RALEIGH, N.C. — March 26, 2025 — After months of researching, planning, and connecting with local industry, SPESA, the Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of the Americas, is excited to share the final agenda for its 2025 Advancements in Manufacturing Technologies Conference. The conference will kick off with a networking reception at the Austin Community College (ACC) Fashion Incubator on April 2nd, followed by a full day of education at the technophilic Austin Central Library and another networking reception to round out the packed event.
With previous iterations taking place in Los Angeles, Detroit, and Raleigh, SPESA chose Austin as its 2025 host city due to the city’s well-earned reputation as a hub for technology and innovation, as well as the region’s burgeoning sewn products industry. Similar to other U.S. production hubs, like Miami or Los Angeles, Texas offers a combination of long standing tradition — take a look at the legendary bootmakers of El Paso or the apparel and furniture designers and retailers of DFW — and next-gen creators looking to reinvigorate the industry with a focus on sustainability, worker empowerment, and artistic expression. But the state doesn’t receive as much attention as it should. Fortunately, there are groups at work trying to fix that.
Founded in 2018 and launched in January of 2019, the San Antonio-based Texas Fashion Industry Initiative (TFII) 501c3 is the state’s official non-profit dedicated to the positive growth of the Texas fashion industry through fashion career development and support for fashion entrepreneurs. TFII is also the founder of Texas Fashion Week™, the state’s first official fashion week in support of a stronger industry. SPESA is thrilled to have both TFII and the ACC Fashion Incubator participate in the 2025 Advancements Conference, alongside local designers and manufacturers, to share an inside look at the industry in Central Texas and beyond.
As always, the 2025 Advancements Conference will also feature SPESA members — the creators of the most advanced machinery and technology available in today’s market — discussing the industry’s challenges and their solutions. “This event is crafted for our members to show off a bit, not through a sales pitch, but through the incredible wealth of knowledge they possess,” explained SPESA President Michael McDonald. “The amount of expertise that will be in that room in Austin will blow you away.”
McDonald continues: “The only way for us to move forward as an industry is to continue having dialogues like those that will take place in Austin. When you are talking about the challenges in our industry, like reshoring production, integrating technology, or automating operations, you need to hear from both the manufacturers facing these challenges and the suppliers who are creating the solutions. SPESA is honored to be the facilitator.”
SPESA would like to thank its conference sponsors for helping make this event possible: Aptean, Lectra, Frontier Distributors/Phillocraft, Henderson Sewing Machine Co., Leridge, and Tukatech.
To learn more about the 2025 Advancements in Manufacturing Technologies Conference, please visit https://www.spesa.org/spesa-advancements-conference.
Posted: March 27, 2025
Source: The Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of the Americas (SPESA)
