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Techtextil showcased extensive range of high-tech textiles than ever before

Techtextil 2019 again hit the mark with satisfied exhibitors and increased levels of international participation. Even more in demand: textiles for functional apparel and solutions for lightweight construction in the motor-vehicle industry.

Textile ideas for life in the cities of tomorrow
The section dedicated to the theme of “Urban Living – City of the Future” was set up in collaboration with Creative #olland, who represent the Netherlands’ creative economy, and showcased innovative solutions and visionary proposals for urban living in the future.

Visionary fashion at the special event ‘Urban Living – City of the Future” 

The upcycling company DenimX demonstrated how textile offcuts can be transformed into bodywork components for motorcycles. With their ‘Colour Moves’, design and engineering consultants Rombout Frieling Lab demonstrated, with the help of various textile elements, how the city of the future will accommodate the travel needs, fashions and wishes of
its inhabitants. The Technical University of Delft introduced the capsule they have developed for the Hyperloop, with which they won first prize in the ‘SpaceX Hyperloop Pod’ competition, launched by Elon Musk. In an elaborate installation and exhibition entitled ‘The Ones to Watch’, New Order of Fashion (NooF), an international platform for talented creatives in the fashion industry, presented fashion designs by some young
talents, which concentrated on sustainability in the fashion industry. Textile architecture consultants, Samira Boon, created a lot of excitement with a textile-based room scenario, which combined traditional Japanese origami with the digital parameters of web
technology.

Some of the installations risked a deliberately exaggerated impression. Artificially created meat products in the form of ice cream or talk of future professions such as that of ‘human organ designer’ and an artificial textile womb for premature babies threw up questions about the limits of the possible, as well as about what is ethically acceptable. The section proved a great stimulus for getting people to think about scenarios and
issues for the future, whilst leaving plenty of room for inventiveness in the field of sustainable solutions and for collective initiative.

Explicitly the centre of focus for the first time: exhibitors’ approaches to sustainability 

Sustainability is a major issue for the sector
With the ‘Sustainability at Techtextil and Texprocess’ initiative, both trade fairs put their exhibitors’ approaches to sustainability explicitly on the agenda for the first time. A dedicated trade-fair guide took visitors to the relevant exhibitors.

Increasing demand for textiles in architecture and the building sector
Another area of special focus at Techtextil was created by suppliers of fibre-based materials for the architecture and building sector, who were principally targeting architects and building engineers with their products. “With our ATLAS membrane, we introduced a new textile product for architectural use, which we have been developing intensively over the past few years. We were overwhelmed on the first day, particularly by international visitors. On top of our already large proportion of existing customers, a huge number of new ones were added as the show went on,” said Dr. Günther Gradnig, Managing Director at Techtextil exhibitor Sattler PRO-TEX GmbH, Austria. Also amongst the products exhibited was a façade in textile-reinforced concrete, developed by Penn Textile Solutions, together with producers of concrete components Stanecker and the Institute for Textile Engineering at the RWTH University of Aachen. Ettlin Smart Materials presented a lightweight, thin woven architectural fabric to be used as a sunshade, which is at the same time water-resistant, breathable, UV-resistant and transparent.

Lightweight and smart: technical textiles for the vehicle industry
According to the industrial association, ‘Finishing – Yarns – Fabrics – Technical Textiles’ (IVGT), there are, statistically, over 40 individual fibrebased components in every car. These include seat covers, head-linings and safety belts, as well as filters, hoses, airbags, instrument panels and body components in fibre-reinforced plastic. That makes Techtextil one of the most popular platforms for developers, design engineers designers and buyers from OEMs and suppliers. 

Strongly represented: functional apparel fabrics for fashion, sport
and outdoor
At around a third of all exhibitors, suppliers of functional apparel textiles,smart textiles and accessories, together with sports equipment, fashion items, outdoor clothing and protective workwear, make up the largest single group of exhibitors at Techtextil. At Techtextil 2019 they included, amongst others, companies such as Schoeller, Freudenberg, RUDOLF and Lenzing.

Attractive complementary programme
The Techtextil Forum, a new, open format for expert discussion accessible to all trade visitors free of charge, was very well received. The focus here in lectures and discussion sessions over the four days of the show was on topics such as sustainability, filtration, smart textiles, composites, textiles in urban contexts, digital transformation and worlds
of work, not to mention textiles for medical applications. The Digital Textile Micro Factory is shared by both Techtextil and Texprocess, and, with its ‘Technical Line’, ‘Fashion Line’ and ‘3D Knitting Line’, offered, for the first time, three production lines. It, too, drew a lot of visitors. Again, the Micro Factory grew out of a collaborative venture between the
German Institutes for Textile and Fibre Research in Denkendorf (DITF) and a total of 15 partners and sponsors.

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