Hugo Boss 'Smart Factory' in Izmir

Izmir, Turkey is home to HUGO BOSS’s largest production location. Since 1999, the company has primarily produced high-quality business wear products here. On an area of around 65,000 m2, suits, jackets, shirts and coats are produced, and almost 4,000 workers are employed in Izmir. However, the factory is not only the largest HUGO BOSS production facility, it is also the most high-tech, as the company demonstrates what Industry 4.0 looks like in practice here, with networked machines, extensive data analysis and flexible processes.

Many aspects of factories today are automated and self-optimized. Processes are more intelligent, more dynamic – the smart factory is already a reality. The term ‘smart factory’ describes a simple, basic principle: machines and software are always more capable when they are automated and networked. This allows them to communicate with each other and exchange data, which is then analyzed in order to uncover potential for optimization.

The process of converting the factory in Izmir into a smart factory was set in motion back in 2015. This transformation took place in three important steps:

Digital transformation: Employees, machines and processes are networked with each other. This makes it possible to map them digitally, creating a ‘virtual twin’ of the factory. It sounds like science fiction, but it isn’t. Using more than 1,600 tablets installed throughout the location, production data can be tracked in real time, meaning that production can be managed optimally.

Robotics and automation: New technologies are introduced to support employees. At the same time, a ‘TechnoLab’ also develops semi- and fully automated machines and robots to further optimize processes. Artificial intelligence: Data is collected from all over the factory. Analysis of this data provides information about where there is potential for improvement, or even where risks arise. This enables machines, resources and processes to be managed based on well-founded, digital forecasts.

Distinction for a pioneering role: It has not gone unnoticed that HUGO BOSS innovation is breaking new ground with the smart factory. Thus US-based market research and consulting company International Data Corporation honored the production location with the first prize in the categories “Internet of Things” and “Big data and artificial intelligence”. In particular, it stressed the pioneering role of HUGO BOSS in data analytics and in forecasting production errors.

Hugo Boss ‘Smart Factory’ in Izmir