SC OD Y - Gerber Technology

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SCODY
A company that
started producing
custom-order sports
clothing in 1997
is investing in new
machinery to create
a more efficient
and cost-effective
production process.
Dawn Adams reports.
+
efficient & effective
It was a total
change, we had
to alter the way
we did business
from one end to
the other
Bernard Schreiber
Scody managing director
A new Gerber Cut System is
empowering a sportswear
supplier to fulfil custom-made
orders within just two weeks.
Scody managing director Bernard
Schreiber explains that the
company started looking for
ways to better automate its
production processes around
18 months ago. “Traditionally, a
custom clothing business would
cut fabric and then print it,” he
says. “We wanted to change that
process, to print before we cut.
I literally went to equipment
manufacturers with bolts of
fabric on my shoulder to ask for
help.”
Unable to find exactly what he
sought in Australia, Schreiber
was urged by Gerber’s Australian
representative, Bill Ramsay, to
contact his US counterparts. “Bill
suggested we talk to Gerber in
the US,” he says. An eight-month
collaborative process followed
that involved intensive research
and development to create a
pathway for Schreiber to reach
the goal he had earlier set out to
achieve, to print fabric before it
was cut.
“Gerber put together various
technologies for us and drew
them from different industries,”
Schreiber says. Inputs for the
new Gerber Cut System came
from the US, Denmark and
Belgium, but before it could
be installed, Schreiber says
the processes in-house had
to be changed. “It was a total
change; we had to alter the way
we did business from one end
to the other,” he says. Rather
than have the various steps of
production take place more
randomly around the factory,
Schreiber established a clear
linear system. “Each job with
this system takes places in a
sequential process, proceeding
in a regimented way,” he says.
“The job starts at one end of the
factory and comes out the other,
so you can measure how long
each process takes. The beautiful
thing about equipment is that it
is predictable.”
The Gerber Cut System has three
components: an optical scanner
and its required software, a
high-speed conveyorised cutter,
which had previously been used
in the furniture and leather and
carpet industry, and a feeder. “A
traditional garment manufacturer
relies on laying out fabric in
multiple layers and cutting them
together, but we use single ply,
so we need to feed the fabric
faster to get the same output,”
he says. “We can also use it as
a normal cutter for unprinted
fabric with a CAD system.”
Schreiber claims that this
system is the first of its kind
in the world. “Gerber already
had knowledge about optical
scanning and needed to create
new programming for it to
be suitable for the clothing
industry,” Schreiber says.
Involving an investment
from both Gerber and Scody
to develop the new system,
Schreiber says his firm’s
contribution was assisted by
a grant through the Strategic
Investment Program. “The SIP
funding helped me make the
decision,” he says. “Without
access to those funds, it would
have been a bigger decision.
With something new, you can’t
quantify what you get until it’s
finished.”
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Gerber put
together various
technologies for
us and drew them
from different
industries
Bernard Schreiber
Scody managing director
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Stretchtex
has become
a specialist
in developing
technical fabrics
in Australia.
Examples of
these efforts in
research and
development
include Sorbtek,
a compression
fabric with
permanent
moisture
management
properties. Also
available is a
liquid titanium
fabric promoted
as ideal for
performance
sportswear.
+The optical
scanning
system
sends the
instructions
to the cutter
Bernard Schreiber
Scody managing director
SCODY
efficient & effective
Measurable outcomes
But he is convinced that the expenditure
was very worthwhile, as significant
measurable outcomes have been achieved.
“In a traditional operation, there is a lot of
bundling and rebundling of fabric pieces,”
he says. “We bundle once, which saves a
lot of labour. This system also increases the
accuracy of the print and cutting process
and increases our capacity significantly. We
expect to be able to double our volume of
garments through our factory with the same
number of people employed.”
This system also differs significantly from
those that operate with a traditional cutter
using a CAD system to relay instructions.
“The optical scanning system sends the
instructions to the cutter,” Schreiber says.
He claims that previous methods meant
it was difficult to cut accurately if fabric
printing was completed first. However, the
optical scanner enables accurate cutting by
absorbing the detailed printed information
on a fabric. “It can cut a cycling jersey,
triathlon vest and running top perfectly even
when they are all set out next to each other,”
he says.
And the system is set up to enable growth
within the company. “We now have a
production cell that can handle our current
volume, with a matched printer and heat
press with cutting system,” he says. “We do
one shift a day and can do more or replicate
the system by putting in another line if we
want. There is lots of capacity.”
A team of two local Australian Gerber
representatives and another from the US
company spent three weeks full-time at
Scody setting up the new system and training
staff about its operation.
Schreiber is now making plans to develop the
business, including considering producing
garments for additional sports such as netball
and basketball to complement its current
custom-made cycling and triathlon offering.
“We’ve found cycling and triathlon are at
the leading edge of garment technology,”
he says. “The information we’ve learnt from
these sports translates well into other areas.”
While convinced of potential in certain
markets, he is also clear about categories that
the company has no intention of entering,
saying that the rugby codes are already well
catered for and that schoolwear requirements
are different because they require more
robust fabrics, rather than the technical ones
that Scody specialises in. “Our focus is on
technical fabrics at a higher quality end,” he
says.
High-tech fabrics
Schreiber describes the fact that new
developments are occurring all the time in
technical fabrics as a ‘luxury’, enabling the
business to produce innovative offerings
regularly. “These fabrics are changing all
the time; there is always something new, so
we focus on sourcing,” he says. And he also
points to a dynamic sector where advances
are often made in construction techniques
and patterns.
Technical fabrics selected by the firm have,
for example, anti-microbial properties that
do not encourage the growth of bacteria
from perspiration, or moisture management
properties to keep the fabric dry and to
stop chafing for a better performance.
Maximum sun protection is achieved through
a combination of the design of the garment
and the fabric chosen.
The use of local suppliers of technical fabrics
like Stretchtex is complemented by sourcing
from around the globe.
While its custom-made selection produced
in Australia makes up the largest part of its
business, the firm also supplies garments for
cycling and triathlon that are made in China
and supplied to Rebel Sport, and it sponsors
elite athletes and sporting events.
Schreiber notes that Gerber is interested in
one day expanding its sales into international
areas, and the new Gerber Cut System will
make its products more competitive in the
marketplace.
“Inside a year, we hope to have all orders
completed within two weeks,” he says. “That
will be harder for others to compete with.
And we’re in the process of introducing an
ability to re-order in garment quantities
of ‘one’; which is the result of our new
equipment,” he says.
ThIS ARTIClE oRIGInAlly APPEARED In ATF - AUSTRAlASIAn TExTIlES AnD FAShIon mAGAzInE SEPTEmBER/oCToBER 2010 EDITIon
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