#Industry 4.0 / Digitalization

2023-10-05

Introducing Smartex FACT: a digital textile factory in your pocket

The future for knitting factories is already here! There’s no longer a need to be physically present to oversee and control your production. Get a glimpse of the Modern Textile Factory with Smartex FACT, your all-in-one digital factory management solution. Boost your factory operations, gain real-time visibility, improve quality with Automatic Roll Grading, and receive instant production notifications - accessible anywhere, at any time, on your devices.

Picture this: sipping your morning coffee while already knowing what happened in your factory overnight. Transform the way you manage your factory operations today. Say "no more" to the lack of digitalization and control over your production.

Manufacturers often struggle with inefficiencies, quality issues, and the need for manual inspections, which can lead to increased costs and decreased competitiveness. Smartex FACT steps in to address these challenges by providing automated performance insights into machine data, roll production statistics and quality. You can also personalize settings for quality control and even utilize a 'fast track' option for Grade A rolls (high-quality rolls that can go straight to your customer without any manual inspection). With data-driven decision-making at their fingertips, knitting manufacturers can now elevate factory operations, ensure consistent quality, boost overall efficiency, and outpace the ever-evolving competitive landscape of the textile industry.

Enough suspense, let’s dive right into Smartex FACT’s key features:

Automatic Roll Grading: with this feature, Smartex FACT enables you to set up your own Quality Standards to determine the automatic grading of knitted rolls based on the severity of detected defects. With a defined grading system in place, you can guarantee uniform quality standards throughout your production process, thanks to Smartex CORE’s AI-driven quality control. Typically, in the case of knitted fabric rolls, only about 10% undergo inspection.

But worry not – we've got you covered. With Smartex, every roll will undergo automatic inspection and grading, with Grade-A rolls receiving a Fast Track label - that can be printed and applied to rolls with Smartex LOOP - so you always know where to focus your attention.

With our Digital Factory Page, users gain a complete overview of their factory including the number of machines currently running and rolls produced on that day.

Our My Machines Page provides in-depth, precise data about the performance of every machine powered with Smartex within your factory, including RPM speed and operating time. You'll have the tools to comprehensively assess each machine's performance empowering you to fine-tune machine operations, boosting both quality and productivity across your factory.

On top of the importance of speed and performance, Smartex places a high priority on quality. Our My Rolls Page grants clients access to a whole month of their production history. Here, you can zoom into each roll's production details to assess quality and even review where defects were detected in the digital roll map.

Last but certainly not least, stay in the know with Real-time Notifications tailored to your priorities. Whether it's machines operating at a lower RPM, excessive machine downtime, or the identification of poor-quality rolls, you'll receive timely updates. As a result, you can make data-informed decisions around increasing RPM speed, inspecting lower-quality rolls, and responding to other machine-related issues.

Gilberto Loureiro, Co-founder and CEO of Smartex.ai, stated, "Our new product takes manufacturing and quality control to the next level. With Smartex FACT, users will be able to know when rolls don’t meet the requested quality or when production issues arise. And with the platform being easily accessible via desktop or any smartphone, it is basically your textile factory in your pocket."

As a pioneering and award-winning company, Smartex has consistently been at the forefront of transforming textile factories through hardware-based software solutions and the creation of essential tools for the Modern Textile Factory. Today, we take immense pride in unveiling our latest innovation to the world: Smartex FACT. This cutting-edge platform opens the door to undeniable data for factory operations, equipping clients to fortify their businesses for the future. With the power of data-driven decision-making, enhanced efficiency, and elevated quality, Smartex FACT is set to redefine the knitting textile industry landscape.

Don't wait, join the hundreds of leading factories already using AI in their production today with Smartex FACT (now available in English, Portuguese, and Turkish with more languages coming soon!). Visit www.smartex.ai to learn more or contact sales@smartex.ai to get started.

Texprocess 2026: Automation, digitalisation and AI redefine textile processing

Making investment decisions in textile processing has become significantly more demanding. Increasing energy costs, a shortage of skilled labour and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties are compelling companies to focus on technologies that deliver clear gains in efficiency and process reliability. This applies equally to apparel manufacturing and to the processing of technical textiles and high-performance materials. As a result, modernisation initiatives are assessed more carefully – even as the need to upgrade production systems continues to intensify.

Techtextil 2026: Between innovation pressure & market reality

From 21 to 24 April 2026, Techtextil in Frankfurt am Main will once again become the central meeting point for the international technical textiles and nonwovens industry. Running in parallel, Texprocess will focus on the industrial implementation of textile processing technologies as the leading platform in this field. Together, the two trade fairs form a closely integrated presentation and working platform along the entire textile value chain – from material development to finished applications.

Between geopolitical pressure and industrial resilience

In this interview, Dr. Janpeter Horn (VDMA) discusses the current challenges facing textile machinery manufacturers, shaped by geopolitical tensions, regulatory developments and subdued investment. He also outlines why innovation strength, integrated solutions and strategic positioning remain key to global competitiveness.

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

Techtextil 2026: KARL MAYER impresses as an innovative sector partner

KARL MAYER looks back with satisfaction on its participation in Techtextil 2026. From April 21 to 24, the international industry leader used the trade show in Frankfurt to meet with numerous key customers at its booth and, at the same time, establish many new contacts. Most visitors came from Germany, followed by major markets such as Poland, the United Kingdom, Turkey, France, and Portugal.

BTMA backs global growth while investing in future UK leaders

As one of a number of new initiatives launched this year, the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA) is launching the UK-India Textile Machinery Coalition. The UK-India Free Trade Agreement, signed in July 2025, has implications that extend across sourcing, competitiveness and long-term trade dynamics, believes BTMA CEO Jason Kent.

China projected to increase cotton production, yields, and imports in 2026/27

World cotton production in the 2026/27 season is projected at 25.9 million tonnes, exceeding global consumption of 25.2 million tonnes, according to the May 2026 issue of Cotton This Month. That means both production and consumption are expected to remain close to current season levels, while global cotton trade is projected to decline by 2.7% to approximately 9.6-9.7 million tonnes.