Bi-Weekly Technology Communicator |
|
Digital Textile Print Conference - October 26 - 28
The Digital Textile Print Conference was held October 26 -28 at the [TC]² facility in Cary, NC. This conference was sponsored by DigiFab Corp., Sawgrass Technologies, Inc. and Stork Digital Imaging, BV, and produced by [TC]² and AATCC. The conference included over 50 individuals, with 20+ presenters, coming from eight countries as well as the U.S. It covered all aspects of digital textile printing including printer technology and ink chemistry developments, unique imaging capabilities, and the multitude of applications suitable for digital textile printing including a focus on short run production and mass customization.
The conference was kicked off with a presentation by Mike Fralix, President and COO of [TC]², on "Exploring the Digital Supply Chain." This was followed by several presentations from digital printer manufacturers who explained the different types of digital printers, inks and methods of digital printing available. The methods discussed were printing with reactive or acid dyes, direct disperse dye printing or transfer/sublimation printing, pigment printing, and nano printing. There are many things to consider for digital textile printing. Depending on the application, there may be a need for either pre or post treatment of the fabric to achieve quality imaging and colorfast results.
On the second day of the conference, several digital textile printing applications were explained highlighting the pros and cons of each of the different print types. Many samples of each application were displayed allowing the conference participants to see and feel the fabrics produced.
In summary, digital textile printing was seen as "still a new technology but with numerous opportunities and possibilities."
There was a general feeling of comradery between the participants with everyone ready to share their experiences and techniques. Conference attendees' feedback was that the conference provided valuable information well beyond their expectations. The conference ended with discussion of another [TC]²/AATCC conference to be held in May, 2005 (time and place to be determined).
top
SEAMS Fall Networking Conference - October 22-23, 2004
Approximately 50 members attended the two day SEAMS Fall Networking Conference held on October 22 and 23 at the [TC]² offices. SEAMS is a not-for-profit organization comprised of manufacturers, contractors and suppliers in the sewn products industry. SEAMS is the national organization for the domestic sewn products industry.
The conference began on Friday morning with a very informative tour of Royal Park Uniforms Inc., in Prospect Hill, NC. Royal Park manufactures school uniforms and has been successful at mass customization. They can manufacture a low volume of an item in many sizes. For more on Royal Park, see the Member Profile later in this newsletter.
During the two days of the conference, many discussions centered around "Made in USA." The logo, shown above, was introduced and attendees received imprinted golf shirts and mugs with the logo.
Jim Schollart of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC) made a presentation on the current activities in Washington, DC, regarding trade with China, which prompted a spirited discussion among the members.
Mike Fralix, President and COO of [TC]², spoke about "Thinking Outside the Triangle." His presentation stressed the importance of changing one's thinking and seeing things from a different perspective. He showed how the softgoods industry is evolving and companies need to evolve to stay competitive.
While at [TC]², participants were given a tour of the [TC]² demonstration facility which showcases demonstrations of digital textile printing, 3D body scanning, 3D to 2D pattern unwrapping, CAD systems, team manufacturing, and single ply cutting.
At the closing banquet on Saturday evening, Dick McGrath of Ultimate Apparel was given the "Person of the Year" award. This is awarded by the president of the SEAMS organization to the person who contributed most to SEAMS in the previous year.
The SEAMS conference was very informative and a great resource for networking among the members.
top
High Volume Decorator Summit 2004
Richard Atwell, Manager of Education and Engineering programs at [TC]², presented "Using Lean Production for a Competitive Advantage" at the High Volume Decorator Summit, which was held October 19-20 in Atlanta, Georgia.
The summit was an educational and networking event for top-level screen printers and embroiderers. It was sponsored by IMPRESSIONS, the High Volume Screen Printers and Embroidery/Monogram (EMB) magazine in conjunction with Imprinted Sportswear Shows (ISS).
Richard used the [TC]² Penville Plant as a demonstration of the benefits of short-cycle manufacturing with reduced inventory and time lag between operations. The discussion centered around each operation in the manufacturing example as representative of a function within the company process. The five work areas represent:
1. Order taking (sales)
2. Screen or embroidery program preparation
3. Embellishment
4. Post-process labor such as label replacement
5. Packing and shipping
Reducing the time and materials between each function improves customer response and allows errors to be caught sooner.
Many of the other presentations at the Summit focused on knowing the demographics of one's target market and using appropriate techniques to reach it.
The goal was to educate, enlighten and involve attendees in charting the future of the Decorated Apparel Industry.
One of the speakers, Janet Surtees from Lands' End, discussed how her company has evolved into a multi-channel retailer with catalog, Internet on-line, and full line stores. One of the business principles she highlighted was "We ship fast and reliably. We embroider and hem products faster than any company we know."
top
Enterprise Competitiveness Council (ECC) Meeting - October 20
Pete Butenhoff, Chairman and CEO of [TC]², attended the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) Enterprise Competitiveness Council (ECC) meeting in Waltham, MA on October 20th. Four topics were presented: Consumer Insight/Knowledge; Product Development; Sourcing/Order Management; and Logistics/Product Flow. Plans for the next ECC conference on January 20, 2005 at the Liz Claiborne Distribution Center in New Jersey were begun. The conference would include a tour of the facility and several roundtable discussion groups. A guest speaker from Proctor& Gamble is expected to offer some insight into P&G's consumer knowledge. Additional details will be incorporated into a future [TC]² newsletter.
top
[TC]² Activity
Single Ply Cutting
Why Single Ply Cutting?
Traditionally, multi or high-ply cutters cost about $250,000. This amount is normally out of the reach of small to medium size companies because they do not have the sales volume and financing for such a cutter.
At one time, single-ply cutters were only used for special cutting requirements, such as leather goods. It is impractical to cut more than one animal skin at a time.
Single-ply cutters, however, offer many benefits to small or medium companies:
1. The relatively low cost ($50 – 60,000) of the single-ply cutter versus the cost of high-ply cutters ($250,000). The high-end single-ply cutter could cost up to $150,000 if all the features were included.
2. Niche Markets – such as the furniture industry which deals with engineered prints. Single-ply cutters are used so that the engineered prints will meet the expectation of the consumer.
3. Many small companies have a need for a low volume of pieces that range over a variety of sizes. For example, a company may need to cut 2 pieces of size 8, 3 of size 10, and so on. Single-ply or low-ply cutting is more effective in such a scenario.
4. Single-ply cutters are extremely useful for producing samples or product prototypes that are used to obtain early market feedback.
5. Single-ply cutters are accurate and reliable and do not have expensive blades. Old blades can be discarded and economically replaced with new blades.
6. Single-ply cutters support the concept of mass customization - defined as “the mass production of individually customized goods and services.”¹ Today many consumers are unhappy with the fit of the clothing they buy and are willing to pay a premium for customized apparel. According to one consumer survey, 36% of consumers are willing to pay up to 15% more for customized products. Most consumers do not order large quantities of these items at one time, but they may order one or two identical items. Single-ply cutters are ideal in this environment.
7. Single-ply cutting allows manufacturers to produce a variety of high-quality, customized goods while reducing excess inventory and costs.
¹ B.J. Pine, II (1993), Mass Customization, Boston Harvard Press, p.48.
top
Member Profile
Royal Park Uniforms
Royal Park Uniforms in Prospect Hill, NC is a prime example of a large unit production system in an apparel factory. The company was established in 1986 as an outgrowth of the Prospect Hill Manufacturing Company, a women's clothing manufacturer and supplier. It has been family owned by the Royal family since its inception. Royal Park occupies 140,000 square feet of specialty manufacturing and distribution space in the facility at Prospect Hill, and employs 135 people at this site. With contract alliances, it has another 1000+ employees dedicated to daily Royal Park production. One such alliance is with [TC]² which manufactures Royal Park uniforms at its facility. Royal Park is considered the largest manufacturer of plaid fabric garments which are used for school uniforms.
Royal Park's management team and staff use the team concept to produce over 100,000 SKUs of school uniforms. Team members are allowed to choose their partners and while each member of the team receives a base salary as well as bonuses for quality and attendance, all realize that only by working together can they achieve greater goals. The motto for the teams is "You must be a good partner to have a good partner." The operators each have their own work station which keeps track of how many items are being worked on. Once a piece is delivered to a work station, the work has to be completed before the garment moves to the next station. Cross training is very important as balancing of the work load is paramount. Movement of the operators between workstations is common. Quality control is done by the individual operator and each is responsible for correcting any defects.
Royal Park uniforms demonstrates the mass customization concept. Orders are spread across many different sizes, including special sizes.
A Gerber DCS 3500 single-ply, high-speed cutter is used for fabric cutting. Plaid matching is difficult to do as repeats of the plaid occur every two to five inches and are occasionally bowed or skewed. There is a projector above the cutter which shows the original placement of marker pieces.The operator can reposition the marker as necessary.
A Gerber Moving system is utilized throughout the Royal Park facility. The system has two loops with bridges at the cross points. Each carrier on the system has a radio-frequency (RF) chip in the top of the carrier. The manager can see which station needs work and have the carrier loaded with the needed fabric. Finished product comes back down the carrier line in the opposite direction.
The product continues throughout the factory from the sewing room to the pressing room onto the packaging room and then to the shipping department. Various processes are performed at different stops along the route. After being pressed, the uniform has a bar code tag placed on it and then plastic is placed over the uniform. The uniforms are stored according to the bar code information. Royal Park has two distribution centers; one at the Prospect Hill facility and one in Central America.
In addition to its school uniform business, Royal Park produces security guard uniforms and some firemen's and police uniforms. Royal Park also manufactures millions of pieces for craft kits as well as the quilt squares for Michael's and A.C. Moore.
William Royal, President of Royal Park Uniforms, feels the next five to ten years will be the best for Royal Park. He believes that you never say no to an opportunity. You look for ways that the opportunity can happen.
For more company information, visit www.royal-park.com.
top
Important Dates
November
|
Fall ITT Technical Advisory Committee Meeting at the College of Textiles, NCSU, www.itt.edu |
|
Human Resources Leadership Council, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida www.apparelandfootwear.org |
11
| Apparel Tech Conference, at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, in Los Angeles www.apparelmag.com
|
18-20
| Cotton Incorporated Sourcing USA Summit, San Diego www.cottoninc.com |
28-12/3
| International Apparel Federation (IAF), Executive Committee, London www.iafnet.org |
December
January 2005
16-19 |
National Retail Federation Annual Conference, Jacob Javits Center, New York www.nrf.com |
|
AAFA Enterprise Competitiveness Council (ECC) Conference at Liz Claiborne Facility www.apparelandfootwear.org |
|
AATCC Jet/Yarn Symposium, Charlotte www.aatcc.org |
For detailed information about industry events, visit www.techexchange.com
Thanks to the techexchange site sponsors Blinco Systems Inc., Gerber Technology and Methods Workshop.
top
A Look Ahead
11/3 - 4 Fall ITT Technical Advisory Committee Meeting at the NCSU College of Textiles
11/11 Apparel Tech Conference, at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles
top
View previous editions of this newsletter
[TC]²
211 Gregson Drive
Cary , NC 27511
www.tc2.com
Phone: 919-380-2156
Fax: 919-380-2181
Email:
If you are not on our mailing list and wish to receive this bi-weekly newsletter, via email:
If you would prefer not to receive this free bi-weekly newsletter, and wish to be removed from our mailing list:
|
