Features

By observing key developments at two of the most important suppliers to the global automotive manufacturing industry, Adrian Wilson looks at the future for textiles technology in motor vehicles and concludes that lightweight and smart fabrics made from natural materials will dominate.

Discussions and presentations made during IDEA 2016 (held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on 2–5 May 2016) highlighted the fluctuating fortunes for players in different regions of the world and different sectors of the industry. Adrian Wilson summarizes what was said.

Reena Mital spoke to the Executive Director of Shiva Texyarn, K.S. Sundararaman, to learn about the company’s unique approach to making and selling technical textiles in India, and how it hopes to exploit the Government’s support for the replacement of many imports with locally made products. 

Germany’s textile industry is 50% dedicated to technical textiles, if not more, and where the focus is on the supply of high-quality, sophisticated goods, it is the market leader in Europe, according to a market study conducted by Commerzbank of Frankfurt, Germany. Further, the report’s author Jürgen Glebe attributes much of this success to the industry’s collaboration with the country’s unique research network. To understand the nature of this network, Technical Textiles International is inviting researchers from key institutes to describe themselves and their work, starting here with Claus Lütke and his colleagues (see also, Further information, below) from the Institut für Textiltechnik of the RWTH Aachen University.

On a recent visit to Leeds, UK, Nick Butler learned how a university spin-out is differentiating itself and the product-development services it offers, while making the best possible use of the surrounding resources on the campus.

The thirteenth edition of Techtextil North America will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, on 3–5 May 2016. Co-located with Texprocess Americas, also organized by Messe Frankfurt Inc of Atlanta, and with JEC Americas, run by the JEC Group of Paris, France, the combined shows offer a comprehensive overview of the performance textiles industry in the region, from the beginning to the end of the supply chain, and have become an important date in the calendar. To help our readers find what they want in the expansive halls of the Georgia World Congress Center, Editor of Technical Textiles International Nick Butler has compiled this preview of the show.

Renovation work at its traditional home in Miami, Florida, USA, has forced the relocation of this year’s biggest event for the nonwovens industry. IDEA 2016, will be held in Boston, Massachusetts, on 2–5 May 2016. Adrian Wilson picks his highlights.

With another producer of polyurethane-coated fabric signing-up to its Insqin Partner Manufacturer Program, Covestro continues to promote and develop sustainable materials in several sectors, including automotive interiors, reports Geoff Fisher from Shanghai, China.

Throughout 2015, capacity expansions and related investments were announced by a succession of UK manufacturers of reinforcement fabrics and prepregs as the basis for composite parts. Adrian Wilson reports on these measures and comments on the effects they are having.

Suppliers to the absorbent hygiene products industry increasingly need global scale, argues Adrian Wilson. This need is behind the creation of the world’s largest manufacturer of nonwovens and related plastic packaging and components.