#Industry 4.0 / Digitalization

2021-01-20

French manufacturer, Bonneterie Chanteclair, digitalizes with Gerber to transform for the pandemic era

French knitwear clothing manufacturer, Bonneterie Chanteclair, is a certified Orgine France Garantie, meaning all of their products are made in France. When the COVID-19 pandemic reached their home country, General Manager, Thomas Delise, knew he had to think outside of the box in order to protect his community and his employees. Rather than stopping garment production and furloughing employees, the company developed a high-quality mask with a HEPA filter, which was chosen by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Chanteclair was able to protect lives and keep their doors open with a fully automated end-to-end workflow.

Rather than stopping garment production and furloughing employees, the company developed a high-quality mask with a HEPA filter, which was chosen by French President Emmanuel Macron. As Chanteclair began to receive many orders from regional administrations, they developed an eCommerce website to sell B2B and B2C. To help keep up with demand, Bonneterie Chanteclair began working with Gerber Technology, the leader in digitalization, to help them pivot their supply chain and remain agile so they could keep their doors open. Since March, Gerber’s PPE Task Force has helped over 1,700 companies, just like Chanteclair, pivot to PPE production and helped them keep their doors open through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chanteclair © 2021 Chanteclair / Gerber Technology

“We know digitalization and retooling are not easy. They’re very complex processes that require numerous steps,” said Olivier Austin, Sales Manager Digital Solutions for France of Gerber Technology. “Our team works with our customers to identify their needs and help implement the right technologies that will be most beneficial to them.”

Gerber worked with Bonneterie Chanteclair to digitally transform their supply chain so they were able to keep up with the high demand for protective masks.

Chanteclair acquired Gerber’s full end-to-end solution, which includes Gerber’s pattern making solution, AccuMark®, their automated nesting and cut planning solutions, AccuNest™ and AccuPlan™ as well as the Gerber Paragon®. With Gerber’s end-to-end solution, Chanteclair was able to fulfill a high demand for masks in a short period of time, which was critical in helping their community fight COVID-19. The integrated solution also kept Chanteclair from having to furlough employees and keep their doors open as they navigate through the pandemic.

“Gerber has been extremely supportive throughout this entire process,” said Thomas Delise. “Their innovative technology and team of experts have been critical throughout our transformation. We have been able to effectively digitize our entire workflow in such a short time, which is really remarkable.”

After the pandemic subsides, Bonneterie Chanteclair plans to continue to strengthen their supply chain by adding more of Gerber’s solutions to their workflow. The French manufacturer will develop a just-in-time production to allow themselves to easily meet consumer demands and tackle the challenge of customization.

Textilfabrik 7.0 launched: Mönchengladbach becomes a real-world lab for sustainable textile production

With the official kick-off event of the Textilfabrik 7.0 (T7), a major transformation project for the German textile and apparel industry has been launched in the Monforts Quarter in Mönchengladbach. At the “Textile Roundtable,” an event format organized by the Zukunftsagentur Rheinisches Revier, representatives from industry, research, politics, and the regional economy came together to jointly lay the foundation for CO₂-neutral, circular, and economically viable textile production in Germany.

OnceMore® from Södra brings end-to-end traceability for circular Man-made Cellulosic Fibers (MMCF) using TextileGenesis

OnceMore® from Södra, the world’s first large-scale process for recycling blended fabrics into high‐quality dissolving pulp, will begin using TextileGenesis, a Lectra company, to strengthen traceability from raw material to retail across the value chain. OnceMore® produces dissolving pulp made from blended textile waste and wood sourced from responsibly managed Swedish forests. By integrating TextileGenesis, OnceMore® supports the growing need for verified data and secure, transparent tracking throughout increasingly complex supply chain.

Jeanologia launches Billy

The new AI extracts precise laser designs from a garment image in minutes, transforming how vintage denim is recreated for production. If Jeanologia’s laser changed the way jeans were made at the end of the last century, its AI now takes the next step: moving from reproducing wear to designing it. / archive photo © 2026 Jeanologia

Smart Quality Control for Technical Textiles

In the end, what matters is the result: a filter that performs reliably, a membrane that remains stable in storm conditions, a composite material with precisely defined properties. But the path to achieving this is demanding. In the production of technical textiles, numerous parameters interact – and even the smallest deviations can have major consequences.

FESPA’s new textile event set to debut in Barcelona this May

In less than one month, the first edition of FESPA’s new Textile event will take place at the Gran Via, Fira de Barcelona, from 19 – 22 May 2026. Co-located with FESPA Global Print Expo, European Sign Expo, Personalisation Experience, WrapFest and the brand-new Corrugated, each of the events will serve as the ideal meeting point for experts across each field to discover the latest technologies and trends, and explore cross-sector opportunities for business growth.