Over this summer, Roaches International – a member of the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA) – has dispatched its largest integrated order for textile laboratory equipment to date.
A total of 19 testing machines weighing more than two tons have been delivered for a new lab being established by Indonesia’s Alia Digital Printex, demonstrating the British manufacturer’s ability to supply complete testing facilities rather than just individual instruments.
Established in Jakarta in 2017, Alia Digital Printex specialises in digital textile printing and fabric production, particularly for scarves, hijabs, prayer garments and apparel.
Employing more than 500 people, it has a printing capacity of 18,000 metres of fabric per day and serves fashion brands in Indonesia and international markets.
The new lab will support its expanding manufacturing activities and requirements for consistent fabric quality and performance.
Working with its Indonesian partner PT. Kawan Era Baru, Roaches has coordinated the project from design and equipment specification through to manufacturing, dispatch and on-site engineering support.
Connected future
The order also highlights the advantages of sourcing a complete testing laboratory from a single supplier as textile manufacturers move towards more digitally integrated quality control operations.
Looking ahead, artificial intelligence is predicted to accelerate this transition, enabling information from previously independent instruments to be combined and analysed to identify relationships between fabric properties, processing conditions and finished product quality.
A single supplier can offer benefits in equipment standardisation, operator training, maintenance and technical support, while potentially providing a more consistent foundation for future data integration.
“This is a particularly significant project for Roaches, not simply because of its scale, but because it demonstrates the advantages of working with a single supplier to establish a complete textile testing laboratory,” says Roaches marketing executive Seth Seagraves. “As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly important in textile manufacturing, we believe laboratories will need to move beyond treating individual testing machines as isolated pieces of equipment. The real opportunity is to connect the information they generate, enabling manufacturers to build a much more comprehensive picture of fabric quality and performance.
“Having equipment supplied and supported by one specialist partner provides a strong foundation for that transition. At the same time, we are continuing to develop technologies such as our Martindale AXYZ and Sentire systems, which demonstrate how digital control and objective measurement can improve laboratory operations.”
“This substantial order is another excellent example of the international reputation British textile technology companies have built through innovation, engineering expertise and customer support,” adds BTMA CEO Jason Kent. “Roaches International is demonstrating how established testing technologies can evolve to meet the demands of an increasingly digital textile industry, while continuing to win significant business in highly competitive overseas markets. It’s exactly the kind of success we work to support our members achieving.”
