Industry 4.0 in Textile Factories

The textile industry of north of Portugal is well know for the products quality. Especially in Europe and USA market the textiles made In Portugal it's a brand. This appreciation it is enhanced because the Portuguese mills have old know how, but also have, in last decades high standards of service and a great responsiveness and flexibility to costumer requests. However these references are rarely followed up by a functional organization and top technology.

In 2012, a study of University of Minho indicated that 77% of Portuguese textiles engineers did not have any knowledge or implementation about Lean organization. I think there wasn't great evolution since then. Now with the introduction of new technological concepts in top industries, namely industry 4.0, the Portuguese textiles face a new step which can increase more the gap between themselves and the edge industries. On the other hand I believe that this is an opportunity to make the definitive jump to an industry extremely well organized, technologically advanced and totally rethought. But will companies be prepared? I think it's all about have the right people.