A Stitch In Time Saves Money

Since operator skill levels vary greatly, Trapilo says, stitching equipment companies are making significant changes to reduce operator involvement.

"Threading a stitch head could be difficult for some operators," Trapilo explains. "We're virtually taking that setup issue out of the equation for an in-plant manager." Some automated features now include self-loading, self-threading and operator warning systems in the event of a problem, he says.