Use of robotics in garment manufacturing urged

Local garment exporters are urging the government to take steps to study and raise awareness on the use of robotics or automation in garment production to help the country remain on the radar screen of foreign buyers.

In a phone interview with The STAR, Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (FOBAP) president Robert Young said the use of robotics by developed countries, such as the US and Europe, for garment production is a threat to the local garment industry.

“It will substantially decrease the orders of production from the country,” Young said.

According to a news report by Nikkei Asia, clothing companies in the US and Europe plan to use textile-gripping robots to automate the movement of fabric in their factories.

Young said the use of robotics by clothing companies in developed countries is part of a global trend where companies are looking to locate their production nearer to their destination.

“They are going away from the far distance of production and moving to just nearer the destination because of the experience we’ve had in the past two to three years, especially during the pandemic,” Young said.

“The supply chain challenges, the high cost of logistics, the high expenses in shipping, and of course this, was also heightened by the delivery lead times that are being required now by the buyers,’’ he said.

Young said the lead times now average at around 45 days from the previous 90 days.

While the solution to the threat of robotics is for the country to adapt, Young acknowledged the challenges that come with it, such as the high cost of the equipment.

He said a single robotics machine, particularly those for cutting and gripping of textiles, could cost around $3 million.

In addition, there are also issues in the maintenance of such machines as foreign technicians will be needed to do repairs in case of breakdowns.

He said there also might be some resistance from workers on the use of machines since this is something new to them.

To address the threat of robotics, Young said the government should put out a message that it is aware of these technologies.

“First of all the Department of Trade and Industry and the Board of Investments should do some kind of promotions that the Philippines is already looking at this solutions. That we are ready,” Young said.