The textile industry is undoubtedly going through a period of technological and socio-economic change, and many companies are having to now think of new ways to keep up with this dramatic transformation.
Picanol is investing in its people and technology to ensure the company's continued success
Picanol is one example of a long-established company that is now investing heavily in its future to ensure its continued success.
Picanol is a specialist in the development, production and sale of weaving machines and technology for the textile industry. Over the last two years, there are 10% more people working for the company and its annual turnover has reached almost €700m, which is corresponding to more than 10,000 weaving machines. But, with challenges ahead, Picanol is ‘getting prepared for the future’.
“Everywhere I go, I find that it is hard to find worthwhile people to employ,” says Tony Decock, sales manager, Picanol, at The Weaving Group Conference in Huddersfield, UK.
“As you have seen, we have grown, so we need to find people,” he adds. “Not only that, but I am the perfect example of the average age of a Picanol employee and I am up for replacement within the next decade and, like me, there are many others who will need to be replaced.”
To overcome the difficulty in finding skilled employees, and to ensure that current workers want to stay at the company, Picanol has created the Let’s Make It Happen campaign.
The campaign is centred around investment. A lot of energy and effort has been put into new facilities for workers, advanced technology and information sessions to keep employees informed of all changes.
“It should be known as the €1m per month campaign,” says Decock. “If you visit Picanol today and you haven’t visited us for a few years, you would hardly recognise it now. We are changing drastically and investing heavily.”
So far, new roads have been built for pedestrians, the toilets have been refurbished and a new cafeteria facility has been created. Not only have the obvious changes been made, but Picanol has also invested heavily in new and exciting technologies for its employees.
“We now use 3D printing and inside the factory, we are also making use of exoskeletons and cobots; by creating a high-tech environment, we are attracting people who are motivated to work in this industry,” adds Decock.
Virtual reality workrooms have been created at Picanol to help train employees. A simulation environment of a workstation was set up in virtual reality in the assembly department. The operators were able to perform a complete assembly in the virtual workstation using VR glasses and controllers.
“We need to be able to effectively train our employees and these virtual workrooms will help,” says Decock.
The company has also been experimenting with exoskeletons to assist workers with difficult tasks. For example, an employee can wear an exoskeleton to help them when lifting heavy loads.
“Also, we are using lots of cobots, they are robots that help you. For instance, they can act as a third hand if you need help working on a weaving machine.”
With the Let’s Make It Together campaign, the company intends to turn the Picanol Group by 2020 onwards into a dynamic and committed team whereby top-quality production is achieved, Decock adds.
