Around four months before it opens its doors, Techtextil from May 14th to 17th in Frankfurt, is almost fully booked, exceeding once again booking levels for the previous event at the same time of year. With its trend theme, “Urban Living – City of the Future”, the leading international trade fair also takes a look ahead to see how technical textiles will shape urban life in the future.
“Every two years, Techtextil mirrors the range of applications for textile materials. Leading international experts from the most diverse industries – be they from architecture, the automotive industry, medicine, the fashion industry or personal protection – come together at Techtextil in search of lightweight, durable and sustainable materials,” says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles and Textile Technologies, Messe Frankfurt.
The suppliers at Techtextil represent the complete spectrum of technical textiles and nonwovens. There is a significant increase in the number of suppliers in the fields of technology, as well as fibers and yarns. Suppliers of woven fabrics, coated textiles and functional apparel textiles are also strongly represented. All areas of application for textile materials are covered. In particular, representatives from industry, architecture and construction, the fashion and clothing industry, the automotive sector, aerospace, medicine, sport and hazard protection will find a more comprehensive range of products than before.
In collaboration with Creative Holland, the Dutch creative industries, Techtextil 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 also 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. In addition, an accompanying complementary program will offer insights into the industry.
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.
Sustainability is one of the central themes of the upcoming Techtextil and Texprocess. For the first time, the two fairs will be showcasing their exhibitors’ efforts towards sustainability.
Techtextil and the parallel Texprocess will be sharing an exhibition hall for the first time. In Hall 4.1, Techtextil will be showcasing some 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 be showcasing different production lines for apparel, shoes and the processing of technical textiles. In addition to these, 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.
Techtextil 2017 had 1,477 exhibitors from 55 countries, and drew more than 33,670 visitors from 104 countries.