$4.5 Million in Funding Further Positions SoftWear Automation to Lead Disruption of Textile Industry, Help Bring Manufacturing Back to United States
SoftWears Sewbotsâ„¢ allow companies to SEWLOCALâ„¢, geographically shortening distance between consumers and manufacturers
ATLANTA, June 9, 2017 — SoftWear Automation, Inc., an Atlanta-based robotic sewing firm, today announced it has received $4.5 million in financing from existing investor, CTW Venture Partners. The funding will accelerate the companys development of fully automated sewn good worklines specifically for apparel production in the United States. Additionally, the company plans to add 20 employees to keep pace with growing customer demand.
"Our innovative Sewbots are moving needles to the fabric instead of fabric to the needle," said Palaniswamy "Raj" Rajan, SoftWear Automation Chairman and CEO. "Factories today chase cheap labor around the world and we have ended up with an unsustainable supply chain. SoftWear Automations Sewbots can move that manufacturing closer to the customer or the raw materials."
The companys patented computer vision systems view fabric more accurately than the human eye, tracking exact needle placement to within half a millimeter of accuracy. With this industry-leading technology quickly becoming a de facto addition to the sewn products manufacturing process, SoftWears sales grew 1,000 percent from 2015 (started shipping product) to 2016. The company is on target to grow at the same rate through 2017.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association reports 97 percent of all apparel in the United States currently is imported. According to Rajan, one of SoftWears most important goals is to help bring textile manufacturing back to the United States while creating higher-wage jobs for those supervising the Sewbots work. "U.S. textile manufacturing will look different when it comes back, but it will be more productive and provide higher paying jobs than before," said Rajan.
About CTW Venture Partners
CTW Venture Partners LLC, a venture capital firm that invests in seed and early-stage entrepreneurs in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast, focuses on companies in all industries with patentable, disruptive innovations or technologies, technical expertise, and strong leadership teams. For more information on the company, visit www.ctwvp.com.
About SoftWear Automation, Inc.
SoftWear Automation, Inc. is an Atlanta-based machine-vision and robotics startup disrupting the $100 billion sewn products industry by creating autonomous sewn products worklines in home goods, footwear and apparel. SoftWear's fully automated Sewbots™ allow manufacturers to SEWLOCAL™, moving their supply chains closer to the customer while creating higher quality products at a lower cost. For more information, visit www.softwearautomation.com.
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