90% of our production is aimed at emerging markets
A leading manufacturer of automated machinery and equipment for the garment industry, IMA specialises in handling and management systems of cloth rolls, spreading solutions, automatic cutting machines and software programmes for the complete organisation of the cutting room. CEO Mirella Sardini explains the technologies displayed and shares his experience at ITMA 2019.
Please tell us about your company.
Since 1977, IMA has been synonymous with quality and technological innovation. For more than 40 years, our company has dedicated itself to the production of automated machinery and equipment for the garment industry. These machines are used in handling and management systems of cloth rolls, spreading solutions, automatic cutting machines and software programmes for the complete organisation of the cutting room. After being pioneers of digital technology with the creation of the first full-digital spreading machine, we are now pioneers of Industry 4.0 with our latest creation, Syncro Cutting Room, which is a web-based application to monitor the cutting room from anywhere and with any device.
What new technologies were displayed at ITMA 2019? Please share some details.
We are always attentive to the needs of the market, particularly about groups with multiple locations / sites and different outsourced factories that usually work on behalf of big brands such as H&M, Zara, OVS, etc, which mainly require large quantities. In these situations, the customer is looking for a highly productive technology and IMA in order to meet this need, brought to ITMA a new generation, fast performing spreading machine together with the new automatic cutting machine IMA Typhoon model for 10 cm compressed fabric.
These are new generation machines, completely managed by digital technology that allows their integration into the IMA Syncro Cutting Room system, too. In particular, the new IMA Mythos 892 spreader is equipped with 4-wheel drive that ensures greater acceleration, speed and positioning accuracy. The new on-board PC user interface allows easy management of reports and an interconnection with company management systems. The technology offers new tension-free spreading concept to always ensure the best spreading quality on the market. The turret is equipped with double belt and the loading and unloading is carried out through pneumatic pistons, a first time in the market, which minimises the loading and unloading time.
As far as Typhoon is concerned, this is the 4th generation IMA automatic cutter. It is equipped with a new cutting head with blade speed of up to 6000 rpm, counter-rotating masses to minimise vibration, blade effort sensors to achieve high cutting quality and finally proportional valves for pneumatic cylinder control. The bridge is governed by an electric axis system, with two engines working in parallel, capable of self-regulating and greater precision in the machine. A completely new base structure with high strength structural elements and a new suction system with dual turbines ensure high performance. Each single turbine is governed by a dedicated inverter that communicates in real time with each other through the PID control of the numeric control. A newer, more powerful, fully digital electronics, provides greater computing power in hardware response. Innovations also in the man-machine interface applications have been redesigned graphically and in functionality, with particular attention to ergonomics and ease of use. The adoption of a bridge control console has made it easier and faster to routine operations.
How many countries do you export to?
IMA began with selling in the Italian market, but since the last ten years, more than 90 per cent of the production is aimed at exporting to Asian, African and South American countries, in particular, those defined as emerging markets.
Since when has your company been participating at ITMA?
We first participated in ITMA 2015 in Milan, and so this is our second edition. In the past we had participated at ITMA, but then we were still part of Macpi Group.
What is your opinion of ITMA? How does it fare compared to other textile machinery trade shows?
We now consider ITMA exhibition as the most interesting, because nowadays many of our customers are verticalically integrating their companies. Therefore, they are more interested in exhbitions like ITMA, where they get to see technologies from spinning to garmenting. So, even if we are at the end of the process, they come to our booth to know and understand our technological solutions. (HO)
Published on: 10/07/2019
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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