Webinar – Your Next Move in Textiles: An Accessible Introduction to Smart Manufacturing
November 19 @ 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Smart manufacturing doesn’t start with a big budget or a factory overhaul. It starts with knowing where your data lives today, a team aligned on business goals, the right skills on your operations team, and a practical roadmap. Whether your operation is spinning yarn, running circular or warp knitting machines, operating weaving looms, or managing dyeing and finishing processes, the fundamentals of smart manufacturing are similar: gaining better visibility into production, connecting information across systems, and turning manufacturing data into actionable decisions.
In this webinar, AFFOA and CESMII, two Manufacturing USA institutes with a combined network of more than 300 organizations, share what textile manufacturers told AFFOA in its recent workforce and industry needs assessment (50+ interviews, 40+ surveys, 12 site visits). We then show how smart manufacturing helps with the challenges they named: an aging workforce, paper-based tracking, legacy equipment, and supply chain risk.
You’ll leave with:
- A plain-language understanding of smart manufacturing in textile manufacturing
- Examples of how manufacturers can connect people, machines, production data, quality systems, and business systems
- Practical first steps for improving machine visibility, production tracking, traceability, and process control
- Approaches that build on existing textile equipment and legacy machinery
- A free smart-manufacturing readiness assessment and a path toward a strategic roadmap
Who should attend
This webinar is designed for leaders at U.S. textile and advanced-material manufacturing companies, particularly small and mid-sized manufacturers, including:
- Plant and operations managers
- Manufacturing and process engineers
- Production and technical managers
- Quality and continuous-improvement leaders
- Workforce and training leaders
- Digital transformation and automation teams
Relevant manufacturing environments include fiber and yarn production, ring spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing, finishing, technical textiles, and other textile manufacturing operations.
Your Speakers:
Melissa Wye
VP of Program Management & Business Operations
AFFOA
As VP of Program Management & Business Operations at AFFOA, Melissa Wye leverages a specialized background in systems engineering and product design to bridge the gap between innovation and scale. With over 15 years of experience leading complex programs for defense and private industry, she excels in systems integration, manufacturing automation, and product lifecycle management. Drawing on her deep expertise in defense unmanned robotics and domestic manufacturing, Melissa brings a unique perspective to the functional textiles sector, focusing on the intersection of manufacturing scale-up and automated digital design. Melissa holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a B.S. in Science and Technology Studies (Product Design and Innovation concentration) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
VP of Ecosystem and Workforce Development
CESMII
Conrad Leiva is VP of Ecosystem and Workforce Development at CESMII – the Smart Manufacturing Institute. He is a recognized industry authority that engages manufacturing business leaders, educators and practitioners across all dimensions of industry to develop and share knowledge on both the How and Why to leverage information technology in manufacturing. Conrad has over 20 years of experience in manufacturing systems development and implementation. Conrad holds an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.