Zünd UK has partnered with Fashion-Enter to demonstrate a sustainable microfactory concept in London, using D3 digital cutting technology.

Fashion-Enter is a not-for-profit social enterprise which strives to be a centre of excellence for sampling, grading, production and for learning and the development of skills within the fashion and textile industry.

The pressure for sustainable and on-demand production is growing rapidly within the fashion industry. Whether it is fast fashion or sportswear, digitisation and automation are the path to the future in apparel manufacturing, with single ply cutting providing the solution to changing demands across the textile industry.

In an increasingly digital production environment, order sizes are smaller, order cycles shorter, and the degree of customisation keeps increasing. Lot size 1, fast fashion, and mass customisation are among the hottest trends. High-performance digital cutting systems from Zünd, combined with highly advanced yet intuitive software, enable fully automated digital cutting with minimal manual intervention.

The London microfactory concept uses the latest technology and advanced workflow processes.

“The project is aimed at brands and retailers,” said Dean Ashworth, sales and marketing director at Zünd UK. “We want to demonstrate to them how they can create a sustainable manufacturing facility in the UK. We believe the onshoring of apparel manufacturing will support the growing trend for made-to-order and ethical production.

“Furthermore, technology and production strategies are developing to deliver the capabilities needed to reshape the fashion industry. Zünd single-ply cutters are setting new standards in speed, efficiency, and accuracy. The Zünd D3 cutter delivers ultimate performance and productivity with two cutting beams operating simultaneously, with sophisticated nesting algorithms increasing material yield and helping to keep production costs low.”

“In light of the recent unprecedented demand for making in the UK, the timing of our unique partnership is excellent,” added Jenny Holloway, Fashion-Enter CEO. “In the last week alone, we have had five major retailers contact us for speed of response fashion and now, thanks to Zünd’s outstanding cutting technology we can commit to leaner and more efficient manufacturing.

“Zünd’s cutter is particularly effective on one piece flow which is the future of garment manufacturing working within the parameters of a microfactory which in time we will extend to our Welsh site in Newtown Powys too. We would like to say a genuine thank you to the amazing team of Zünd who spent the last week installing and calibrating the D3 cutter. Now this really is state-of-the-art-manufacturing.”

www.zund.com