The Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of the Americas (SPESA) hosted its 2024 Executive Conference in early October in Montréal, Que., Canada. The event was hosted at Le Mount Stephen Hotel and brought together leaders in sewn products, textiles and technology for productive and insightful discussions on the industry’s future. Attendees and speakers came from three Canadian Provinces, 12 U.S. States and eight countries. 

“Montréal was the perfect host city for our 2024 SPESA Executive Conference,” says Michael McDonald, SPESA president. “One of the highlights of this event being held in different markets each year is that we get the opportunity to meet new people, learn about new companies and garner a better understanding of both local and regional efforts to support the industry. We took it one step further in Montréal by expanding our outreach to include not only sewn products equipment suppliers and manufacturers, but also experts in the spaces of textiles, energy and mathematics. The more we learn about different industry segments—and the challenges and opportunities they face—the better we can work together as a cohesive ecosystem.”

The SPESA Executive Conference is hosted annually. The 2024 Executive Conference event featured a wide array of topics, including a conversation on how to leverage nuclear energy as a new sustainable power source for manufacturing, a case study on crowdsourcing consumers to combat overproduction and insightful exchanges with Canada-based business leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world.

“The subjects covered during the 2024 SPESA Executive Conference revealed just how complex and intricate our industry is,” says Mark Hatton, SPESA chairman and managing director of Threads America at American & Efird. “It showcased a tangible passion to make our diverse but connected industries more efficient, more sustainable and better equipped to tackle both current and future challenges. Seeing speaker presentations turn into engaging and productive audience dialogue was very exciting and exemplifies the need for events like this that prioritize forward-thinking learning.”

The first day of the 2024 SPESA Executive Conference began with a keynote from industry advisor Krista Schreiber, a leader with 25+ years of expertise in apparel and textile development, product operations, supplier strategy and quality production for brands such as Nike, Lululemon, Cotton Incorporated and Arc’teryx. After the keynote, there was a conversation with Rickey Ruff, founder of Global Nuclear Concepts, who shared his vision for nuclear-powered manufacturing; a fireside chat with Holli Markwald, Prairie Wear CEO, who discussed her brand story creating a more versatile and sustainable bra; and, a panel of young entrepreneurs — featuring Michael Mayr, founder of silana; Jessica Ramey, founder of Mercantilia Consulting; and Lila Rousselet, CEO of Montloup — who shared their efforts and visions for the future of the industry.

Afternoon sessions began with a panel of local textile industry experts, including Navi Cohen, vice president of advanced materials at SRTX; Carlos Agudelo, Ph.D., co-founder at Tengiva; and Valerio Izquierdo, vice president of business development and partnerships at Groupe CTT, who offered insight into their respective industry segments, including software and digital solutions, textile engineering and materials development. That panel was followed by a conversation on manufacturing in Canada with Bob Kirke of the Canadian Apparel Federation, and Gabe Elberg and Leslie Schachter of Montréal-based Cansew Inc. SPESA members Leonard Marano, president of the Americas at Lectra, and John Robinson, senior strategic account manager of Apparel at Aptean, took to the stage next where they discussed how new technology is driving change on the factory floor and the tools needed to build competitive production capabilities.

The day ended with entrepreneur Diarra Bousso, the founder of the fashion brand DIARRABLU, who presented how she used her background as a creative mathematician and multidisciplinary artist to create a unique design and manufacturing process that merges the worlds of craftsmanship and algorithms to reduce waste in fashion. 

SPESA will soon announce dates for its 2025 Advancements in Manufacturing Technologies in Austin, Texas, and the 2025 Executive Conference in Chicago, Ill. SPESA will also co-host the Texprocess Americas trade show May 6–8, 2025, in Atlanta, Ga.  



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