Back to the USA: ‘High-Tex from Germany’ made a guest appearance at Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas in Atlanta for the second time from May 22nd to 24th.
At the special exhibition organized by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) in cooperation with the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA), a total of 66 companies presented technical textiles, nonwovens, textile processing machines, smart textiles and textile research projects to trade visitors.
“Taking ‘High-Tex from Germany’ to Atlanta again was a very good decision. The southeast of the U.S. has a long tradition of textile manufacturing. It is home to many companies that are always on the lookout for innovative textiles and machines for textile production and processing,” explained Detlev Rünger, German Consul General in Atlanta during the ‘High-Tex from Germany’ press conference.
“Fairs bring people together. And this was evident here in Atlanta. With the overseas exhibition program, we give small- to medium-sized companies the chance to show their products in foreign markets,” said Patrick Specht of the Trade Fair Policy and EXPO Participations Division of BMWi.
“‘High-Tex from Germany’ within the framework of Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas was a very good platform for our small- to medium-sized companies. After Techtextil and Texprocess in Frankfurt, these two events are the second-most important editions of the trade-fair duo. ‘High-Tex from Germany’ came fully up to our expectations, and anyone who failed to take part missed a great opportunity to be noticed,” said Marc Lorch, Member of the Board of Zwissler Holding, who represented the participating companies as exhibitor president.
Michael Metzler, Sales President of ZSK Stickmaschinen, confirmed this saying, “A German pavilion of this scope makes us extremely visible. Thanks to the excellent organization, we were also able to concentrate on promoting our company and products.” In addition to the appealing exhibition stand concept and the excellent organization, the companies taking part were particularly pleased with the high visitor standard. “We regularly exhibit at Techtextil North America but taking part in ‘High-Tex for Germany’ resulted in our best ever day at a fair here. The pavilion is a real eye-catcher,” said Thomas Wiederer, Area Sales Manager, Brückner Textile Technologies. “The visitors to our exhibition stand were very interested in our products. We gained potential customers, and were able to make numerous high-grade contacts. The level of interest shown in our highly innovative e-textile solutions, which are completely new in the sector, was very high. We are looking forward to the follow-up phase,” said Andreas Lanyi, Vice President Digital Unit and Internet of Things of the Hamburg-based start-up, Lunative Laboratories.
Besides gaining new customers, the focus of the companies taking part in ‘High-Tex from Germany’ was on cultivating customer relations. “The German pavilion in Atlanta once again gave us a good opportunity to get to know the U.S. market better. We have had a factory in the vicinity of Atlanta for two years now, and aim to expand our network in the long term,” said Ronny Schröder, Associate Sales Director Technical and Comfort Products, Sandler. “We like making presentations within the framework of the German pavilion very much,” added Georg Voggenreiter, Technical Sales, Maschinenfabrik Herbert Meyer. “Once again, ‘High-Tex from Germany’ was a good starting point for cultivating contacts with our customers in the U.S.”
Companies taking part in ‘High-Tex from Germany’ made their presentations on around 1,300 square meters of exhibition space with their own exhibition stands, with selected exhibits on a central ‘Plaza’, in guided tours and no less than 35 lectures. Additionally, the German Institutes of Textile and Fibre Research (DITF), Association of the Finishing, Yarns, Woven Fabrics and Technical Textiles Industry (IVGT), Tübingen-Reutlingen-Zollernalb location agency and German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern U.S. provided insights into current research projects, and offered information about the sector.