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SPESA Events
Annual Executive Conference
2024 SPESA Executive Conference
Montréal, QC | October 8-10, 2024
Registration is now live for the 2024 SPESA Executive Conference! The SPESA member registration rate is $850. The non-member registration rate is $950. Registration for both members and non-members includes all education, the offsite tour, and networking events. A spouse rate of $275 is also available, which includes access to networking events.
Hot Tip: Don't wait until the last minute to register. Prices go up a bit in the last week to help with venue expenses (and our staff's stress levels).
Are you a manufacturer, brand, or retailer? SPESA members have a discount code for you!
Reach out to your favorite SPESA supplier or Marie@spesa.org for more info.
Schedule & Agenda
To take advantage of all this event has to offer, attendees should plan to arrive in Montréal by afternoon/early evening of Tuesday, October 8th, and stay through the morning of Friday, October 11th.
All activities are included in the event registration. Spouse tickets include receptions only.
Click here to view the agenda!
Factory Tours
The 2024 SPESA Executive Conference grants attendees the opportunity to not only discuss the important topics surrounding sewn product manufacturing in North America, but to see it in action! The conference includes a full day of factory tours around Montréal. See below for a look at some of stops we can't wait to share with you!
INNOTEX
INNOTEX is an innovative manufacturer of turnout gear, Tech Rescue gear, Energy gear, Airflow 3D Technology, and more. The company's craft and Canadian facility goes back more than a century. In the late 1960s, the company became the outerwear division of Bombardier Recreational Products. And then, after more than 20 years of manufacturing extreme sports outerwear, winter sports, and football protective equipment, the transition began to FR industrial and military protective apparel in the mid-1980s. Eventually, a new management team decided to merge the know-how of extreme sports and fire retardants for industrial and military use in the designing and manufacturing of apparel. Its mission: to continuously innovate through textile.
Cirque du Soleil Costume Workshop
All Cirque du Soleil costumes are custom-made and the majority are produced at the Costume workshop at the International Headquarters. The workshop, the only one of its kind in North America, employs specialists in shoemaking, textile design, lace-making, wig-making, patternmaking, costume-making, and millinery.
CTT Group (a Collegial Centre for Technology Transfer at the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe) is a non-profit organization specializing in applied research, development, and analysis in the field of technical textiles, geosynthetics, and advanced textile-based materials. CTT Group supports the growth of companies in the textile industry and geosynthetics through technical services, research and development, and expertise in product innovation and improvement, promoting sustainable development. CTT Group also contributes to the overall development of the industry by supporting initiatives related to workforce renewal. CTT Group is therefore an essential driver of innovation at the heart of a constantly evolving industry.
The factory tours, and all conference educational and networking events, are included in your registration!
Attendees
Who should attend this event? Anyone interested in learning more about the sewn products industry. Attendees from previous events include representatives from industry suppliers (equipment, technology, services, etc.), manufacturers, designers, patternmakers, brands, retailers, academia, and other industry stakeholders.
Click here to see the current attendee list!
Venue & Hotels
The 2024 SPESA Executive Conference will be held at Le Mount Stephen Hotel in downtown Montréal.
UPDATE: The discount on room rates at Le Mount Stephen ended Sunday, September 22, 2024. Most rooms at the property are now sold out. If you have not booked a room at Le Mount Stephen yet, we suggest you look at the Vogue Hotel (a Curio Collection by Hilton property). This property sits on the same block and is just a three minute walk from Le Mount Stephen. Current rates are around $365+ USD per night. Alternatively, Montréal has plenty of hotels available at all price levels. Those within the "Golden Square Mile" are walkable to Le Mount Stephen. If you opt to stay in Old Montréal, or another neighborhood, you can grab a quick taxi or Uber to the conference.
About SPESA's Executive Conference
The annual SPESA Executive Conference is a key education and networking event for SPESA members, their customers, and anyone interested in learning more about the current issues, trends, and policies impacting the global sewn products industry.
two-day conference features a combination of keynote speakers, panel discussions, and industry case studies to provide an opportunity for attendees to both learn and engage. While our speakers are experts in their fields, no one has all the answers and thus this conference aims to build communication among both speakers and attendees to address the issues facing our industry and find solutions together. Previous topics include: workforce development; trade and tariffs; enterprise risk management; supply chain disruption; reshoring and made in U.S.A. manufacturing; textile research; and cobotics and automated technology.
And did we mention networking? SPESA’s unofficial mandate is to always provide open dialogue, open minds, and an open bar. This conference effectively balances educational sessions with more casual off-site events providing an opportunity to make both business connections and lifelong friends within the industry we all love.
In addition, each iteration of the Executive Conference is in a new city to ensure it is accessible to interested sewn products professionals from all over. So, invite your colleagues, bring your family, and make the SPESA Executive Conference part of your annual travel plans.
