Industry · Garment & Apparel

Automation for Sri Lankan Garment Plants

Cerox Engineering builds automation for Sri Lankan apparel manufacturers — AGV bundle delivery from cutting to sewing, automatic labelling, vision inspection, carton erecting, and pallet wrapping. With native integration into Optitex, Lectra, and Gerber. Local team. Same-day support.

The garment-plant reality

Where automation pays back fastest

Sri Lankan apparel plants run incredible operations — 5,000-50,000 employees, exporting to the world's most demanding brands. But the material flow inside the plant still relies heavily on manual handling: cutting-room helpers carrying bundles to sewing lines, supervisors dispatching accessories, finishers ferrying QC-passed goods to packing.

Each of those manual flows is a candidate for automation. Cerox builds the automation that fits — sized to your bundle weights, your aisle widths, your cutting-room software, your buyer-audit requirements.

Software integration

Talks to Optitex, Lectra, Gerber, and your MES

Garment plants run on cutting-room CAD/CAM — Optitex, Lectra, or Gerber. They produce the cutting plan, the bundle-level data, and the routing instructions. Cerox AGV dispatch and material-flow systems integrate natively with these so:

  • The AGV knows which bundle goes to which sewing line — automatically from the cutting plan
  • Bundle-level traceability is captured for buyer audits — every trip logged
  • No double-entry of order or bundle data into a separate AGV system
  • Microsoft Windows-based fleet management server fits your existing IT infrastructure
  • PLC handshakes with cutting room conveyors and sewing-line drop stations

Ready to automate your garment plant?

Send us a note about your facility and current pain points. We arrange a discovery site visit within 7 days and submit a written proposal within 14 days.

FAQ — Garment plant automation

Common questions

Can AGVs be used in Sri Lankan garment plants?+

Yes — and they are a strong fit. Tugger and unit-load AGVs are excellent for moving cut-piece bundles from the cutting room to sewing lines, accessories from store to lines, and finished goods to QC and dispatch. Cerox builds AGVs sized for the SL apparel context — typical 50–200 kg bundle loads on standard plant flooring.

Does Cerox integrate with Optitex, Lectra, or Gerber?+

Yes. We integrate AGV dispatch and material-flow tracking with the major cutting-room CAD/CAM systems — Optitex, Lectra, and Gerber. The AGV knows which bundle goes to which sewing line because the cutting plan already does. No double-entry, no manual dispatch.

What ROI can we expect from garment plant automation?+

30-60% reduction in material-handler labour for the affected routes, plus consistent delivery times that smooth out the line. For audit-grade buyers (M&S, Next, Ralph Lauren, GAP, H&M, Levi's), traceability becomes a buying criterion — not just a cost saver.

How long does garment plant automation deployment take?+

A single AGV pilot on one route at one plant typically takes 10–14 weeks from contract signing. Fleet expansion adds 3–4 weeks per additional unit. Multi-plant rollouts are phased — usually 4–8 months for a complete programme.

Do you only do AGV — or other automation for garment plants?+

AGV is one part. We also deliver: auto labelling for retail cartons and packaging, vision inspection for cap/button/stitch presence, carton erecting and sealing at end-of-line, pallet stretch-wrapping for dispatch, and PLC retrofits to existing finishing equipment. End-to-end if you need it.