“Digitalisation has impacts beyond manufacturing or supply chain technology, to affect product development and to pose difficult questions for business leaders who must make far-reaching decisions on strategy and investment,” commented Mark Jarvis, WTiN Managing Director.

“We have received enthusiastic interest from America in the establishment there of an edition of Innovate Textile & Apparel and are honoured to be working with both NC State and Gherzi to deliver the highest-quality program for all forward-looking companies and institutions.”

Main features

The Textile 4.0 Conference, exploring emerging digital business models and introducing the latest application opportunities in smart factory development, including robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and virtual or augmented reality.

Re:Think Materials, providing expert technical insights for product developers, including: market opportunities in connected textiles; conductive fiber and yarn; textiles for energy harvesting and storage; printed textile electronics; and the application possibilities of graphene and other ‘2D’ materials.

Textile Business Futures, presented in conjunction with top textile and apparel industry consultants Gherzi and providing an intensive one-day introduction for C-level executives to learn about digital business strategy, risk management, return on investment, leadership and culture change.

Textile and apparel digitalisation

The launch of Innovate Textile & Apparel Americas follows an inaugural European event, scheduled for November 2018 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and sponsored by Oerlikon, Softwear Automation and supporting partner Gherzi. This, in turn, builds on the success of the 2017 Textile 4.0 Conference, held in the same city.

Dr Lisa Chapman, NC State University Faculty Scholar and digital technology and design expert, emphasised the importance of preparing leaders in the area of textile and apparel digitalisation. She says:

“State-of-the-art digital design tools can be used to improve the design workflow and bridge the communication gap between product development and the manufacturing process. WTiN’s partnership event with the College of Textiles will provide an educational forum on the use of emerging digital technologies, to more broadly disseminate information and encourage the use of new digital design processes,” she said.

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