In attempting to get across the importance of the EU textiles and clothing industry to its overall economy, Lutz Walter, director of innovation and skills at industry association Euratex, noted that the list price of a new Airbus A350-900 wide-body jet airliner is around EUR 275 million.

“This means that the EU exports of textiles and clothing outside the block alone in 2016 were the equivalent of purchasing 175 of the Airbus planes, and closer to 350 at the usual discount, so we shouldn’t be so modest about our achievements,” he said, speaking at a press conference in Frankfurt on January 9^th for the upcoming Techtextil and Texprocess 2019 shows.

The Euratex figures he presented put the overall value of European textiles and clothing in 2016 at EUR 181 billion.

“The industry has rallied since the recession of 2009 when it hit a low of EUR 150 billion, but it has certainly become more diversified over the years since then,” Walter said.

Of the 2016 EUR 181 billion value, 33% was achieved by clothing, 17% conventional fabrics, 15% home textiles and 17% industrial and technical textiles.

With a value of EUR 17.6 billion the technical textiles market is led by Italy and Germany, each with sales of EUR 4.4-4.5 billion in 2016, followed by France with sales approaching EUR 2 billion. Poland is the fastest growing country for technical textiles, with growth of some 140% between 2008-2016, albeit from a much lower base to reach around EUR 600 million in 2016.

Fully booked

Techtextil 2017 drew more than 33,670 visitors from 104 countries and 1,477 exhibitors from 55 countries. In addition, 7,091 visitors to Texprocess also visited Techtextil. The two fairs welcomed a total of 1,789 exhibitors from 66 countries and more than 47,500 visitors from 114 countries.

Around four months before it opens its doors, Techtextil 2019 is almost fully booked, once again exceeding exhibitor levels for the previous event in 2017.

“Leading international experts from the most diverse industries – whether from architecture, the automotive industry, medicine, the fashion industry or personal protection – come together at Techtextil in search of lightweight, durable and sustainable materials,” said Olaf Schmidt, vice-president of textiles and textile technologies for show organiser Messe Frankfurt at the conference.

Suppliers at Techtextil represent the complete spectrum of technical textiles and nonwovens and there has been a significant increase in the number of those involved in the fields of technology, as well as fibres and yarns. Suppliers of woven fabrics, coated textiles and functional apparel textiles are also strongly represented.

City of the future

Following on from 2017’s ‘Life in Space’, Techtextil 2019 is dedicating an exhibition space to life in the city of the future with the ‘Urban Living – City of the Future’ special event. According to the United Nations, nearly 70% of all people are expected to be living in metropolises and megacities by 2050.

This poses new challenges for living and mobility concepts, as well as food supplies and health services provision. Functional apparel, with smart functions for example, could play an even more important role in people’s everyday lives in the future. The Techtextil and Texprocess exhibition area will be presenting examples of textile applications and in addition, an accompanying complementary programme will offer insights into the industry.

Open platform

On all four days, the trade fair will offer a new format of lectures, discussions and interactive sessions with the Techtextil Forum. The forum, which replaces the Techtextil Symposium, will take place directly in exhibition Hall 4.1 and all Techtextil participants will be able to access it free of charge. Trade visitors can look forward to contributions in the following thematic areas: sustainability, digital transformation, smart textiles, urban textiles, composites, and technical textiles in medical technology. In addition, both the Dornbirn Global Fiber Congress (GFC) and the textiles competence centre at the General Association of the German Textile and Fashion Industry are organising a thematic block.

Awards for innovative ideas

For the 15th time Techtextil will be giving the Techtextil Innovation Award for outstanding new and further developments in the field of technical textiles, nonwovens and functional apparel fabrics. Both exhibitors and non-exhibitors at Techtextil can take part in the competition. Entries can be submitted online until February 18 2019 at: www.techtextil-award.com.

Techtextil will also be giving awards to students and young professionals for their work, as part of the Textile Structures for New Building competition. The online application deadline is 24 February 2019 at: www.techtextil-student.com. The award ceremonies will take place during Techtextil. All the award-winning works and ideas will be presented in special shows.

Shared hall

Techtextil and the parallel Texprocess will be sharing an exhibition hall for the first time in 2019. In Hall 4.1, Techtextil will showcase some of the suppliers of woven, laid web, braided and knitted fabrics, coated textiles, and nonwovens, as well as selected suppliers of textile machines. Suppliers of functional apparel textiles and the Digital Textile Micro Factory mark the transition to Texprocess, which will showcase different production lines for clothing, shoes, and the processing of technical textiles. In addition, exhibitors for product preparation, finishing, textile logistics, internal material flow and textile refinement, as well as providers of sewing solutions will be there. In the shared hall, visitors will get an insight into the entire production process, from raw material to finished product.