The PCIAW® Summit & Exhibition announces day two, adding to the line-up of 35 expert speakers at the global networking and education event for the professional clothing and textile industries – this year titled, ‘The New Trajectory of Professional Clothing’. Thank you to the Premier Sponsor for 2023, Carrington Textiles.
On 7-9 November 2023, it will be the first time the event is being hosted in Portugal and will be located at the award-winning venue – Alfandega Congress Centre, Porto, Portugal – on the bank of the iconic Douro River.
The annual PCIAW® Summit, Exhibition & Awards is organised by the Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide (PCIAW®) and is dedicated to the international supply chain for the uniform, workwear and personal protective equipment (PPE) markets.
Carrington Textiles, ANIVEC, Milliken & Company, Westex: A Milliken Brand, Bodi.Me, PULSAR®, Gresham Blake and Stuncroft are the proud sponsors for the 2023 PCIAW® Summit, Exhibition & Awards, which will be opened by John Miln, Chairman, and Yvette Ashby, CEO from PCIAW®; César Araújo, President of ANIVEC and Paul Farrell, Sales & Marketing Director for Carrington Textiles, whilst Elenai Lai, Secretary-General, ETSA will Chair the PCIAW® Summit 2023.
35 international speakers at PCIAW® Summit 2023
Newly announced for the part two of the PCIAW® Summit will include an industry panel discussing the digitalisation of professional clothing development, hosted by Ana Tavares, CEO, RDD Textiles who will be speaking with Lara Mazoni, the CEO of Bodi.Me – the award-winning sizing technology for the uniform industry and Richard Jessup, Vice President of OPTITEX, the innovative 3D design and fit solution.
Nisha Muire, the Uniform Program Manager for Air Canada will speak alongside Gresham Blake, Owner of Gresham Blake Bespoke Uniforms and Sarah Wilsher, Founder of The Menopause at Work. Together they will talk about the experiences of procuring professional clothing in times of supply disruption and discuss the motivation to consider sustainability and inclusivity in uniform design.
Talking on the tactical innovations in the defence market will be Jonathan McKendry, Business Development Director, Cooneen Group, and Rick van Es, Partner, COO for Phantomleaf and Lucy Westgarth, ESG Lead, Leidos Europe, looking at evolving threats requiring a change in approach. Also discussing the need for supply chain security will be the moderator of the panel, Benjamin Norsworthy, Co-Founder & CSO of Bendi who uses technology to give real-time updates to risks in the supply chain.
Since the World Health Organisations causal link between fighter fighting and cancer, the PCIAW® is hosting an industry panel with Abby Hannah, International Business and Strategy Development Manager for Stedfast as the moderator and Tommy Verminck, CEO, Decontex and Tommy Bækgaard Kjær, Chair of Firefighters Health Commission, International Association of Fire and Rescue Services (CTIF) as panellists exploring the changing risks of the job and innovative decontamination solutions that help to remove carcinogens that are ingrained in the firefighter’s PPE.
The closing panel of part two will look at the environmental cost of disposable PPE for the healthcare industry, and how reusable alternatives with antiviral protection can keep frontline medical professionals safer, for longer. Peter Broom, Director & Co-Founder, Meryl Fabrics® will speak alongside Joseph Ricci, President & CEO, Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) to talk about how the procurement of reusable PPE will also help give security of supply in case of any future pandemics.
Including the previous announcements of expert speakers at the PCIAW® Summit 2023, the full list of speakers can be found below, in order of appearance.
- John Miln, Chairman, PCIAW®
- Yvette Ashby, CEO, PCIAW®
- César Araújo, President, ANIVEC
- Neil Davey, Managing Director, Carrington Textiles.
- Elena Lai, Secretary-General, European Textile Services Association (ETSA)
- Sanjiv Bhaskar, Vice President of Research, Frost & Sullivan
- Dr Krause, Technical Director, Softline & Shoes, Hohenstein
- Dirk Vantyghem, Director-General, European Apparel and Textile Confederation (EURATEX)
- Rossella De Angelis, Group Communication / CSR & Circular Economy Director, Klopman International
- Josh Moody, Director of Product Management from Westex: A Milliken Brand
- Pascale Florant, the Secretary-General, CORFEET-GINETEX
- Dr João Valério, CEO, RECUTEX
- Marco Volpi, Customer Relationship Manager, bluesign®
- Ed Grigg, Managing Director, Incorporatewear
- Mandeep Soor, CEO, Bendi
- Louise Bercart, Business Strategy Analyst, Carrington Textiles
- Dr Annette van Es, Co-Owner, Fibre2Fashion Consulting KIG
- Dr Kelly Sheridan, Research Director, The Microfibre Consortium
- John West, Director of Skills and Training, UKFT
- Paul Farrell, Sales & Marketing Director, Carrington Textiles
- Ana Taveres, CEO, RDD Textiles
- Lara Mazzoni, CEO & Co-Founder, Bodi.Me
- Richard Jessup, Vice-President, OPTITEX
- Nisha Muire, Uniform Program Manager, Air Canada,
- Gresham Blake, Owner, Gresham Blake Bespoke Uniforms
- Sarah Wilsher, Founder, Menopause at Work
- Benjamin Norsworthy, Co-Founder, Chief Sustainability Officer, Bendi
- Jonathan McKendry, Business Development Director, Cooneen Group
- Lucy Westgarth, ESG Lead, Leidos Europe
- Rick Van Es, Partner, COO, Business Development, Phantomleaf
- Abby Hannah, International Business and Strategy Development Manager for Stedfast
- Tommy Verminck, CEO, Decontex
- Tommy Bækgaard Kjær, Chair of Firefighters Health Commission, International Association of Fire and Rescue Services (CTIF)
- Peter Broom, Director & Co-Founder, Meryl Fabrics
- Joseph Ricci, President & CEO, Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA)
Yvette Ashby, CEO, PCIAW® commented: “This is a critical time for education and collaboration in the professional clothing industry. PCIAW® is proud to be at the forefront of connecting partners in the supply chain as we help to inform on the new trajectory of our industry, just as the regulatory framework is debated for the upcoming EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles.”
The PCIAW® Exhibition will follow part two of the PCIAW® Summit where innovations will be showcased in circular textile solutions, alongside technical textiles, 3D design software solutions, testing and certification bodies and the Tunisian delegation of professional clothing manufacturers.
The PCIAW® Summit, Exhibition & Awards event takes place over three days from 7 – 9 November 2023.
- 7 November – Textile and apparel factory tours for delegates arranged by ANIVEC the Portuguese association for clothing and apparel, who is a long-term partner of PCIAW®.
- 8 November – PCIAW® Summit Part 1 begins at 9:00am until 1:30pm followed by a networking lunch. The PCIAW® Exhibition begins at 1:30pm until 5pm.
- 9 November – PCIAW® Summit Part 2 begins at 9:00am until 1:30pm. The PCIAW® Exhibition begins at 1:00pm until 4pm.
- 9 November – PCIAW® Awards begins with a champagne reception at 6:00pm followed by a three-course gala dinner. The PCIAW® Awards ceremony begins at 7:30pm until 10:00pm, complete with an evening of networking and entertainment.
Buy tickets to the PCIAW® Summit, Exhibition & Awards 2023 today.
