Smartex focuses on ensuring a more sustainable future with Smartex.ai

Interview: Özge Çağıl Sütcü 

Smartex took part in ITMA 2023 with its smart devices developed to prevent waste during textile production. The company launched Smartex LOOP at ITMA and participated in the fair in five different booths.

We interviewed Gilberto Loureriro, Smartex CEO and Co-Founder for the July issue of Tekstil Teknoloji magazine.

Gilberto Loureiro gave information about the investment projects, sales and export figures of the company, which recently realized the acquisition of Tuvis, and Smartex LOOP, which was introduced for the first time at ITMA 2023.

You are a company that produces smart devices to prevent waste in textiles. You launched Smartex LOOP at the ITMA Fair? What will be the biggest advantages and benefits of these products to users and sectors?

Smartex LOOP provides operational benefits to knitters and dye houses while laying the foundations for higher quality, traceable data collection and communication in accordance with legislative, investor, and consumer demands.

For knitters, Smartex LOOP helps protect the value of their products by linking and maintaining evidence of each roll’s quality. Knitters can prove the quality of their product and resolve any quality disputes quickly.

For dyehouses, Smartex LOOP allows a preview of all incoming rolls with quality alerts to prioritize quality checks. This is a huge improvement from the current sample system of manual inspection of incoming rolls.

Finally, with growing pressure for fashion brands to map, report and perform due diligence across their supply chains – as well as possess data to back up any sustainability marketing claims they make – supply chain data has become a need, not a want. Smartex LOOP enables the capture and communication of “golden” data (objective, verifiable and real-time) in Tier 2 (fabric production and colouration), the highest impact step of the textile supply chain.

 Loureriro: “We will triple our growth in Turkey”

Turkey is an important market for your company. You purchased Turkish technology company Tuvis in the past months. What did this acquisition bring to your company? Could you give information about your work in the Turkish market and your export volume?

With the acquisition of Tuvis and building our Tech Center in Maslak, we plan to continue hiring employees with expertise in Service Engineering, Customer Success, and other fields. This acquisition was a strategic move to expand our Engineering power globally. With the help of our growing team in Istanbul, we are certain that we will make a lasting impact on the textile industry worldwide. Even under the current challenging economic conditions we are very optimistic to triple our growth in Turkey in the next few years.

What kind of work do you have for the Turkish market in the near future? Can you give information about these?

Turkey is leading the textile industry in terms of innovation and was one of the first markets to fully embrace Smartex technology. We will continue to work closely with our customers and ERKO, our local distributor, to keep up with the growing demand and accelerate the Industry 4.0 Revolution by using artificial intelligence to reduce waste while also increasing quality and transparency.

Why is digitalisation imperative to the future of a sustainable industry? What does the company implement in terms of digitalised solutions? 

Digitalisation is crucial for the future of a sustainable industry because it enables greater efficiency, transparency, and accountability throughout the supply chain. By leveraging digital technologies, companies can optimize processes, reduce waste, and make informed decisions that contribute to sustainability goals. Here’s how Smartex.ai implements digitalized solutions:

• AI-powered, automated quality control: Smartex.ai utilizes computer vision and machine learning to develop AI-based quality control solutions. Our systems can detect textile defects in real-time, reducing the need for manual inspection and minimizing waste in the production process.
• Real-time data analysis: Our digitalized solutions collect and analyze real-time data from various stages of the textile production chain. This data-driven approach enables proactive decision-making, process optimization, and resource allocation, leading to improved efficiency and sustainability.
• Traceability and transparency: By implementing digitalized systems, Smartex.ai collects primary data in the supply chain and enables clear communication at a fabric-roll level. This helps create a transparent and traceable supply chain – something that is becoming increasingly important for fashion brands.

By embracing digitalization, Smartex.ai empowers the textile industry to adopt sustainable practices, optimize resource utilization, reduce waste, and create a more transparent and accountable ecosystem.

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What measures is the company taking towards ensuring a more sustainable future?  

At Smartex.ai, we are committed to driving a more sustainable future through various measures and initiatives. Some of the steps we are taking include:

• Waste reduction: Our AI-based solutions focus on eliminating waste at the source in the textile production chain. By detecting and addressing textile defects early on, we help minimize material waste and promote more efficient production processes.
• Energy and resource efficiency: We prioritize the development and implementation of energy-efficient technologies within our hardware and software solutions. By optimizing energy consumption and resource usage, we aim to reduce our environmental footprint.
• Emissions reduction: Through the use of AI-driven optimization algorithms, we help improve production efficiency, leading to lower energy consumption and reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. By minimizing energy-related emissions, we contribute to mitigating climate change impacts.
• Water conservation: Water is a valuable resource in textile production. Our solutions aim to minimize water waste by optimizing production processes. Many defective rolls would go through the complete dye house processes, by ensuring quality we are reducing the overall water footprint, and promoting water conservation practices.
• Transparency: By highlighting the journey fabric goes on in Tier 2, the highest impact step of the supply chain, we can highlight sustainable innovation and allow fashion brands to better understand their supply chain- a first, and necessary, step to drive greater investment in innovation.
• Collaboration and education: We actively collaborate with industry partners, organizations, and stakeholders to promote sustainable practices and drive innovation in the textile sector. Additionally, we prioritize consumer education to raise awareness about the environmental impact of the textile industry and the importance of making sustainable choices.

Did ITMA 2023 meet your expectations? As you know, exhibitors and visitors in many countries, including Turkey, could not come to the ITMA due to visa problems. Has this issue affected your business at ITMA?

Trade shows like ITMA play a crucial role in supporting Smartex.ai by providing a platform to showcase our innovative solutions, connect with industry professionals, and build valuable partnerships. ITMA 2023 surpassed our expectations. We had a presence at 5 booths and it was really great for us.

Unfortunately, we were aware of these visa issues and it was very unfortunate how such issues may limit the number of potential clients especially from an important market such as Turkey, networking opportunities, and overall engagement during the event. Nonetheless, alternative means such as virtual presentations and collaborations with our local distributors have been explored to mitigate the impact and continue engagement with interested parties. 

Loureriro: “We have customers in Turkey who have covered 100% of their production with Smartex technology”

What was the reaction of the visitors to your products at the ITMA Fair? Are you satisfied with the interest?

The overall reaction we got from the public was very positive. People loved our demonstrator and also saw our Smartex CORE systems working on actual circular knitting machines at the Terrot booth, the Vahdet booth and the Unitex booth. Smartex LOOP also received a lot of interest and helped show Smartex continues to lead the way on innovation in Tier 2. We are happy that we are being more and more recognized over time.

How has the year 2023 so far been for your company? Can you evaluate it in terms of your orders, production volume and export markets?

2023 has been the year of confirmation for Smartex. Turkiye is currently one of our leading markets and we are successfully expanding to other important textile markets such as India and Bangladesh, among others. We already have several customers in Turkey who have covered 100% of their production with Smartex technology.