Garment-Folding Machine at the FUSH˚ factory

The one we have at our clothing factory is actually a chimaera (in Greek mythology, it’s a monster made from parts of a lion, goat, and snake). And to call it a chimaera is more than appropriate because a Greek company Thermothron made it. Instead of the 3 animals, these individual machines make it up – STP-900, PV-35, and KL-50, each with a different mission. First folds, second packages, third fastens and boxes the bagged clothes. Together, they’re able to fold, pack, and box up to 6000 pieces of clothes in an eight-hour shift.

Fun fact – the machine is a relic from the 90s! What’s more, we found it when we bought what is now our Oraovica clothing factory. Unlike many other industrial relics we stumbled upon on location, this one has proved itself to be a keeper. It did take some work to restore it back to glory. Thankfully, our mechanics managed to salvage it and give it a second life. It was literally waiting for us ever since the previous factory ran out of business, some good 20+ years ago. Kind of reminiscent of a Wall-E situation. Now our very own Wall E works as if it never stopped. We made the video below before the pandemic, so we broke no safety measures. You can read more about our machines on our textile machinery page.

Textile machinery today

It’s interesting that the textile industry has automatized the least in comparison to others. Even though the machinery exists, not many clothing manufacturers are keen on using them. For instance, cutting machines have been in the industry for a while and yet not every factory uses them. Even though they make enough returns in order to invest, they willingly depend on manpower to handle a job that can be done better by a machine.

However, not all automatisation is welcome, especially from the workers’ perspective. Here’s an example. There’s been some serious progress in automating the sewing process. Actual sewing robots are already available in the market and are posing a real threat to millions of workers that are already earning pitiful wages. Should this switch eventually happen, it would happen at the cost of the livelihoods of millions of people already struggling to make ends meet. It will be interesting to see how the industry leaders would handle this massive change.