From the Sector

Lectra has leveraged more than 10 years of experience in connected manufacturing to offer Versalis®, an innovative digital solution designed to cut leather without compromise on quality. Featuring a powerful automatic nesting system for overall improvements in efficiency, the fully automated solution enables automotive leather suppliers to cut costs, improve productivity and minimize waste while also establishing a pathway to value-added Industry 4.0 processes.

Currently, almost 90% of leather used for automotive applications is cut using manual die presses, which require designers to build a physical prototype and finalize the design through trial and error. Lectra offers a fully digitalized leather solution from prototyping to cut parts—when used in combination with Lectra’s 3D prototyping and pattern-making software, Versalis digital leather cutting solution enables a 12-16 week reduction in development and launch cycles for vehicle seating models.
During the leather-cutting phase, the latest release of Versalis LeatherSuite allows automotive leather suppliers to achieve up to 15% greater productivity. Lectra’s end-to-end automotive leather offering furthermore guarantees optimal uptime through an extensive worldwide support network of field engineers and technical experts.
"Lectra focuses on a consultative approach that allows it to fully understand the customer’s needs before building a solution comprising software, hardware, consulting, training, and after-sales support,” said Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Kamalesh Mohanarangam. "Lectra’s equipment is fitted with more than 200 sensors that predict failure and immediately report issues to its call centres. This product feature and service has resulted in 98% uptime and very fast mean time to repair."

Although digital leather cutting solutions are an investment, leather cutters and Tier-1 suppliers have begun to recognize the value of these products. On average, Lectra’s solutions help customers achieve up to 7% savings on leather compared to manual die-press methods by minimizing human error and variability in the cutting room. A benchmark test of leather trim cutting for door panels demonstrated a 3.5% gain in material made possible by Versalis’ superior nesting capabilities compared to the customer’s yield using manual nesting with die press machines, representing potential savings of €9 million per year.
Versalis is the fruit of significant R&D investment for the company, which has always made re-investment of capital a priority. As part of a transformational plan, Lectra spent more than €50 million in investments between 2011 and 2015. With Lectra’s new strategy focusing on supporting their customers’ transition to Industry 4.0 standards, Lectra will increase the share of revenues dedicated to R&D to 10% for the period from 2017 to 2019, representing a rise of about 50% between 2016 and 2019.

The world is in serious need of solutions to create sustainable growth and jobs. The World Circular Economy Forum 2017 is bringing 1,500 specialists from around the world to Finland to show how this can be done. The groundbreaking event will focus on the world’s best circular economy solutions in which business and the environment go hand in hand. The host country Finland is the first in the world to have published a comprehensive road map to a circular economy.
The country’s leading future-oriented think-and-do tank Sitra is now inviting the shapers of our future well-being to celebrate Finland’s 100th year of independence at the forum. Come and experience Finland’s own inspirational story as a global leader as we put the circular economy into practice and deliver concrete benefits across all sectors of business and society. “A circular economy is about using resources more efficiently and creating more value with what we have,” says Dr Mari Pantsar, Director of Sitra’s Carbon-neutral circular economy. “It can be the win-win approach everyone is looking for. For companies, circular products and business models help cut costs, manage risks and create new revenue. For societies, moving away from the current linear ‘consume-and-throw-away’ economy offers large benefits for tackling the climate crisis, reducing waste and creating jobs.” The PC-24 is in the final stages of its certification program following the first flight of the third and final test aircraft on March 6 2017. The aircraft is scheduled for certification and entry into service in the 4th quarter 2017. Pilatus has so far secured 84 orders for the PC-24, which equates to three years of production.

The sustainable wear2wear concept is synonymous with high-quality, responsible clothing. In Europe, textile fibres from used garments will be used to produce new functional fabrics. Depending on the area of intended use, they also meet strict waterproofing, breathability, protection and comfort requirements. To ensure that the raw material cycle comes full circle, these textiles can be recycled again when they reach the end of their service life. As a result, there is no waste, and they go on to be used in the production of additional garments. All wear2wear partner companies guarantee that – from the quality of the raw materials to the guaranteed recycling end process– these are 100 percent recyclable, functional fabrics made of recycled textile fibres. Water- and dirt-repelling technologies based on renewable raw materials, along with the most advanced membrane technology, will ensure that the textiles are developed and manufactured entirely without the use of PFC in the future too.