The Microfactory concept is a business model that’s not just designed for large companies. It brings the buzzword “digitalization” to life... and with a result you can touch, because the Microfactory produces individualized garments.

Adidas is regarded as a pioneer in the industry when it comes to digitalization. At the beginning of 2017, the company raised the bar for individualized clothing with the Pop-Up Store Knit for you in Berlin. Using a 3D body scanner, the customer’s body dimensions were measured in seconds. The pattern for the sweater could also be altered through the customer’s movements. Then the customer decided on the final pattern and color, and around four hours later an individualized garment was created from the customer’s ideas.

Generating new business models and gaining production experience at the same time

That’s what the Microfactory concept offers, and it’s not only for the bigger players in the industry. “The digitalization of work steps from design and printing to cutting and finishing makes it possible to create a local and flexible production cell. This makes it really interesting for small companies to invest in their own production instead of outsourcing production abroad”, says Rolf Köppel from Zünd, describing the aim of the Microfactory 4 Fashion project.

Thanks to digital production, small order quantities can be produced economically and with a high degree of individualization. A Microfactory in a shopping center or a production facility shared by several companies at a convenient location – these are just two of many conceivable solutions that could enable manufacturers and stores to react quickly to demand and create production capacities at short notice.

“If a particular T-shirt sells really well, it can be produced again quickly – and nearby as well,” says Dr. Andreas Seidl, CEO of Assyst. “We have achieved great results with the Microfactory for the production of shirts, and now we’re implementing the next project – we’ll be presenting a Microfactory Knit at our Fashion Forum for the first time, and the result will be an individualized Jacquard sweater produced right there for everyone to see.”

Do you want to know more about the Microfactory Knit? To register for the Fashion Forum 201, please click HERE