SEAMS Member Spotlight: InnovaKnits, LLC
In our latest edition of SEAMS Member Spotlight, InnovaKnits, LLC is highlighted. Company Managing Partner Jason Wilkins answers our questions.
Company headquarters: Conover, N.C.
Year founded: 2015
Primary specialties: Design, development and manufacture of custom textiles with a primary focus in flatbed i.e. seamless / whole garment / 3D knitting
Brief history of company:
“InnovaKnits, LLC is a state-of-the-art contract manufacturing company specializing in flatbed knitting,” Wilkins said. “We offer top-quality product development and production services to companies across the US. Though founded in 2015, we have over 40 years of knitting experience across a variety of industries! We specialize in making complex engineered products right off of our knitting machines, with little to no labor and little to no waste.
“In addition to our product development and production efforts, InnovaKnits also offers training / consulting services and tech support on the latest flatbed knitting equipment to colleges, universities, students and manufacturers across the USA as part of our ongoing effort to re-establish a domestic textile base,” he added.
How being an incubator company at SEAMS’ member Manufacturing Solutions Center has served InnovaKnits:
Watch video where Wilkins explains the importance of being part of that ecosystem and how the center served as a resource for getting off the ground and now continuing to thrive.
Markets served: “Aerospace, Apparel, Athletic, Automotive, Footwear, PPE, Medical, just to name a few. We are unique because we are not ‘married’ to any market. We are experts in the technology of flatbed knitting … so if this technology is the RIGHT way to make a product or component, we do it!”
Company’s challenges and opportunities:
Challenges:
- Because we are essentially developing a product that does not currently exist every time we want new business, time to market is a big challenge.
- Finding the “right” products to develop / invest time on that have a sufficient combination of margin and volume.
- Programming expertise is our most valuable resource, and the scarcity of this talent is a barrier to faster growth.
Opportunities:
- Capitalize on labor issues … flatbed knitting is an inherently LESS labor-intensive way to make products in MANY cases. And the labor is EASIER and more rewarding.
- Capitalize on waste story … flatbed knitting is an additive manufacturing process … no waste inherent in the process vs. traditional cut and sew.
- Flatbed knitting is a very versatile discipline … continue to focus on a diverse mix of products to optimize margins, volumes and redundancy.