Apparel sector to touch zenith with Lectra's Cutting Solution

02 Sep '08

6 min read

Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions has developed the most advanced specialized software, the Cutting Systems, to provide associated services to a broad array of markets including apparel, accessories, footwear and furniture.

Lectra's technologies enable its customers to face the growing demand for rapid turnover of models, to display ever greater creativity and flexibility, and to produce faster, better, and at lower cost, in order to be more competitive.

Competition is fierce among apparel manufacturing countries, especially between India, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Apparel manufacturers must be very productive in order to maintain their competitive edge to constantly meet demands to cut costs by buyers who play orders to off-shore manufacturing countries against each other.

In India, Textile manufacturers are now aware of the benefits of technology implementation which would help them to be competitive in the global as well as domestic market. The companies in this sector are presently more open to learn new technology and best practices already implemented in other countries. Many companies have either implemented or in the process of implementing world class machinery, software's and IT setup.

Cutting rooms for the textile manufacturing units are indispensable. The kinds of problems that are faced in this particular area are many; few of them being slow pattern development; inaccurate sample yardage information; fabric that are received may not be perfect as purchased order.

The optimization of Cutting Room Process can improve Productivity and Profitability of the apparel industry. In this regard, in an exclusive interview with Fibre2fashion, Mr L J Prashanth, Managing Director, Lectra India Pvt Ltd, told, “Cutting fabric to make pieces for a garment may seem a simple, everyday act, but it is actually a key step in the production process: the real transformation of the fabric, and therefore its physical consumption, takes place in the cutting room.

"Because fabric accounts for 50 to 80 percent of the total cost of a garment, this is the stage in the product development cycle where the risk of waste is highest, but it is also the stage that offers the greatest opportunities for optimization. Whether or not a machine can cut markers more efficiently is therefore one of the main criteria to be taken into account before investing.

Other gains are achievable with high-tech equipment, particularly in the area of cutting quality – constant geometry and perfect, correctly positioned notches can generate productivity gains of up to 6 percent when it comes to stitching.

There are also running cost criteria that, viewed over the long term, favor one piece of equipment over another. Technology with low energy consumption, for example, will provide a better return on investment than older technology, which may be less expensive to purchase but consumes large amounts of electricity and replacement parts.

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