Interview with Prof. Dr. Stefan Mecheels, Head of the Hohenstein Institute in Bönnigheim

Q. Since they were founded in 1946 the Hohenstein Institutes have developed into one of the world’s leading research and service centres serving the textile industry and associated areas. There are currently Hohenstein subsidiaries in 27 countries. To what do you attribute this strong international orientation?

A. It has always been our aim to give our clients intensive support both with product development and quality assurance. I took over as head of the Institute in 1995 when the revolutions that globalisation would bring about for the European textile industry was already clearly apparent.

In the preceding decades, the activities of the Hohenstein Institute were primarily characterised by the philosophy of “unity of research, service and training”. This fundamental idea now had to be ranged alongside the aspect of internationalisation. Unlike my grandfather and father, who when they headed the institute regarded themselves first and foremost as scientists, I see my task here more as that of a manager with a global outlook and scientific background.

Q. In this context, how significant is the fact that you are headquartered in Hohenstein Castle in Bönnigheim, at the heart of ‘Baden-Württemberg, the Land with values’?

A. Our Swabian home is and remains the nucleus of our creativity and activity. The historic castle, now complemented by six adjacent modern buildings, also outwardly reflects this tension between the old and the new – as visitors regularly confirm.

However, our special capital lies above all in our more than 300 highly qualified employees. They are an advantage of our location that must not be underestimated. In order to guarantee a uniform quality standard, therefore, all laboratory tests continue to be carried out here and by our subsidiary institute Innovatex in Hungary. However, the research landscape today is also clearly more international than it was 10 years ago. That is true of both commissioned research and publicly funded projects, since global networks have also gained in importance in this regard.

Q. Taking up the key word “Networks” – what role do they play in general in the development of innovative textiles?

A. Nowadays, fibre-based materials are used in the most varied spheres of life and technology, such as medicine, vehicle and aircraft construction or the building industry. Only interdisciplinary networks make it possible to consolidate the expertise from different fields of knowledge to the benefit of new products and applications.

That is why at the Hohenstein Institute textile engineers work together with chemists, medics, human biologists and physicists to create the high-tech textiles of the future. In addition to these internal networks our work profits, for example, from our involvement in the AFBW, or to give it its full title, the Allianz Faserbasierter Werkstoffe Baden-Württemberg, or in the competence networks of Baden-Württemberg.

Q. Which of the ‘Made by Hohenstein’ innovations makes you especially proud and what can we look forward to in the future?

A. In the field of medical textiles in particular we have brought some much-noticed developments to market readiness in recent years. These include a new kind of anti-mite mattress for those who are allergic to house dust and a surgical dressing with a drug delivery system which supplies continual doses of medication.

In my opinion, developments in the field of technical textiles on which we are working at the moment have particular potential. These include photochromic textiles whose colour changes when exposed to UV radiation, enabling, for example, completely new products in the field of adaptive sun protection. Or a competition swimsuit with reduced drag based on an innovative textile coating.

Q. In addition to product innovations, the Hohenstein Institute are also particularly well known for the development of new test methods. What are the key areas here?

A. When he founded the Institute, my grandfather, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Otto Mecheels, established clothing physiology in Germany, the science and methodology by which high-performance clothing is constructed. In so doing, he laid the foundations for numerous methods for testing and measuring breathability and thermal insulation that are internationally recognised today.

These include the Hohenstein Skin Model and the articulated thermal manikins ‘Charlie’ and ‘Charlene’. The latter has been used since 2008 and has made it possible for the first time to take into account the special characteristics of thermal-regulation in children, for instance, for the development of bedding. Similarly, we have developed new test methods that will measure the comfort and fit of footwear even more reliably in future and also improve the quality of car seats. In the fields of hygiene and biotechnology we have likewise established a series of new test methods to establish the effectiveness and biological harmlessness of textile equipment.

This complements the tests for harmful substances according to OEKO-TEX Standard 100, another testing method we assisted extensively in developing in 1992. Meanwhile, some 9500 companies worldwide have their products tested and certified to OEKOTEX Standard 100.

Q. How do you explain the great success of the voluntary system?

The fact that today the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certifies the safety of millions of textile products is almost certainly due to the fact that the system was international in its scope from the outset and offers great transparency for all involved. The label ‘Confidence in textiles – Tested for harmful substances’ is a highly recognised benchmark with consumers – in Germany, for example, a survey conducted by the market research company Gesellschaft für Konsumgüterforschung showed 46% recognition.

The label plays a major role in the consumer’s purchase decision and accordingly, many retailers and discount companies require certification to the OEKO-TEX standard in their conditions of purchase. Where cooperation on individual stages of production is concerned, due to its globally uniform criteria, the OEKO-TEX Standard is also firmly established as an important element in the overall quality assurance system in the production plants.