Cooling fabrics, smart light technology, recycled fibres, 3D body scanning, and cloud connected smart machines were just some of the highlights during the fifteenth edition of Techtextil North America, and fourth Texprocess Americas that took place from 22-24 May 2018 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA.

The co-located events brought together the latest innovators in technical textiles, nonwovens, textile machinery, sewn products, equipment, and technology. The events brought 567 Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas exhibitors representing 32 countries, while total attendance grew to 8,292, roughly a 4% increase over the 2016 events.

Country pavilions included Italy, Texclubtec, Belgium, China, Taiwan, High-Tex from Germany, and SEAMS Made in USA. The co-located events once again returned strong numbers and continue on their path of consistent growth in the quality and number of visitors and exhibitors over the past editions.

“The show never ceases to amaze me. There is always something new to learn about and a new technology to see. I really like the Made in America movement this year, as we are seeing a lot of jeans factories opening up in Los Angeles again,” said Miguel Ferrer, President of the Kiko Sewing Machine, US.

Furthering growth

“It was clear that everyone, both visitors and exhibitors, could feel the energy and excitement on the show floor,” said Dennis Smith, President & CEO, Messe Frankfurt. “We are proud to serve as the platform for furthering the growth and development of the North American technical textiles and sewn products industries. There is an immense amount of talent and innovation coming from the US, and Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas have become the premier events where professionals from all industries come to see the trends and technologies that are coming their way.

“We are truly grateful for the large network of exhibiting and visiting companies responsible for the growth of these two events, and we look forward to our continued success together, next in our 2019 edition of Techtextil North America in Raleigh, North Carolina and then back in Atlanta for the 2020 co-located events.”

Educational programme

With 18 paid symposium sessions being held throughout the first and second day and complimentary sessions taking place on the show floor, the co-located events were buzzing with visitors and speakers discussing new technology, game-changing research and cross-industry collaborations.

Among the topics presented, smart textiles, wearables and the future of the technology that powers them proved to be top of mind for many attendees. In addition, how automation, robotics and connected machines are contributing to the industry’s evolution made an evident impression on both visitors and exhibitors alike.

“This year's symposium was definitely worth our company's time and money. It has been really interesting to learn about the communication between the industries and how they are working together to make sure there are no blind spots,” said Sharon Tedesco, symposium attendee from Abigail & Company in Cottonwood, California. “The focus on Industry 4.0 – the communication between the fabrics, the machine, the human, the CAD, the entire system – has been really interesting and informative.”

Exhibitor feedback

“This show has been very solid. The first day we had many contacts come into the booth from all over the world. It has been a very positive show - a beautiful layout with lots of new equipment, products and a lot of interest from visitors in what's next for the textile industry. For us, this has been a very positive experience,” commented Joel Elam, Sales Engineer, Card Clothing & Services, US.

“We started with the show many years ago exhibiting in Frankfurt. But Atlanta has become really important for us because we make so many connections with different companies across industries, so we always make sure to be here,” said Rene Gotolle, Training Manager, ZSK Technical Embroidery Systems, Germany.

 www.techtextilna.com

www.texprocessamericas.com