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Alien Technology
RFID Implementation Delivers 30% ROI to International Textile
Manufacturer
Other Topics:
Contactless Smart Card Encoders,
RFID Revenue
Alien Technology Corporation, an industry leader for RFID products and
services, in partnership with Simet, proudly announces the world's
first EPC-compliant fabric roll tracking application at Griva S.p.A.
Based in Torino , Italy.
Griva is one of the world's leading textile manufacturers. As a result
of implementing the Alien RFID reader and tag system almost 10 months
ago, a 30% return of investment has been realized in the form of time
management savings and increased traceability of the fabric rolls. |
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Griva is a
textile industry leader which produces over three hundred thousand
rolls of fabric every year, provides finished fabrics for upholstery,
drapery to leading European retailers such as Leroy Merline, and
Quelle.
"An improvement in our productivity was critical to our ongoing
competitiveness," said Gualtiero Casalegno, president/CEO and owner of
Griva. "Until recently, we could not accurately control the contents
of the roll using bar code technology. By implementing an EPC-compliant
fabric roll RFID tracking solution, we have reduced expenses, saved
time and improved customer satisfaction with our finished products. In
less than one year, we have seen an ROI of 30% in just over nine
months."
Griva transforms the raw thread materials from suppliers into fabric,
which is then washed, dyed and dried. Once the fabric is finished
using weaving machines, the automation process must assure that the
correct fabric roll undergoes the correct treatments and processes.
The solution involved Alien Technology's Alien 8800 UHF passive
reader/writer and EPC-compliant Gen 2 Squiggle tags. The Alien tag and
reader combination offer optimal read range and read consistency
performance. Simet also provided the reader-to-ERP interface
middleware to Griva's ERP software. As a result, Griva can now trace
the fabric roll at the onset of the production process right until
shipment.
The RFID implementation overcame all the problems Griva had to face in
order to guarantee traceability during the phases of production and
logistics. With regard to logistics, the tag passed the "plastic film"
test that previous methods hadn't been able to pass because the film
hid the bar code. This method therefore made it possible to track
pieces that are already packaged and ready for delivery; saving time
and providing customers with more accurate information.
"The environment of a textile manufacturing process is very
challenging due to high temperature at the shrink wrap stations, water
and high humidity levels, and harsh chemical agent present during the
dying phase." Said Claudio Bertoldo, Marketing Manager at Simet. "Griva
needed a robust RFID system with complete fabric roll traceability,
but without being intrusive to the production process, something that
Alien Technology was able to deliver to Simet and Griva."
"With Simet's help, Griva has discarded their bar code systems and is
now using RFID tags and readers exclusively to track their fabric
rolls," said Stephen Crocker, Director of Channel Sales for EMEA and
India for Alien Technology. "Simet's integration expertise has made
the Griva a showcase for RFID success within the textile industry."
About Griva
Griva S.p.A is a leading textile company, producing approximately
300.000 rolls of fabric per year. It was founded in 1955 and today
employs 70 people. The annual turnover is around 14 million euros, 60%
coming from the domestic market and 40% from the foreign market. Griva
S.p.A produces and distributes 500 pieces of fabric, equal to 20.000
meters, per day. The main centre is based in Riva near Chieri (Turin)
and covers a surface area of 5.000 square metres plus a completely
automated warehouse of 1.000 square metres. For more information,
please see www.grivaonline.com
About Simet
Simet operates in the industrial automation field and manufacture of
products for computer and telematic applications. Founded in 1982, the
company is focused on the development of new products and services for
data collection and tracking operations with RFID technology. The
organization characteristics and quality standards are proven by the
Quality System adopted since 1997, and certified according to the
standard UNI ISO 9001. For more information, please visit
www.simet.com
About Alien Technology
Alien Technology is a leading provider of RFID products and services
to customers in a wide variety of industries. Organizations use
Alien's RFID products and services to improve the effectiveness,
efficiency and security of their supply chains, logistics and asset
tracking operations. Alien's products include RFID tags, RFID readers
and related training and professional services. Alien's patented
Fluidic Self Assembly (FSATM) technology and related proprietary
manufacturing processes are designed to enable the manufacture of high
volume, low-cost RFID tags. Alien was founded in 1994. The company's
facilities include corporate headquarters in Morgan Hill, CA; an RFID
tag manufacturing facility in Fargo, ND; the Alien RFID Solutions
Center in the Dayton, OH; and sales offices in the US, Europe and
Asia. Alien is a member of EPCglobal. More information about Alien is
available at www.alientechnology.com |
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