This September, the 56th Dornbirn Man-Made Fibers Congress (Dornbirn-MFC) will welcome more participants than its previous edition, according to organisers. The European-led innovation platform for the fibre industry and downstream manufacturing stages each year is host to more than 700 participants from more than 30 nations.

More than 100 expert presentations (50% from industry and 50% from the academic world) will cover the fields of fibre innovations, and fibres, textiles and nonwovens for hygienic, protective, and sports and leisure wear applications, this year.

Plenary lectures on opening day

Professor Radermacher, of Ulm University, Head of the Research Institute for Application-oriented Knowledge Processing, Member of the Club of Rome, will address the subject of Globalisation, Sustainability, Future – is there still hope for us? Mr Buisson, Veolia Water Technologies, USA, will report on prospects for Innovative Fibres and Textiles in the Field of Water Management, and Dr Meierkord, the President of the European Man-Made Fibres Association CIRFS, will present a paper on the Contribution of Man-made Fibres to the Balanced Use of Global Resources. 

In the field of fibre innovations participants may look forward to a number of papers, including three presentations from Germany on the subject of “marine litter (microplastics)”. Recent developments in the field of healthcare and hygienic applications will be discussed from the angle of hospital and general health care, as well as implantology. The introductory paper on protective applications will be presented by a speaker from NASA (USA), who will talk about flame-retardant textile fibres in the context of space research.

In the field of sports and leisure wear, outdoor brand Vaude and the manufacturer MAS Holding will present, and representatives of industry and research will submit presentations on functionalisation and ecological production methods.

Interactive panel discussions

The event will also feature panel discussions on a number of subjects. On the opening day there will be a management talk on the subject of Marine Litter – a problem turned into an innovative opportunity. The panel will be headed by Walter Woitsch, a partner of Syngroup Consulting.

In the field of sports and leisure wear a panel on Sustainability & Performance – a contradiction in this industry? headed by Giuseppe Gherzi has been planned for Thursday noon. Discussants are Rene Bethmann, Vaude, a representative of Adidas, Ranil Vitarana, MAS Holding, and other brands.

In the segment protective applications, the second day will be concluded with a discussion on “The endless saga of ultra-light & ingenious high-performance features: What’s next?, moderated by Dr Isa Hofmann.

Other highlights

“The success of last year’s Young Scientists Forum has induced us to repeat the event, this time on the last day of  the Congress,” organisers report. The workshop, which will again be chaired by Walter Woitsch, Managing Partner – Industrieberatung Syngroup (A), will be devoted to the subject of the Impact of the Digital (R)Evolution on Research & Development.

Expert panel / workshop entitled Circular Economy: Textile & Nonwovens Waste – a threat or opportunity? will take place on the day preceding the congress. This subject will be studied by a group of experts drawn from the fibre industry and downstream manufacturing stages, trading firms and, for the first time, waste management companies.

The event will be jointly organised by the Dornbirn-MFC in cooperation with CIRFS (the European Man-made Fibres Association), EDANA (the association of the nonwovens industry) and ISWA (the global association of waste management companies).

www.dornbirn-mfc.com