The company has a growing list of retailers and own-brand manufacturers that utilise Profit technology: Marks & Spencer, British Home Stores, Ralph Lauren, Slimma, the Locke Group, for example.
| The company is currently a family-owned business
based in Bradford, where about 30 people work. The
original concept, on which the business has been built,
is that relatively inextensible fabrics can be made
extensible by a carefully-controlled treatment. The
resultant materials can then be incorporated into
waistbands, collars, etc., to introduce stretch to
previously inextensibe parts of garments. The company has a growing list of retailers and own-brand manufacturers that utilise Profit technology: Marks & Spencer, British Home Stores, Ralph Lauren, Slimma, the Locke Group, for example. |
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| Pro-FitŪ Original enables manufacturers to convert
rigid fabric into stretch waistbands or shirt collars.
The machinery required (for purchase or lease) is a
machine for introducing extensibility to the fabric (on
the left of the illustration) and a fusing press to
attach the fusible interlining that stabilises the
dimensions of the fabric (on the right of the
illustration). Fabrics may be processed continuously or as cut parts. |
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Typical applications are in waistbands, for menswear
or womenswear. This allows the waistband to adjust to
dimensional changes in the wearer, thereby increasing
comfort and enhancing fit. The illustration shows the waistband of a skirt with a sink stitched construction, utilising machinery developed by BrotherUK to achieve the desired quality. |
| Pro-FitŪ Contour enables manufacturers to convert
straight fabric into shaped components without seams. Depending on the interlinings used in the assembly process, various effects can be achieved. This leads to the third application area for ProFit: 3D components. |
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As an example of potential application areas, take this product from a major retail outlet. The garment has a "stretch" label, and the fabric does stretch. However, the traditional waistband construction ensured that the waistband did not stretch. As a result, the garment has a tendency to gape at the back. Particularly with denim garments, wearers can feel the gape and some have decided not to purchase as the garments are not comfortable enough. |
| Pro-FitŪ 3D enables manufacturers to convert 2
dimensional fabric into 3 dimensional clothing components
- such as 2 piece jacket and blouse collars. 2-piece collars can be produced with more shape than 4-piece collars. 2-piece waistbands can be produced with more shape than 6-piece waistbands. The revised approach results in cost savings, deskilling, improved quality and may reduce the need for the full range of sizes and associated inventory. |
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Application areas for ProFit technologies include:
Straight Stretch Waistbands
Shaped Waistbands
Stretch Shirt Collars
Jacket Collars
Blouse Collars
Waistband Linings
Sleeve Heads
ProFit can be contacted via their web site at: http://www.pro-fit-int.com/
North West Advanced Clothing Web,
Hollings Faculty,
Manchester Metropolitan University,
Old Hall Lane, Manchester, M14 6HR.
email contact: d.tyler@mmu.ac.uk