In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Gilberto Loureiro, CEO and co-founder of Smartex – a technology company that has created a solution to spot textile defects in circular knitting machines. 

Loureiro grew up surrounded by the textile industry. Many of his family members work as machinery operators, mainly in the north of Portugal, and he himself used to help operate the machines and inspect the fabric in his summer holidays. He then went off to university where he studied physics, optics and learnt about new technologies, and this is when he realised that he could use what he had learnt to automate the inspection process. 

In this podcast, Loureiro talks about the company’s beginnings, most of which was spent in China developing the software. He explains how the technology spots defects such as oil spots, holes, and yarn faults, and how much time, money and resources companies could be saved by installing Smartex’s solution. Elsewhere, Loureiro talks about his experience with Covid-19, the Fashion for Good Accelerator Programme, and his approach to business, considering his relatively young age.