California Apparel News

Tolland, Conn.–based Gerber Technology is currently celebrating its 40th year in business. The company started producing machinery for manufacturers, but over the years it has transformed itself to become a key player in the new economy, being the current leader in CAD/CAM and PLM (product lifecycle management) software for the apparel and flexible-materials industries. It still produces cutters, plotters, spreaders and other machinery for manufacturers around the world, but the company’s current mission is about staying ahead of the curve of innovation, which means producing more than hardware.

John Hancock has served as Gerber Tech’s president for the past three years but has served in key positions under Gerber’s corporate umbrella going back to 1998. He was president of the company’s optical division, Gerber Coburn, and senior vice president of Gerber Scientific Inc. Under his charge, the company has advanced its popular WebPDM software and developed new tools for overseas manufacturers as well as U.S.-based ones.

Hancock spoke with California Apparel News Technology Editor Robert McAllister to discuss the company’s current and future agendas.

Gerber has been in business for 40 years now, and during that time, there have been a lot of hills and valleys coming through the shifting marketplace, economy, etc. How has Gerber been able to survive and excel at times through those periods?

Like everyone, we’ve experienced the ups and downs that are inherent to this industry. From geopolitical changes, economic ups and downs, and technological advances, each presents a new opportunity. In large part, we’ve excelled by keeping our ears to the ground to identify trends, listening to our customers and maintaining a proactive approach. By anticipating market changes and working to stay on the leading edge of technological advances, we’ve stayed in step with what the industry needs. Whether that be entering new geographic markets to facilitate decentralization and globalization or introducing new or enhanced products to keep up with the industry’s requirements for fast fashion and lean manufacturing, our aim is to help our customers maintain their competitive edge.

At least in the U.S. apparel business, there has been a waning need for equipment such as cutters, spreaders and other machinery, which is Gerber’s bread-and-butter business. What has Gerber done to compensate?

Actually, our book of business is very balanced. Again, that’s a testament to being where the customers’ needs are and fulfilling those needs—whether they be hardware, software or service. It’s not so much that the need for equipment has waned; it’s more that the demand is generated from different geographies than in the past.

It’s true that our company’s roots lie with the machinery side of the apparel industry. It’s a real source of pride that our founder, Joe Gerber, introduced the world’s first automated fabric-cutting machine. But it can’t stop there. That history and that pride are what keep us focused because meeting the industry’s needs requires a constant drive for innovation.

The neat thing about Gerber is that we haven’t walked away from our roots; we’ve just grown more branches. We’ve leveraged our focused know-how within the apparel manufacturing industry and challenged ourselves to add value—both up and down the value stream—and it’s been very rewarding. Today, nearly half of our revenue is derived from software and services. We add value throughout the fashion lifecycle, from planning to design, development and manufacturing.

WebPDM has been a kind of pioneering tool for companies to manage their costing, specs, data, etc. over the Internet, and now PLM has emerged. How has that affected Gerber’s WebPDM business, and how is Gerber tackling PLM?

As I mentioned before, we’re always looking a few steps ahead. Watching trends, observing the industry and proactively addressing unstated needs is what makes us who we are as a company.

We’re really proud to have pioneered the PLM concept within the apparel industry before it had a name. WebPDM really was the industry’s first “PLM” and grew out of the apparel industry’s need to streamline product development, even as the various players in the value chain became more geographically dispersed. The ability to collaborate across geographies with other companies and to quickly and accurately disseminate information was the impetus for us to expand our offerings to meet those needs.

We built upon WebPDM, introducing information and collaboration tools. In 2006, we formally introduced Fashion Lifecycle Management, Gerber’s PLM solution. One of the benefits here is that our solutions were developed and continue to evolve within the fashion industry as a result of decades of experience relative to the needs specific to it. We like to say that our solution is evolutionary, not revolutionary. In addition, FLM [fashion lifestyle management] protects and extends fashion companies’ investments by leveraging the data and tools that they already rely on and add functionality as they need it. Our suite protects the investment they have and enables them to build upon it as they need it. Especially within the context of recent economic reports, it seems to me that it would make sense to implement functionality as it’s needed and maintain productivity at the same time.

Because we grew up in this industry, our tools meet the need to balance the critical elements of success unique to a fashion company with those that are critical to any global company, from planning and design, through production and beyond, and the need for visibility throughout the supply chain to develop and deliver products quickly and accurately to protect market share and profitability.

Almost the same question with CAD. Is the CAD business dying in the United States? Is Gerber still investing R&D into this area? Is 3-D still a viable tool within CAD?

Our customers’ designs are at the core of their brand identity and its differentiation to the consumer. As long as design houses and brand owners headquarter their business here in the U.S., CAD and other design software tools will remain an important part of that. In fact, we’re seeing a shift in trends, with CAD returning to the U.S.

Of course, we’re still investing in CAD on many fronts—especially as it remains a fundamental building block to Fashion Lifecycle Management. In fact, we released Accumark Version 8.3 earlier this month, which includes tighter integration into the Fashion Lifecycle Management suite. 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of the industry’s standard software for pattern design, grading and marker making, and we continue to invest in this area. It was the industry’s first PC-based solution available to the average user.

As it relates to CAD, not only is 3-D a viable tool, it’s critical. Design software has long been critical to rapid development and accuracy of design data, and the evolution continues. Integrating 3-D capabilities will become increasingly important; fast fashion keeps getting even faster. One module we offer for Accumark is V-Stitcher, which enables the user to leverage 3-D visualization and system integration to shorten development time and reduce the need for multiple samples.

This software enables real-time collaboration with buyers, suppliers and retailers with virtual samples which model fit, drape, texture and other garment qualities. This improves development-cycle efficiency and eliminates the need for multiple samples. 3-D programs within CAD will continue to evolve in sophistication and will become increasingly vital to remaining competitive in our industry.

Gerber has been growing significantly in Asia. What is your presence like in the Western Hemisphere, particularly Latin America, and how committed are you to this market? Will the manufacturing there replicate what’s happened in the United States due to Asian competition and other factors?

Certainly the face of every market continues to evolve, and Latin America is no exception. Gerber was the first in our industry to look to this market 30 years ago. Although most of our presence outside of Mexico is through our agent and distributor network, there is a GT presence in every Latin American country.

As you know, exports from this region have dropped over the years, although the domestic market in several countries is strong. We continue to derive a considerable percentage of our sales from this region—nearly 10 percent. For our fiscal year to date, sales in this region are even stronger than we’d projected. We always see a steady stream of interest and enthusiasm from this region when we exhibit at Material World in Miami. This market is not going away; rather, its evolution is a direct reflection of the region’s growth and development overall.

Another sign of the times is the increasing investment in education and training in Latin America as it relates to the fashion industry. The Universiteacute; de Valle de Mexico (UVM), the leading and fastest-growing university for fashion design in Mexico and Central America, last month announced that it will be offering a fashion-design major program. This will drive the need for hardware and software in this region for decades to come.

Finally, where do you see Gerber heading into the future? What are the plans for new business or growth areas? Will we see Gerber around for another 40 years?

Of course, our sights are set on growth, some in apparel and footwear and some in industrial and emerging markets. We’re ramping up to introduce several new products in both hardware and software that will add value to industries where the continued quest for competitiveness through innovation, expedience and quality shows no signs of waning. May will be an exciting month for us as it relates to new products, and we have a steady stream lined up thereafter.

We remain dedicated to the apparel and footwear industry while businesses in our other industrial-focused markets continues to grow as well. The applications for our products are so diverse. The uses for our products often reflect the needs of emerging markets. Unconventional substrates and increasing demand for accuracy and productivity means that we continue to evolve to set the benchmark for performance. You can’t stop innovating, and you can’t stop looking to the future, so, of course, we’ll remain strong. The first 40 years were just the beginning.