From the Sector

Koch Membrane Systems, Inc. (Koch), a global leader in membrane filtration technologies, announced its PURON® Membrane Bio-Reactor (MBR) modules have been selected for the Ji’nan Wastewater Treatment Plant I and Plant II Expansion Project. Each plant will have 100,000 m3/day treating capacity. The site is located in the Shandong province, which is China’s second-most populated province, with over 100 million people. This project continues the strong presence of Koch’s PURON® MBR in various municipal and industrial wastewater treatment projects in China, demonstrating exceptional performance and creating value to clients.

Strict new discharge requirements by the Chinese government are forcing municipalities to upgrade or build their wastewater treatment plants using new technologies. PURON® MBR technology was selected for these two new plants for its reliable and consistent effluent quality, adherence to new discharge limits, and reduced footprint compared to conventional wastewater treatment technology.

These wastewater treatment plants will be built and operated by China Everbright Water Limited Co. Ltd, a company principally engaged in construction and operation of integrated environmental water services. The project is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2018.

“We have had good experience with Koch Membrane Systems PURON® MBR technology in the 55,000 m3/day Beijing Daxing Tiantanghe Waste Water Treatment Project,” said Mr. Wang Huailin, president of Jiangsu Kaimi Membrane Technology Co. Ltd, who will design, build and supply the membrane system for these plants. “Since the 2016 Beijing plant startup, the PURON® membranes have been used in an underground construction model to provide a pollution-free installation. We have been impressed with the low fouling and low operating costs from the PURON® product, due to its unique single header and central aeration design features and the process expertise Koch brings to the table.”

“Koch has developed advanced membrane solutions for the municipal and industrial market segments,” said Mr. Manny Singh, president of Koch Membrane Systems. “Unique features of our PURON® product help the market treat wastewater to meet strict discharge and reuse targets with a low cost of ownership. We are excited that Everbright Water Group recognized the benefits of our PURON® product in their existing plant and selected us for their flagship new projects.”

Attendees of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) expo confirmed Thursday the value of effective guidelines for properly handling clean linen, substantiating Hygienically Clean Healthcare certified operators’ efforts to help them ensure linen remains safe and clean when it reaches patients.

Visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit at APIC’s Annual Conference were supported in this respect by receiving Handling Clean Linen in a Healthcare Environment, a guide produced by these certified linen, uniform and facility services operators. APIC attendees shared anecdotes of mishandling clean linen in their workplaces including:

• Employees holding and carrying stacks of bed linen and towels touching their chests
• Commingling clean and soiled linen
• Storing linen in closets in guest rooms instead of a secure linen room

Certified operators’ certification fees provided funding for creating and distributing the guide (and other resources for healthcare facilities), manifesting the Hygienically Clean program’s philosophy of addressing healthcare providers’ operational needs outside the scope of outsourced laundries’ traditional functions.

Angela Freeman, Hygienically Clean program manager, explained the importance of such laundries partnering with healthcare providers to create and implement plans to ensure clean textiles are delivered to patients. “When healthcare textiles (HCTs) reach a facility’s doors, an outsourced laundry’s role in maintaining their hygiene depends greatly on how the service agreement addresses linen distribution. Hygienically Clean’s resources for healthcare providers reflect the willingness of our certified operators to partner with their customers.”

A video version of the clean linen guide is in the works. TRSA, the global association for the linen and uniform services industry and Hygienically Clean administrator, continues to build the industry’s appreciation for partnering with healthcare customers.

In May, TRSA introduced Producing Hygienically Clean Textiles, an e-learning class to help laundry employees understand their roles in the processes, procedures and policies necessary to produce clean linens and uniforms. TRSA’s annual Healthcare Conference has guided industry managers in progressive linen distribution techniques to aid their training of their customers in these.

Attendees of the May 19-22 National Restaurant Show in Chicago learned that linen, uniform and facility services providers serving restaurants and other foodservice operations can be distinguished by earning third-party verification of their sustainability and cleanliness, as TRSA exhibited its Clean Green and Hygienically Clean Food Service certifications at the show.
More than 150 individuals viewed the exhibit, which screened a new animated video explaining the Clean Green designation. It’s now showing on TRSA’s YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-24iVCNRT0).

Depicting operations within a laundry, the video shows how contracting with a Clean Green certified provider delivers services restaurants need and gives them peace of mind from doing business with a sustainable provider. Clean Green operations comply with water and energy standards and demonstrate best management practices in supplying, laundering and maintaining textiles.

Visitors to the exhibit learned which providers serving these attendees’ home geographic areas are Clean Green certified and were encouraged to work with such a certified provider if not already doing so. Speaking with attendees also gave TRSA staff the opportunity to ask them about their experience with providers and, if currently under contract with one, its identity.

• 76 percent of those questioned indicate they currently use such a provider. Most could identify it by name
• 18 percent said they use an on-premises or home laundry for linen and uniform needs. Many of these respondents indicated they work for hotels, healthcare facilities, colleges or military bases with their own laundry equipment
• 6 percent said they use disposable products (napkins, wipers) instead of their reusable textile equivalents; most of these respondents are in quick-service restaurant operations

The TRSA display distributed copies of Sustainability: Finding the “New” Green in Your Restaurant Supply Chain, a 7-page guide to using a systematic approach to choose suppliers whose products/services are proven to be more sustainable than those of their competitors and whose own practices are more sustainable.

TRSA’s exhibit also kicked off a survey of restaurant management to determine their perceptions of table linen service as a plus for facility hygiene and service to diners. Results will help TRSA communicate to the restaurant industry the value of using Hygienically Clean Food Service certified providers in the hope that doing so becomes an industry standard.

Such certified laundries commit to cleanliness through third-party, quantified biological testing and inspection. This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify linens and uniforms cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and best management practices for servicing full- and limited-service restaurants, hotels, hospitals, educational institutions and other locations where food is handled and served.

ABOUT CLEAN GREEN
Clean Green certification recognizes linen, uniform and facility services companies that demonstrate responsible leadership in sustainability and conservation by acknowledging commitment to improving water and energy efficiency and adoption of best management practices for reusing, reclaiming and recycling resources. Certified operations meet quality standards for effectiveness in conserving resources and minimizing environmental impact. Customers that use Clean Green certified companies to supply, launder and maintain linens, uniforms, mats and other reusable textiles can be assured that their provider maximizes sustainable practices.

ABOUT HYGIENICALLY CLEAN
Hygienically Clean certification demonstrates linen, uniform and facility services companies’ commitment to cleanliness through independent, third-party laundry plant inspection and quantified microbial testing. Inspection and re-inspection verify that items are maintained, washed, dried, ironed, packed, transported and delivered using best management practices to meet key disinfection criteria. Between scheduled and supplemental inspections, ongoing microbial testing quantifies cleanliness and indicates laundry process adjustments.

India is a very important market for the German textile machinery industry, with an export of more than €255 million (+ 8 %) in 2017. Many German machinery builders have longstanding relations with Indian customers and quite a number of them also provide production plants and training centres in India. Not surprisingly, about 370 decision-makers and experts from the textile and nonwoven related industry attended the VDMA conference and B2B event called “German Technology meets Indian Textiles and Nonwovens” in Mumbai on 15-16 May 2018 (www.germantech-indiantextile.de).

According to a survey, both the event and German textile machinery engineering received the highest marks among the visitors. About 57 % of the visitors stated very good and 38 % good experience with machines and components from German suppliers. The performance and service promise as well as the high-quality standards have made German machine suppliers as most reliable partners in India and other countries. This positive result has by far not been reached by any other manufacturing nation from Europe or Asia. Asked for future processes, investments in technical textiles and/or nonwoven production seem to be the most favorite sectors in India. Around 74 % of the visitors plan to expand their production capacities with new machines and components whereas 26 % intend to replace old machinery by new machines and components. High productivity, after-sales service, end-product quality, low operating and acquisition costs are the decisive machine procurement criteria in this order. The investments plans are based on a positive business and investment outlook in India. 45 % of the visitors surveyed plan to invest more than 10 % within the next 12 months and 30 % up to 10 %. 25 % of the visitors expect a sales increase by more than 10 % for the next 12 months and 60 % anticipate a sales growth of up to 10%.

Considering this positive business climate and the high interest from the Indian industry, the 32 well-known VDMA members participated in the conference have good chances to offer the right technologies and to place new orders. The presented technology topics along the entire textile value chain will help the Indian industry to fulfill their expansion plans and to meet the challenges such as rising salary costs and shortage of labor in industrial regions. The major cutting-edge topics of the conference program were as follows:

•    Higher profits throughout the entire textile value chain
•    Energy, material, water and dyestuff savings for an environmentally friendly production
•    New applications such as technical textiles, nonwovens (e. g. hygiene products) or home textiles (e. g. terry towels)
•    Automation, industry 4.0, digital communication and smart factory solutions
•    Quality improvements e. g. with measurement and control systems
•    Lower investment costs in spinning preparation with integrated draw frames
•    New technologies to combine spinning and knitting
•    Smart textiles and added value products e. g. with embroidery machines

Whereas the event on 15-16 May 2018 focused on customers, a training session at the prestigious Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute VJTI in Mumbai on 17 May 2018 was addressed to future engineers. More than 220 textile manufacturing and mechanical engineering students followed the technical presentations. The VDMA's contribution to improve the education of future customers and partners was very much appreciated.

• Additives, pigments and masterbatches for transportation, packaging, textiles & fibers
• Support to “future-proof” medical applications
• Contributing towards more sustainable engineering plastics

Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, turns the spotlight on its increasing on-the-ground support and innovation focus for North America’s four key plastics application segments at NPE 2018 Booth S18155.

Clariant is pushing forward with plans for growth in the region by advancing R&D competencies, and increasing its manufacturing footprint and technical capabilities across its 50+ sites, 3 R&D and 6 technical innovation centers. Clariant’s innovations for the plastics industry include advanced additives, masterbatches and pigments which support the packaging sector in engaging consumers via differentiated, convenient solutions. At NPE, it will also highlight solutions for enhancing and protecting healthcare products, as well as its contribution to stronger and colorful textiles and fibers for everything from e-mobility to industrial applications.

Deepak Parikh, president of region North America, Clariant comments: “Clariant’s product innovation for the US and wider North American plastics industry embraces the region’s fastest growing end-use areas of automotive and construction. It also addresses the impact of trends driven by changing consumer lifestyle preferences and market regulations on other important segments such as packaging and healthcare.”

Transportation
Clariant brings color and protection to support the increasing use of engineering plastics and high temperture resins in automotive interiors, exteriors and under-the-hood. Halogen-free Exolit® OP 1400 provides outstanding flame retardancy to polyamide parts, enhances safety with UL 94 V0 performance down to 0.4 mm and enables the molding of complex parts with no mold deposits and blooming. Exolit OP 1400 has been awarded the Clariant EcoTain®label for outstanding sustainability and performance. At the same time, Clariant offers low-halogen controlled high-performance PV Fast® pigmentswith excellent migration and weather fastness properties to meet the high requirements of today’s transportation and automotive industry. Easy processing Renol® compounds and masterbatches for engineering and high temperature resins provide heat and light stability, and flame retardancy, while maintaining critical flow properties in parts like SMT connectors. Importantly, they are available as small lots which enables customers to purchase only what they require and contribute to a reduction in their carbon footprint.

Packaging
As US packaging manufacturers explore more consumer-friendly, lighterweight and appealing solutions, Clariant is on hand to support their functionality, sustainability-related and color desires. Clariant Pigments has an innovative cooperation with Konica Minolta and matchmycolor to enable fast, precise and efficient color matching of HDPE products, using select organic PV Fast and Graphtol® pigments that comply with FDA regulations. The ColorWorks®center in Chicago is dedicated to US brand managers and designers with teams of color design experts to create color formulations faster than ever before for bottles, caps, closures and films.

According to market reports, plastic pouches are gaining share from traditional pack types in packaged food and are mainstream in home care. To support smoother and more environmentally-compatible processing especially for film applications, Clariant offers an FDA-compliant, vegetable-based powder amide wax, Licolub® FA 1, which acts as a slip and anti-block agent. It is suitable for polyolefins and PVC.

Textiles & Fiber
At NPE 2018, Clariant puts the focus on strong and colorful textiles, carpets and industrial fibers. New AddWorks® TFB 117 offers a number of benefits to help stabilize and smoothen fiber production processes, protect color, and improve heat stability and mechanical properties of fibers. AddWorks TFB 117 ensures smooth spinnability with less filaments breakage, even at low processing temperatures and at high speed spinning up to 5,500 m/min. Clariant also offers a broad range of colorants for polypropylene, polyester, polyamide and acrylic fibers, featuring migration fastness, chemical stability, light- and weather-fastness.

Healthcare
Clariant supports risk control and regulatory compliance for medical polymer and pharmaceutical packaging solutions. Its Mevopur® color and performance masterbatches and compounds include a USP Class 6 line of compliant products and multiple global ISO, 87, 88, and 661.1 certifications ahead of the market deadline. Clariant also offers selected FDA-compliant organic pigments and polymer soluble dyes that meet purity migration fastness as well as toxicological properties for medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging.

• Product development and production teams are on cloud nine, thanks to Lectra’s all-new Quick Estimate and Quick Nest apps

Paris – Lectra, the technological partner for companies using fabrics and leather releases its first of a series of cloud-based applications conceptualized for product development and production teams. Quick Estimate and Quick Nest will be launched in France and Italy and will then become available progressively in other countries.

As part of Lectra’s Industry 4.0 strategy, Lectra collaborated with its leading, digitally-attuned customers to develop apps that empower decision-makers to respond in an instant. Quick Estimate revs up product development efficiency and is instrumental to managing costs. Quick Nest provides easy access to automatic marker making and capitalizes on cloud technology to handle heavy volumes of calculations in parallel, maximizing productivity and marker efficiency.

Leveraging the industrial Internet of Things, lean development principles and cloud-based computing, Lectra aims to provide anytime, anywhere access to business enhancing applications. Gone are the days of limited storage space and slow calculation speed. These well-packaged, light cloud applications will redefine the way fashion customers store and process data.

Fabric often accounts for as much as 60% to 70% of the cost of a garment. Quick Estimate allows product development teams to calculate fabric requirements instantly from their Modaris®—Lectra’s 2D/3D patternmaking and grading solution—working environment with direct access to the cloud applications. Pattern developers now have the flexibility to make pattern adjustments more quickly to optimize costs, while protecting the brand’s quality and assuring speed-to-market.

Quick Nest can be accessed through Diamino®, Lectra’s marker-making solution. During the production development stages, Quick Nest users will be able to process more detailed markers faster. Quick Nest can also be used by production teams to treat lists of markers automatically in record time via the cloud.

These apps will also ensure enterprise-wide transparency as management teams gain full visibility of consumption needs for all products in development and production, thanks to viewable access of consolidated data for approval and reporting purposes.

“The end-goal of our new strategy is clear: we want to put our customers at the core of our business. We want them to thrive in this new digital era. Our latest Industry 4.0-friendly apps will serve as growth catalysts for their businesses by enabling them to make sound decisions based on real-time information,” explains Daniel Harari, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lectra. “And this is just the beginning. More innovative apps are yet to come.”

Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals, and Montega S.r.l., Italy, (Montega) announce a collaboration aimed at supporting the fast-growing garment and apparel industry in Pakistan, particularly in the denim segment. The joint efforts will focus on fostering excellence in the finishing of textile garments.

Montega has decades of rich experience in developing the latest fashion trends with its high standard chemical treatments. For garments and fabrics, they offer solutions in finishing effects, enzymatic products, bio-polishing, bio-finishing and specialty products for indigo dyes, proteinaceous fibers such as wool and silk, and garment washing and/ laundry. All applications are geared toward environmental sustainability.

Archroma offers a wide range of brand and textile specialty chemicals that caters to the local industry in Pakistan for both its internal and export markets. The company’s expert team provides innovative solutions to its customers, tailored to their individual requirements.

Archroma will now represent Montega in marketing their products in Pakistan. The collaboration between the two firms will provide a unique synergy of combined expertise, reliability and commitment to environmental sustainability, especially toward the reduction of water usage and the emission of greenhouse gases during textile finishing processes. The design studio at the Archroma Center of Excellence in Pakistan will work extensively with Montega’s M-Lab Garment University in Riccione, Italy, to deliver solutions based on the latest trends and fashion effects, backed by world-class technical support.

Mujtaba Rahim, CEO of Archroma Pakistan, comments: “We, at Archroma, believe in continuous improvement and challenging the status quo to make our industry sustainable. We have dedicated ourselves to bringing innovation in our product lines and to closely partnering with like-minded organizations to build industrial rapport. Through this initiative of joining hands with Montega, we will be able to share latest R&D developments with the textile industry in Pakistan, and help grow Pakistan’s contribution in the global textile arena.”

• Visit Archroma at China Interdye 2018, Booth A100, April 11-13, 2018, at the ShanghaiWorld Expo Exhibition & Convention Center, Shanghai, China

Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals, will present at China Interdye 2018 its latest technologies, under the motto: “Enhanced solutions for color and performance, it's our nature”.
With a heritage of more than 130 years, Archroma provides solutions that combine performance, safety and low impact on resources. The company can draw on its extensive formulation and technical know-how to offer a constant flow of eco-advanced and innovative new in dyestuff and pigments, as well as process and functional chemicals.
Solution packages for innovation

Visitors at Archroma’s Booth A100. will be able to ‘experience’ Archroma's innovative solutions, in particular:

• EarthColors, traceable from nature to fashion
  The EarthColors patented range of “biosynthetic” dyes for cotton and cellulose-based fabrics, which are made from waste left over by the agricultural and herbal industry after extraction, such as almond shells, saw palmetto, or rosemary leaves. The latest NFC technology used on the end-product hangtags enables transparency and traceability through the supply chain to consumers.
  The EarthColors have been adopted by brands such as Patagonia, Kathmandu and G-Star, and won an OutDoor Industry Award 2017.
   
• Color Atlas, a game-changing system for fashion design
  The Color Atlas by Archroma® is a groundbreaking platform specially devised to address the needs of designers, brands, retailers, and manufacturers, enhancing creative possibilities for the industry as well as manageability and time to market through key complementary tools: The six-volume ‘Color Atlas Library’ with 4,320 color swatches and cotton poplin samples, the ‘Color Atlas Compact’ in two volumes for increased portability, and the ‘Color Atlas Online’ allowing to capture an inspiring image using a smartphone and immediately identify the closest Color Atlas shade palette, with the possibility to purchase a color sample instantly.
   
• ‘Zero add-on’ formaldehyde finishing and coloring solutions
  Since January 1, 2016, formaldehyde is classified by ECHA5 as “may cause cancer” (Carc. 1B). Archroma offers a unique proposition combining: Fixapret® Resin WFF, a “zero add-on” formaldehyde anti-wrinkle finishing system and Helizarin® EcoSafe a “zero add-on”4 formaldehyde printing system. With Fixapret® Resin WFF, and Helizarin® EcoSafe, consumers can enjoy end-products that look good, whilst saving on precious resources and being gentler on the skin.
   
• Sanitized® Odoractiv 10, active odor control function for polyester textiles
  Visitors at the booth will be able to experience a new unique dimension of odor control function for functional polyester textiles. The newly developed wash-resistant Sanitized® Odoractiv 10 has a dual-action effect: on the one hand it prevents the bacteria from docking on the textile, and on the other, it adsorbs odors whilst the garment is being worn.

Spotlight on automotive solutions
Having acquired a 75% stake in the M. Dohmen group, a specialist in textile dyes and chemicals for automotive, carpet and apparel, Archroma is now in the position to extend its offer in expert products and services. M. Dohmen will be present at the show at Booth A118.

Solution packages for sustainability
Brand owners and retailers around the world are taking action to evaluate the environmental impact of textile treatment, dyeing and finishing processes in response to consumer concerns.
Archroma recently introduced the ONE WAY Process Simulator, the last update of a calculation tool that supports its ONE WAY Sustainability Service introduced back in 2012. The new, online software can be used to mimic and compare products and processes, and thus calculate the ecological and economical profile of the final end-product.

• Deep Insights into the Multifaceted World of Cotton
• Quality, Innovation and Digitalisation are Crucial

From the 21st to the 23rd of March, the international cotton industry came together in the historic Bremen Town Hall, under the motto "Cotton Insights". More than 500 participants from almost 40 countries came to exchange views on the latest trends in the natural raw material as part of the conference organised by the Bremen Cotton Exchange in cooperation with the Fibre Institute Bremen. The 34th International Cotton Conference provided a varied, in-depth programme which addressed the current and burning issues within the industry.

Summarising his visit to the conference, Kai Hughes, Executive Director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) in Washington said “The Bremen Cotton Conference is unique because it brings the diverse world of cotton together in one place. It is always a great opportunity to learn about the latest innovations, talk to cotton merchants and get an overview of the industry".

Sustainability and Cotton
This year, the conference developed into a whole week of diverse events around the entire cotton supply chain. With the “SUSTAIN” event, which was organised in cooperation with the Weser-Kurier newspaper, it was possible to build a bridge between the issue of sustainability and the end consumer.
With the focus on Africa, the emerging continent, which also has a special significance for cotton, became the centre of attention.

In his opening speech, Henning Hammer, President of the Bremen Cotton Exchange, made it clear that sustainability is also of great importance during the Cotton Conference: "The three pillars of sustainability – the environment, the economy and social issues – were already playing a role in the cotton industry when the word sustainability was far from being on everyone's lips.
Many changes that are being demanded in the sense of responsible agriculture and responsible trade take their time, many are already in the starting blocks and a lot already exists. We have a very alert, active agricultural research worldwide."

The Keynotes
The keynote session, moderated by the journalist Lisa Boekhoff from the newspaper Weser-Kurier, gave participants an overview, with an informative analysis of the current cotton situation. Kai Hughes, executive director of ICAC, emphasised in his keynote address the need to provide credible facts and figures which should be the basis for the entire supply chain. The marketing of cotton and changing consumer habits in a globalised and digitalised world were the subject of lectures by Mark Messura, Cotton Incorporated and Robert Antoshak, Olah Inc. Eugen Weinberg and Michael Alt from Commerzbank took a look at the raw material from a stock market perspective.

Traceability and Digitalisation
Digitalisation is also a cross-cutting issue that runs through the entire supply chain of the cotton industry. In his opening speech, Prof. Axel S. Hermann, Head of the Fibre Institute Bremen, emphasised the importance of digitalisation for the industry. “It enables new approaches in cotton cultivation and textile processing, but also influences consumer behaviour and thus the necessary changes in the textile industry.” The focus is on the status quo of the implementation, as well as the opportunities and risks of digitally controlled, vertically integrated procurement and sales processes and the associated challenges at retail level.

Another current topic is traceability, which is also closely linked to sustainability. More and more buyers want to know whether their suppliers are meeting the promised sustainability criteria for their products, also textile products. Consequently, the conference presented various techniques for testing the authenticity of a cotton provided in the finished textile, such as DNA testing, fingerprint analysis technique, marker methods and block-chain processes.

Cotton Quality
In addition to current subjects such as digitalisation and traceability, questions of cotton quality have traditionally been an essential element of the Cotton Conference, which was further reinforced this year with the "Spinners Seminar". The spinning mill seminar, which was carried out by the Cotton Exchange and the Fibre Institute in cooperation with the ITMF and IVGT associations, far exceeded expectations.

More than 70 participants discussed the handling of impurities in supplied cotton in the manufacturing process.
In addition, in a high-level expert session, there was an exchange of the latest research results which determine the future of cotton production and the processing of cotton into innovative products.

• Connect people, data and processes with Lectra’s latest solutions to power up design and development teams

Paris – Lectra, the technological partner for companies using fabrics and leather, introduces collaborative solutions specifically developed for design and product development teams, enabling fashion companies to affront tighter deadlines and handle wider product mixes with speed and serenity.

With the rise of e-commerce, digitally dependent consumers expect personalized, innovative fashion delivered to their doorstep at the click of a mouse.

Fashion companies are struggling to keep up with consumer demands and looking for new ways to speed up design and development without compromising quality. Design teams work faster than ever to deliver fresh, eye-catching collections. Product development teams rush to transform new designs into consumer-ready products. Given the accelerated pace of the fashion marketplace, information sharing has become vital for these teams.

Lectra has developed two new solutions to fulfill the specific needs of these teams, Lectra Connected Design and Lectra Connected Development. These solutions deliver collaborative environments that integrate business applications to aggregate, standardize and store data from all design and product development stages. These innovative solutions make every-day working life less stressful by allowing criteria-based searches, inciting users to capitalize on data links, and providing them with innovative tools and services to speed up their processes.

Lectra Connected Design facilitates collaboration between textile and fashion designers, colorists, graphic designers, technical designers and their managers by providing design teams with a connected environment. Team members can access the platform via their Lectra Kaledo® design software and Adobe® Creative Cloud, share inspiration and review collections together or upload inspirations via dedicated mobile apps. This solution gives users the visibility needed to streamline, automate and monitor the entire design process to ensure that they remain creative under severe time constraints.

In the same way, Lectra Connected Development connects patternmakers, graders, technical design teams, managers, cost and margin specialists, marker makers and sample teams through data. It allows team members to connect through Lectra Modaris® 2D and 3D patternmaking software and Lectra Diamino® Fashion marker-making software. Thanks to the wide range of standard libraries and mobile applications provided, teams will improve the efficiency of technical specifications creation. The automation of business processes and real-time communication allow product development teams to avoid errors and deliver the right product quality and fit.

“We recognize first and foremost that today’s fashion industry professionals need to feel well-equipped and at ease in order to perform well under tight deadlines,” explains Céline Choussy Bedouet, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Lectra. “We are confident that by introducing a new and easy way of collaborating through sound data management, both offers will help design and product development teams work faster and more easily to build quality into the products they design and develop. That way, they can reach their fullest potential as key contributors to their companies’ success.”