For the first time, the Sewn Products Equipment and Suppliers of America (SPESA) is bringing its Advancements in Manufacturing Technologies Conference to Los Angeles.
The 12th edition of the conference will be held on April 11 at the California Market Center (CMC), a mixed-use facility in the city’s downtown fashion district with offices, showrooms and event spaces. The CMC is home to showrooms for more than 300 brands including Bestseller, DL1961, Emporio Armani, Fendi, Hugo Boss, Mavi and more.
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“[People are] saying that manufacturing is leaving Los Angeles, but it’s still one of the largest hubs in the U.S.,” SPESA president Michael McDonald told Sourcing Journal. “And I still think there’s a strong history and a strong manufacturing sector there, so it’s an exciting place to be.”
The last Advancements in Manufacturing Technologies Conference was held in Detroit, with a tie-in to the city’s North American International Auto Show, and it has previously traveled to destinations like Raleigh, N.C.; Chicago and Dallas. SPESA tailors the content to the city, and this year’s event will reflect Los Angeles’ distinct market, targeting suppliers of equipment and software as well as manufacturers and designers.
Adding local expertise, SPESA is partnering with the California Fashion Association (CFA) for the conference. Founded in 1995, the organization focuses on growing the state’s apparel industry by providing educational resources and promotional support to its members, including FAM Brands, Michael Stars, NYDJ and Trina Turk. “[CFA president Ilse Metcheck] knows the history of Los Angeles, but then she also knows the industry today,” McDonald said. “We’re excited to just kind of pick her brain and then work with her members to bring them what they want to hear, not what we want to tell them.”
The agenda will feature conversational discussions with speakers from established firms as well as startups. Among the topics SPESA is planning to cover are automation and artificial intelligence. “We can’t keep chasing the cheapest needle,” said McDonald. “We found it probably about 15, 20 years ago; it’s not going to get cheaper than it was in China back then. So the only way that we can manufacture and maintain the price level the consumer wants is to manufacture better, and that’s through automation.”
Per McDonald, automating sewing is “the greatest engineering challenge in manufacturing today of any industry” because of the material handling needed, and it will require collaboration to solve. He added that much of the innovation in automation gained in the ‘80s stalled as production moved overseas, but in the last few years, investment and advancements have picked up again.
Another key conference topic will be sustainability and circularity. “Manufacturing for circularity is a real shift in the industry that’s exciting from a supplier perspective, because it’s going to require all this new technology that doesn’t quite exist yet,” McDonald said.
Noting that sustainability regulations that originate in Europe often expand to the U.S. later, McDonald said the industry should plan for future circular requirements. “If you’re not doing it voluntarily, it’s going to be forced upon you as an industry,” he said. “We need to start focusing on that and solving those problems before we have to.”
