Four themes moved to the center
ITMA 2023 highlighted advanced materials, automation and the digital future, innovative technologies, and sustainability and circularity. These themes are broad, but their practical value is measured at machine level: fewer manual adjustments, more repeatable settings, visible production data and lower resource use.
For smaller manufacturers, digitalisation does not have to start with a factory-wide platform. It can begin with inverter control, production counters, saved patterns, fault messages and consistent records.
Automation should solve a defined problem
A useful automation investment reduces a specific cost or risk. Examples include controlling take-up tension, repeating a jacquard pattern accurately, stopping after a defined length or reducing manual handling between winding and forming.
- Identify the repeated manual task
- Measure its labor, defect or downtime cost
- Confirm who will maintain the control system
- Keep a manual recovery procedure
- Train operators on settings, not only buttons
The next purchase conversation
Buyers should ask how a feature changes daily operation, what data it records and what happens when a sensor fails. Suppliers should explain the difference between standard, optional and custom controls.
The strongest technology plan is usually gradual: stabilize the process, capture the right data and automate the points where repeatability creates a measurable benefit.