The twin challenges of maintaining quality and improving productivity
At Van de Velde, some 100 people are dedicated full-time to
quality control. At the front end of the process, 40 controllers
inspect the quality of fabric (ensuring consistent color and
elasticity, and removing any flawed fabric), and at the back end,
another 60 are charged with ensuring that all finished products
meet the company’s stringent quality standards. But the most critical challenge occurs in the cutting room. “Our
biggest challenge is to ensure the highest possible cutting quality
for all the components that are used to make our products,” said
Hugo De Rijcke, Van de Velde’s Director of Production.
“Lingerie articles contain several components, which are often
small and intricately shaped, and if those components are not cut
well, we need to ask our stitchers to make corrections during the
sewing process, which opens up the possibility for lapses in
quality.” Van de Velde’s production increased by 12.5% in 2006, driven by
growing demand and a conscious policy of increasing stock numbers
to improve customer service. At the end of the year the company
decided to significantly increase cutting room production, and to
replace its aging cutting systems with the latest cutting
technology available. “For me, there are only three serious suppliers of cutting
room equipment in Europe,” continued Hugo De Rijcke. “We
tested all three, and in the end we chose Lectra, which provided
the best offering in terms of quality, efficiency and
productivity.”
Lectra’s VectorLingerieMX delivers unmatched quality and productivity
During its discussions with Lectra, Van de Velde learned that
Lectra’s new range of Vector automated cutters—then on the verge of
being released commercially—included the VectorLingerieMX, a model
specifically developed for cutting the intricate shapes and
delicate fabrics of lingerie articles. “We installed the
VectorLingerieMX in our cutting room and performed several cutting
tests,” said Hugo De Rijcke. “We provided feedback and worked with
Lectra’s R&D department to optimize the cutter’s performance
together.” The VectorLingerieMX provides manufacturers with an ideal
response to increasing orders, shortened lead times and the need to
optimize production. Combining precision cutting with production
flexibility, exceptional output and high-volume cutting capacity,
it is ideal for cutting small, intricately-shaped lingerie pieces.
It also features piloting software that adapts the system to the
particularities of the delicate, elastic materials used in such
garments.
A rapid return on investment, and committed customer service
With its previous cutters, Van de Velde could cut up to 30
layers of fabric with five-millimetre buffers between cut pieces.
“Our objective with the new Lectra cutter was to cut 60 layers
with buffers of three millimetres, which I can assure you is not so
easy,” said Hugo De Rijcke. “The VectorLingerieMX quickly
satisfied our target. Cutting time is 30% faster, and reducing
buffer zones from five to three millimetres allowed us to reduce
fabric consumption by 4%, which translates into an annual savings
of €500,000.” In addition to delivering a rapid return on investment, the
VectorLingerieMX and the dedicated customer service provided by
Lectra yielded other benefits for Van de Velde as well. “We are
a Dutch-speaking company,” said Hugo De Rijcke, “and the
fact that our operators and technicians—who may not speak French or
English—can call or email Lectra’s International Call Center in
France and immediately get answers to questions in their own
language is a subtle yet important advantage over other technology
providers. To take just one recent example, we had an issue on the
production floor at 7:30 a.m. one day, and we contacted Lectra and
the problem was resolved at 8:15. That kind of service is very
important to us.” The performance of Lectra’s VectorLingerieMX has convinced Van
de Velde to replace the remainder of its existing cutters with
three more Lectra cutters, including a second VectorLingerieMX and
two VectorFashionFX cutters. xxxx “Lectra has made a big
contribution to the success we have had in increasing our
productivity and profitability in the cutting department,”
said Van de Velde CEO, Herman Van de Velde. *all three brands are copyrighted by Van de Velde
“The VectorLingerieMX allowed us to reduce fabric consumption by 4%, which translates into an annual savings of €500,000.”
(left) Hugo De Rijcke, Director of Production, (right) Herman Van de Velde, CEO
Established in 1919, Van de Velde designs and manufactures
luxurious women’s lingerie under the brand names Marie Jo ©, Marie
Jo L'Aventure© and PrimaDonna©* . A family-run business now in its
third generation, Van de Velde is tenaciously committed to the
quality of its product offering. In line with this philosophy, core
activities such as design, product development, prototyping, fabric
cutting, and quality control are performed at the company’s
headquarters in Schellebelle, Belgium. Van de Velde also runs
production facilities in Tunisia, Hungary and China, and an
additional factory was also recently opened in Romania. ;){kind=logo}