"Here at Texprocess, trade visitors were able to discover more innovations than ever before in the fields of design, cutting, sewing, joining, knitting, embroidery, finishing and textile printing”, said Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt. “Only Texprocess brings together the sector from all around the world, and only at Texprocess are the very latest developments on show.”

Around 7,600 guests from the concurrent Techtextil visited Texprocess. A total of 1,389 exhibitors from 52 countries (2013: 1,330 exhibitors from 48 countries[1]) and around 28,500 trade visitors from 102 nations (2013: 27,418 from 97 nations) attended the Leading International Trade Fair for Technical Textiles and Nonwovens. Together, the two fairs welcomed 1,662 exhibitors from 54 countries and almost 42,000 trade visitors from 116 nations.

High level of satisfaction

Visitor growth came primarily from outside Germany while the number of German visitors remained constant despite a railway strike lasting several days. After Germany, the top visitor nations were, in chronological order, Italy, Romania, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, France, Great Britain, Spain, Bulgaria and the Russian Federation. There was a significant increase in the number of trade visitors from Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Egypt, Poland, Portugal and Sri Lanka.

In addition to the garment, filtration and leather industries, many international trade visitors from the automobile and furniture manufacturing sectors came to discover the numerous new products at Texprocess. “We are very satisfied with the fair. Our visitors came from western and eastern Europe and from North Africa. We met particularly with our regular customers, but also found new customers”, said Dieter Karallus, Technical Advisor, Juki Central Europe. “We showed industrial sewing machines for automotive applications, upholstery and leather, i.e. along with non-apparel also machines for jeans, shirts and underclothing. Our products for upholstery and automotive applications were in particular demand. For Juki, Texprocess is one of the most important fairs in the world.”

Focus on ‘Industrie 4.0’ and sustainability

‘Industrie 4.0’ is closely linked with the subject of digitalisation in the sector. Innovative technologies are the key to complete integration and speeding-up of the entire process of shoe and garment manufacturing. Gerd Müller-Thomkins, Managing Director, German Fashion Institute (DMI), added, “Given a market that is becoming ever more complex, the main task facing leading exporting countries today in the development and global production chain of clothing is more than ever one of speed and cost efficiency, while concurrently optimising products and processes. Texprocess has offered us the right platform and requisite attention to demonstrate innovative technology and applied ‘Industrie 4.0’ to a large international trade public on our joint exhibition stand with Epson and ColorDigital.”

At the same time, modern technologies, such as 3D design and virtual prototyping, help make processes more reliable, as well as automate and make them faster – an important prerequisite for the sustainable production of apparel and technical textiles. “Accordingly, the subjects of ‘Industrie 4.0’ and sustainability dominated Texprocess more than ever before”, commented Elgar Straub, Managing Director, VDMA Garment and Leather Technology..

VDMA Garment and Leather Technology, the conceptual partner of Texprocess, sees the third edition of the Leading International Trade Fair as a positive signal for the sector. Elgar Straub: “We have never before experienced such a good atmosphere at Texprocess. Texprocess has significantly increased its lead as the foremost trade fair for a highly innovative sector”. The estimates of the economic situation in the sector also improved noticeably: 88 percent of visitors (2013: 86 percent) and no less than 94 percent of exhibitors (2013: 80 percent) rated the current mood in the industry as satisfactory to good.

Trade-fair duo in line with the market’s demands

The trade-fair duo of Techtextil and Texprocess was once again an unrivalled platform where manufacturers were able not only to make high-grade contacts to the whole textile and apparel sector but also to processors and users. The exhibitors of Texprocess agreed they were very pleased that the two events are held concurrently. Martin Schmidt, Marketing Manager, Pfaff Industrial, said, “We were very satisfied with the fair. The combination of Techtextil and Texprocess is ideal for us. There has been a high-quality public here. Even on the last day our customers were coming to us from the other halls and testing our machines, including our new hot-air tape welding machines.”

Barbara Binder, Global Marketing Director, Amann Group, added: “Our expectations were met in full. The quality of the visitors was even better than two years ago. By holding Texprocess and Techtextil at the same time it is possible to cover visitor groups from very different industries and across the whole textile process chain – from designers to production technicians, and from filter producers to the clothing industry. Texprocess is our most important fair world-wide.”

Great response to the programme of events and exhibitions

Texprocess offered trade visitors and exhibitors a multi-faceted programme of events and exhibitions. With a well-attended programme of lectures, the Texprocess Forum attracted numerous visitors, especially to the panel discussions on the Tuesday and Wednesday of the fair. Also extremely satisfied were the participants of the Texprocess Campus and the exhibitors of the IT@Texprocess area. The internationally renowned Texprocess Innovation Award was presented to four important innovations and developments for the third time.

Another magnet for visitors was the first ‘Innovative Apparel Show’, which combined technical textiles with innovative processing technologies. Besides a catwalk presentation, spectators had the chance to vote for their favourite models. The winner was Maria Valdez from Mönchengladbach. Prof Anne Schwarz-Pfeiffer of Hochschule Niederrhein, University of Applied Sciences, explained what makes the winning model so special: “Made of three-dimensional spacer fabrics, the dress represents a perfect symbiosis between interesting functional materials and creative joining technologies. Maria uses ultra-sound welding technology to develop visual and haptic design features for experimental fashion design.” It is planned to hold the Innovative Apparel Show again in 2017.

At the request of many exhibitors, Texprocess 2017 will be held on a new sequence of days (Tuesday to Friday) at the Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre in Frankfurt am Main from 9 to 12 May 2017.