Objective
"The textile sector is a multi-million industry in Europe (€165 billion turnover, €4 billion investment and over 1.6 million workers in 2014). Clothing alone stands for €75.6 billion turnover, €1.4 billion investment and over 1.0 million workers in 2014, with two separate production areas: ""high volume - low price"", and ""low volume"".
These markets all have a distinctive need: the quality of the cut, sewed fabrics and the flexibility for introducing changes and personalisation. They rely on highly skilled artisans, who cut the material by hand to produce top quality material pieces. The problem arises with the current and foreseen disappearance trend of this highly skilled specialisation, coupled to the continued growth in the sector.
Our project delivers a PATENTED single-layer cutting with the accuracy of an expert (+/- 0.1mm) but at the speed of an automatic machine, combined with automatic unloading, stacking and emptying. We have designed and developed a double blade system suitable for all types of fabric without any need for vacuum. Glass planarity and electro-static retention guarantee no tension, deformation or fraying of the fabric. Simplified mechanical components reduce the need for service, leading to significant savings per year on electrical power, consumables and maintenance (63% reduction for CRYSTAL).
This market is about 1,000 cutting machines per year. With our project we intend to reach a market share of 10% (100 machines per year) by 2022. Our intention is to set a selling price for CRYSTAL of €100K for a 35K EUR margin per unit, allowing us to reach a turnover of €10M by 2022 and a net profit of €3.5 million. After €2.27 million total investment, we forecast a Return on Investment (ROI) of 2.74 by Y5.
With €700k already invested, we have produced 2 working prototypes, which are being tested by potential clients and proofing our Technology Readiness Level at 6.
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Fields of science
Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.2.1.2. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies – Nanotechnologies Main Programme
- H2020-EU.2.1.5. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Advanced manufacturing and processing
- H2020-EU.2.1.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Advanced materials
- H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
40037 SASSO MARCONI
Italy
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.