From Zero to Textile

In the 1st episode of Season 3 of the Connected Shopfloor Podcast, we speak with Pedro Pinto, CEO and founder of Padrão Determinado, to explore the behind-the-scenes of industrial management in one of the country's most competitive and traditional sectors: textiles. With a solid background in Business Management and a career with a strong financial slant, Pedro brings an analytical and pragmatic vision to leading a textile factory based in Marco de Canaveses.

The conversation dives into his professional journey, from the challenge of building a factory from scratch—in a hyper-competitive ecosystem—to the transition from a 'numbers guy' to a leader managing teams with conflicting goals, balancing commercial vision, production volume, quality precision, and financial margins.

Throughout the episode, Pedro shares valuable perspectives on the real impact of technology on the shop floor. He honestly debates whether Artificial Intelligence, computer vision for defect detection, and cutting algorithms are real optimizations with measurable ROI or merely theoretical concepts. The episode also addresses combating visible and invisible waste, managing the shortage of skilled labor, and meeting global competition demands, from sustainability targets to the imminent challenge of the European Union's Digital Product Passport.