The Techtextil Forum is free of charge and available to all trade visitors at the fair in Hall 4.1

Sustainability, filtration, smart textiles, composites, textiles in urban spaces, digital transformation and worlds of work, textiles for medical application: the programme for the new Techtextil Forum will offer trade visitors to this leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens comprehensive insights into the latest developments in the industry.

Focal subject: sustainability and new filtration materials

The Tuesday of the fair (14 May) will start with the topic of sustainability. The first panel in the Techtextil Forum will feature contributions (among others) by TWD Fibres on textile recycling, by the Hohenstein Institutes on traceability of bio-cotton, by Centexbel on bio-based coated textiles, and by the IRT Jules Verne Research Institute on carbon fibres. Contributions will follow on the subject of filtration. Here trade visitors can look forward to contributions (among others) by the Textile Research Institute of Saxony, by Smartpolymer, Wespun India, SWM International and Argaman Technologies.

Dornbirn GFC (Global Fibre Congress)

Sustainability will also be in the forefront of the morning panel on the last day of the fair, 17 May, supported and designed by the Dornbirn GFC (Global Fibre Congress) and chaired by Friedrich Weninger, general manager of the Austrian Fibre Institute. Lenzing will speak here inter alia about ecological materials and dye technologies for car seats. The University of Maastricht will showcase bio-based fibres, Märkische Faser sustainable polyester fibres, the Leilat Tech Center eco-composites, and the University of Ljubljana sustainable, halogen-free, flame-resistant filaments.

Textiles in urban spaces, composites and smart textiles

On day two of Techtextil (15 May) the focus will initially be on textiles in urban spaces, fitting in well with the Techtextil and Texprocess special event “Urban Living – City of the Future”. Among other contributions the programme will include the following: Penn Textile Solutions on the subject of textile concrete, Centexbel on green and living facades, and Low and Bonar on membrane structures for high-performance facades.

Techtera, Owens Corning and the University of Münster will focus in their contributions on geotextiles. Next the focus will shift to composites, in talks by Karl Mayer Technical Textiles, FiberCheck GmbH and the Institute for Textile Machinery and Textile High Performance Materials Technology of the Technical University of Dresden.

Wednesday afternoon at the fair will be devoted to the subject of smart textiles and will provide trade visitors with insights into subjects such as textiles in conjunction with the internet of things – featuring here the first communicating zip fastener from the French start-up Genius Objects.

Among the topics to be presented by the Textile Research Institute of Saxony (STFI) will be composite foams with integrated sensor technology for wearables and conductible yarns and strips. TexMind and the University of West Bohemia will focus on smart knitted fabrics. Centexbel will consider the washability of smart textiles, and Eschler Textiles will talk about the virtual development of woven and knitted textile wearables.

Digital transformation, Work 4.0, artificial intelligence, and technical textiles in medicine

Digitalisation will be the catchword for the morning of 16 May. The Textile Research Institute of Saxony in Chemnitz (STFI) and ITA Academy GmbH will provide insights into the factory of the future and the topic of Industry 4.0. Virtual design, product development and colour management, plus digital and thus efficient materials handling will be considered by Audaces, the North Rhine Polytechnic, mode information GmbH and Vizoo GmbH. Coloreel, prize-winner of the Texprocess Innovation Award for 2017, will talk about its new instant-dyeing equipment for embroidery, and Multiplot will consider digital textile printing. Supported by the “Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Textil vernetzt” organisation, the following block, entitled “Textiles in the forefront: Work 4.0 and artificial intelligence”, will provide insights into the digitalisation of the world of textile work (Institute for Textile Technology of RWTH Aachen University) and the incorporation of artificial intelligence into textile production (DITF und Hanh-Schickard-Gesellschaft). A discussion panel will consider the subject of smart and flexible worlds of work.

High-tech textiles for use in medicine

On the afternoon of 16 May the focus will be on high-tech textiles for use in medicine. Talks will be offered (among other subjects) on protective clothing for work with high-pressure water jets by the TITV, protective clothing for sweat and odour management by Hohenstein Laboratories GmbH and Sanitized and for optimised heat management with the aid of graphic-based textiles.

On all four days at the coming Techtextil the Techtextil Forum, featuring talks, discussions and interactive formats, will be offering a new framework for the exchange of information between exhibitors and trade visitors, and between researchers, developers and users, covering every aspect of technical textiles.

The full programme is available HERE.