At a General Electric (GE) appliance plant in Louisville, Kentucky, dishwashers are completely assembled by a computerized, automated and robotized system. Some 24 microprocessors, located along critical points of the assembly line, communicate with a central computer system that monitors and controls every step along the line. The article examines whether production executives, engineers, technologists and electronic engineers in the textile industry can see any potential cross-fertilization from a study of GE's futuristic plant.