In the session From dumb product to 'technology as a service', Steve Smith, of DPInnovations, will reveal how IoT developments are enabling suppliers of manufacturing technology to move beyond the delivery of standalone products and offer an increasing range of value-added services.

Yves-Simon Gloy, of RWTH Aachen, will contribute to the session Automation and the workforce, which will focus on which skills will be in demand and what kind of jobs will be under threat as the textile industry adopts Industry 4.0 principles.

Yariv Bustan, of Twine Solutions, and Michel Byvoet, of Bivolino, will present in the session Turning disruption into innovation: emerging business models. This session will discuss enterprise opportunities in customisation and manufacture-on-demand.

Other speakers announced by WTiN include: supply-chain solutions expert Mark Harrop, CEO of WhichPLM, who will explore the role of PLM and ERP software in the “smart revolution”; Chiaretto Calo, group CEO of the newly created, Italian-based IMPRIMA Group; Tekin Gulsen, global IT and corporate planning director of Turkish technical fibre and yarn producer Kordsa Global; Dieter Stellmach, Management Research, DITF; and Peter Santora, vice-president of US-based SoftWear Automation, a pioneer in sewing-factory robotics.

The Textile 4.0 Conference is the professional event dedicated to the realities of Industry 4.0 in the textiles industry. It aims to shed light on the many developments that are happening even now and provide expert insights into what the future might hold for business and investment decision makers throughout the textiles value chain.

www.textile40conference.com