as well as professional schools and office campuses.
BenchMark, a rapidly growing vendor of custom and specialty clothing in the mid-south, was founded in 2000 by Mike Hulsey and Kevin Lewis of Little Rock Arkansas.
According to the two co-founders, “We [BenchMark] are very excited about being able to offer our customers the accuracy advantages afforded us by utilizing [TC]2's body scanning technology. This is precisely the vehicle we needed to expand our market while keeping measurement tolerances within a pre-defined range. In the past, we have experienced difficulty in maintaining measurement accuracy and continuity due to the different variances in ‘hand' measurements taken by each of our associates. Measurements tend to vary from person to person. However, when utilizing [TC]2's body scanner, the resulting measurements are much more precise and we can rely upon its continuity every time a measurement is taken, whether that measurement was taken in Portland, Maine or Portland, Oregon. With the use of these scanners, our company exemplifies the seemingly oxymoronic business model of “high-volume customization.” We further benefit by not having to maintain any finished inventory thereby keeping our store footprint and carrying costs to a minimum.”
The company plans to add at least one new scanner per quarter over the next two years. BenchMark is further researching additional technologies in an attempt to take the process one step further. It intends to take its customers' body scans, digitally extrapolate the resulting data into CAD pattern markers and thereafter sending those patterns to a single-ply automated cutting system. This will allow them to bypass the traditionally necessary expense and time involved in the hand making of patterns and the cutting of custom clothing.
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