Future of the Industry Relies on Technology-Conscious Creatives

TOLLAND, CONN., DEC. 12, 2017 - Gerber Technology, a world leader in integrated software and automation solutions for the apparel and industrial markets, is delighted to announce they will be sponsoring the 2018 Professional Clothing (PCA) Vision Best Design (University).

Time-Tested AccuMark to Create a New Dimension in Fashion

TOLLAND, CONN., USA, November 2, 2017 – 3D technology promises vast efficiency gains in the design process and consumer shopping experience. Today, 3D technology is complex to implement and use. Additionally there is a wide gap between 3D design and the actual manufactured product. The fashion industry spends billions of dollars annually on physical samples which slows down development and has a negative environmental impact. The majority of these samples could be produced digitally and Gerber Technology has made consistent investments to advance their industry leading AccuMark 3D to help their customers address this core challenge. And today at their ideation conference Gerber unveil their advances and announce a major partnership with Avametric that position the company to leap forward and create a whole new dimension in fashion. Gerber Technology, the world’s leading fashion technology company and Avametric, the industry leader in fabric simulation and 3D consumer applications are combining forces to offer the first end to end 3D platform, from consumer facing virtual try-on applications to design, development and manufacturing. The joint 3D platform will provide highly realistic 3D simulations that can be used from consumer side visualization all the way through production.

Replica costumes to be used for release of the new film The Greatest Showman and will be on display at ideation 2017

TOLLAND, CONN., USA, OCT. 24, 2017 – In every aspect of the fashion world, digitalization is driving the demand to bring new styles to market faster. This is also true for the world of film and costume creation. Costume replicas are costly and, in the past, they were all done by hand. But recently Gerber Technology combined forces with Global Garment Engineering and 20th Century Fox to replicate costumes worn by Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya in the upcoming film The Greatest Showman (in theaters around the world starting Christmas Day). By leveraging Gerber’s integrated digital solutions, they can now be done in a fraction of the time and at a much lower cost.

The challenge 20th Century Fox presented was to produce 50 sets of replicas of beautiful and complicated costumes in a very short time frame to support the film’s release. The product experts at Gerber, working closely with their partner Pat Trautman at Global Garment Engineering, accepted the challenge and leveraged Gerber’s industry leading products and team expertise to digitally deconstruct each costume garment without having to take them apart. The job started by digitizing each garment on the Gerber SilhouetteTM table, where pattern files were instantaneously created in AccuMark® – the industry-leading pattern design, grading, marker making and production planning software. The patterns were simultaneously passed into AccuMark 3D, where they were draped on avatars to validate pattern pieces and review virtual samples. The digital sampling process allowed the team to ensure the patterns would accurately and precisely be sewn together to create perfect replicas.
“Precision as we digitized the original costumes into the patterns was key to achieve the speed and quality we needed to accurately replicate these beautiful garments in such a short time frame.” stated Mary McFadden, executive director of CAD at Gerber Technology.

Prior to project kickoff, photographs, technical sketches, measurements, component details and assembly instructions were compiled within YuniquePLM® to ensure planning, management and tracking of each essential step was executed properly and timelines were met.

After the patterns were validated in AccuMark 3D, data was passed to AccuNest™ to create markers ensuring the optimum yield was achieved from the beautiful and expensive fabrics needed to produce the costumes. Over 22 diverse fabrics were spread and cut. “By using AccuNest, we were able to achieve a 3-6% improvement on fabric yield which was a substantial cost savings for the project” said Mary McFadden. A cut ticket was then generated for each of the garments to pass data from technical design through to production. The barcode on the cut ticket transfers all the fabric and marker data essential to efficiently spread and cut each costume.

In the cut room at Gerber’s headquarters in Tolland, Connecticut, product experts loaded the fabric, scanned the cut ticket on the GERBERspreader™ XLs125 where the spread details were automatically transferred without manual re-entry of any of the information. After monitoring the spread, the material was passed on to be cut using the Gerber Paragon® HX. At the Gerber Paragon, the cut ticket was scanned again to pull up the marker for each garment. After carefully managing the process and labeling the bundles of cut parts, they were packed and shipped to New York for assembly.

Pat Trautman and her team from Global Garment Engineering brought their expertise and passion to ensure every detail was handled on time and with a constant focus on ensuring the quality of the replicas would match the designer’s vision for each of the original costumes.

“We are honored to have completed this project with 20th Century Fox. It has allowed the team to use its expertise and display their pride in all that they have accomplished with our digital solutions offering,” said Mohit Uberoi, CEO, Gerber Technology. We are all looking forward to the release of The Greatest Showman.

The whole process will be demonstrated at ideation 2017 and conference attendees will be able to see the replica costumes, experience the technology and speak directly with the team members who worked on the project. View the movie trailer here.

Register for ideation to connect the possibilities of technology, http://www.gerbertechnology.com/ideation2017

“Developing Fashion’s Future Leader.”

TOLLAND, CONN., USA - OCT. 23, 2017 - Gerber Technology, the world leader in integrated software and automation solutions for the apparel and industrial markets, is pleased to announce a partnership with Fashion Enter/FashionCapital, London, by supporting both their commercial factory and training academy. “We are very pleased about the integration of our AccuMark® software and digitizing solution into the curriculum of Fashion Enter and look forward to a successful partnership”, said Yvonne Heinen-Foudeh, marketing and communications director, EMEA for Gerber Technology.

Gerber’s mission is to make it easy for any one in the world using textiles, leather, composites or other flexible materials to go from concept to market quickly and seamlessly. “We have been empowering educators with technology to help prepare the next generation of fashion leaders for nearly 50 years. The success of the industry relies on students graduating with knowledge of how technologies like PLM, CAD and smart machines used in manufacturing are all connected and essential to the work flow and Fashion Enter/FashionCapital is the ideal partner to support our mission,” continued Heinen-Foudeh.

Implementation of YuniquePLM Cloud is Latest Addition to Alsico’s Digital Workflow

TOLLAND, CONN., USA, OCT 12, 2017 – Optimization of workflows, greater efficiency and insight into processes are essential ingredients to drive the speed, quality and agility needed for success in the clothing industry. For Alsico, this means outfitting the workforce with clothing that is functional, comfortable and safe, with the right fit and at the right price. They recently added YuniquePLM Cloud to their host of Gerber’s Digital Solutions enabling them to pass data between systems and move from concept to production with greater efficiency.

Alsico is a specialist in work wear with more than 80 years experience producing quality clothing with anexcellent finish in an environmentally conscious manner, enforcing sustainability and basic corporate responsibility. Alsico styles and creates the clothing design as well as produces it in their production workshops. They focus on customer service and quality and is ISO 9001 certified. In addition to work wear, they also produce high technology reusable cleanroom and clean area garments. The Alsico group has 7,000 employees and has a consolidated turnover of +200 million Euro.

Debuting at CISMA, Fully Automated Solution Boosts Apparel Pattern-Continuity with Precision

TOLLAND, CONN., USA, SEPT. 26, 2017 – Consumers are becoming more aware about the quality of their clothing purchases – holding brands and manufacturers to quality standards all while demanding new styles with every new trend. “We have taken our research and learning from our AutoMatch for furniture and applied it to the apparel market,” said Tom Gordan, director, product management, Gerber Technology.

Digital Solutions to be showcased at 2017 CISMA Tradeshow

TOLLAND, CONN., USA, AUG. 15, 2017 – Industry 4.0, smart factories, digitization, sustainability and corporate social responsibility – these terms are in the headlines of industry publications every day. Digitization is a reality, and that’s good news for the fashion industry. Cutting-edge digital design tools that integrate seamlessly with smart machines will help garment manufacturers cut costs by millions of dollars, increase throughput, reduce waste and – most importantly – stay competitive.

That’s the message Gerber Technology plans to deliver at the 2017 CISMA tradeshow in Shanghai, China September 26-29. With the high concentration of apparel manufacturers and brands attending from the Asia Pacific region, Gerber will demonstrate how they are different from others and uniquely positioned to help the industry transform. Showing how their Digital Solutions, a full suite of industry leading end-to-end integrated products, are helping companies collaborate and go from initial design to production and shipment with greater speed, quality and visibility throughout the process.

They will also launch their new GERBERcutter® Z1 with AutoMatch™ – a stripe, plaid, and
5-star automated matching solution. This new automation solution will help apparel manufacturers automate manual processes to improve quality, increase productivity, shorten cycle times, reduce labor costs and accelerate time to market.

While the fashion industry is known for setting trends, challenging cultural norms and pushing boundaries – it has also been relatively slow to adapt to the changes brought about by social media, a savvier consumer base and the advent of “fast fashion”. But there is a growing body of evidence that this adoption curve is about to shift. Today, everyone in the industry – from major players to small startup labels – are talking about the industry’s digital transformation and how it can revolutionize the way garments are designed, created and purchased. “We look forward to meeting with leaders from all around the world, to support them as they seek to understand how technology can help them solve the key business challenges they are facing as our industry evolves,” said Johnny Wang, Vice President & General Manager of Asia Pacific for Gerber Technology.

The fashion and apparel industry spends billions of dollars each year on physical samples. At CISMA, Gerber will highlight how their AccuMark® 3D can be used to validate patterns and simulate virtual garment samples so realistic that there’s no need for designers to spend the time and money cutting and sewing “real” ones.

Mohit Uberoi, CEO of Gerber Technology, said, “The time has come for our industry to embrace digitization, to leverage connected technology by eliminating manual processes, and to improve quality, efficiency and cost structures, all in a socially responsible way.”

Gerber has focused on a theme of “Embrace Your Digital Reality”. According to Uberoi, “The ‘Your’ in ‘Embrace Your Digital Reality’ is critical. Everyone is in a different place in their journey toward digitization. We know Gerber has the knowledge, customer focus and set of integrated industry leading products to help all companies progress on their journey and achieve optimum results along the way.”

CISMA attendees can learn more by visiting Gerber Technology in Hall E2, Booth #A22.

New Features Support Adobe CC17 on MAC and PC

TOLLAND, CONN., USA, AUGUST 2, 2017 – An increase in personalization has become an expectation with today’s technological advancements and the new YuniquePLM 7.1 upgrade delivers this to its customers. “Bringing the power of the configurability to the user of a YuniquePLM workspace is at the heart of this release,” said Clayton Parker, PLM product manager, Gerber Technology.

With the new release of YuniquePLM 7.1, Gerber used customer feedback to develop the upgrades. These included:
Artboard support within YunquiePLM Design Suite Plugin for Adobe Illustrator® CC17 on both Mac and PC, allowing customers to work with 1 multi-paged Adobe Illustrator doc and assign pages to different sections within a product in YuniquePLM.
Improvements to Configurability that was released with v7.0 and the ability to group pages when editing, allowing you to edit pages en masse.
Addition of 6 new PANTONE® libraries.

Gerber Technology has enhanced the performance of YuniquePLM – enabling the continuous delivery of new features requested by our customers. This means new features can be delivered to the core product in a shorter development timeframe so customers don’t have to wait for major software releases to reap the benefit of new functionality. “Using our user-voice feedback system, customers can request, discuss, and vote on new features to be added to the core product that will help them in the future,” continued Parker.

The YuniquePLM product lifecycle management software serves as a central repository of critical data and eliminates problems companies often face when using multiple Excel spreadsheets or tracking documents to communicate throughout the stages of product development and management. YuniquePLM creates a single version of the truth, connecting a company’s creative process with their supply chain and production processes.

Simpson will serve as consultant to the company

TOLLAND, CONN., USA, JULY 12, 2017 – It is rare today that a person spends their entire career servicing one industry. This is something people in the industry recognize of Sam Simpson who announced his plans to retire from Gerber. “When someone spends more than 47 years in an industry, it becomes a part of them,” stated Sam Simpson, vice president of global strategic accounts at Gerber.

Even though Simpson will retire from Gerber, he will continue to serve as a consultant to the company providing insights on customer needs and trends, maintaining and strengthening key partnerships, providing oversight on software compliance, as well as serving as a special advisor to the CEO.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside Sam and learn about the industry,” said Peter Morrissey, senior vice president global sales at Gerber. “Sam’s knowledge of the industry, customers and markets is unparalleled and we thank him for his years of service.”

Sam will continue to hold his position as chairman for the Sewn Products Equipment Suppliers of the Americas (SPESA), a position he was elected to in 2016. SPESA is one of the organizations he has supported throughout his career by representing Gerber on the board since 2000.

Sam’s retirement comes after a long and prosperous career in the sewn products industries. He began his career at G&H Manufacturing Co., a division of Genesco, where he participated on the team that pioneered the first automated grading and marking system, including the development of the first laser cutter for apparel applications. Sam joined Gerber through the acquisition of Hughes Aircraft Company AM-1 system. Throughout his tenure at Gerber, he held various positions including vice president/general manager of the Americas, vice president of global sales, director/general manager of the international division and several technical and marketing roles. Sam was integral in the expansion of Gerber’s international business activities in the European, Asian and Latin America regions.

Software Conference is November 1-3 in Los Angeles, California

TOLLAND, CONN., USA – Gerber Technology is proud to announce that Tim Gunn, famed fashion and television personality, will return by popular demand as a guest speaker at ideation 2017. Tim Gunn will engage in a fireside chat with Gerber Technology’s senior vice president and general manager, Software Solutions Group, Karsten Newbury as they explore how attendees should embrace digitization, making it easier for anyone in the world to design, manufacture and sell beautiful garments. Ideation, the premier software conference for the fashion, apparel, accessories and footwear industries, will be held in Los Angeles at the Sheraton Universal.

Tim Gunn is the Emmy-winning co-host and mentor for Lifetime’s Project Runway, where he also serves as one of the show’s producers. In addition to his television prowess, he served as Fashion Dean at Fifth & Pacific, where he was responsible for attracting, retaining and developing the creative talent within the portfolio of brands. Prior to his office at Fifth & Pacific, he was the Chief Creative Officer at Liz Claiborne Inc. Gunn served as a member of the administration and faculty at Parsons School of Design, an institution he shares a rich and deep history with having served there for 29 years where he was Design Chair of the Department of Fashion Design. Gunn is also a New York Times best-selling author penning Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style, Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work, and Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible: The Fascinating History of Everything in Your Closet. Tim released his fourth book, Tim Gunn: The Natty Professor: A Master Class on Mentoring, Motivating, and Making It Work! in Spring 2015.

“Tim Gunn’s energy and passion as keynote speaker at ideation 2015 was both inspirational and entertaining. His dedication to design education and technology-led solutions will help attendees gain important knowledge and invaluable insights on how to navigate and thrive in an ever-transforming market,” said Newbury. “Mr. Gunn exemplifies the dynamism, creativity and innovation of fashion and we are honored to welcome him back to ideation.”