From the Sector

Ontex Group NV, a leading international developer and producer of personal care solutions, introduces a new adult incontinence range developed to offer superior protection while being gentle on the skin. The first products –Sensitive Pants, Sensitive Slip and Sensitive Form – will become gradually available for healthcare institutions across Europe.

Recent European research conducted by Ontex among more than 2,500 people living with incontinence shows that dermatitis and skin irritation remain widespread and have a meaningful impact on daily life. Almost 1 in 2 people living with incontinence have experienced dermatitis or skin irritation in the intimate area; with many describing significant discomfort and effects on confidence and wellbeing. Despite this high prevalence, “Around 80% of caregivers are not trained to recognize dermatitis. Education and better product design are key to preventing complications.” says Dr. Maria Panourgia, Geriatrician at the Milton Keynes University Hospital (UK).

These findings underline the urgent need for affordable, qualitative incontinence products that actively support skin health. The new Sensitive range has been developed precisely to answer this need—combining trusted protection with dermatological care to help prevent irritation and keep skin as healthy as possible.

To address the educational need, the Sensitive range is complemented with expert training advise on how to recognize, prevent and treat dermatitis related to incontinence. This is offered both through Ontex’s network of nurse advisors and through the online training platform Ontex Academy.

Sensitive range: powerful protection that respects the skin
The new Sensitive range combines proven incontinence protection with dermatological care. 

Sensitive Pants offer:

• Topsheet enriched with botanical ingredients – helps to prevent skin irritation
• Innovative Y-core technology – for instant dryness
• Faster absorption – up to 2.5x faster than previous iD or Serenity pants
• Hypoallergenic design – gentle on fragile skin
• Odour control technology – for lasting freshness and confidence

Tatiana Bumachar Carvalho Pastori, Sr Marketing Manager Adult Care concludes: “the Sensitive range was developed to help people with incontinence to live their everyday life more comfortable. At the same time, it offers professional caregivers a product they can rely on, making it easier for them to deliver the best possible care, supported by our training opportunities.”

The Argentine Textile Industry Federation (FITA), the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (ABIT), and the European Apparel and Textile Confederation (EURATEX) continue to monitor the process of internalizing the Mercosur-European Union Partnership Agreement. This agreement is essential for the competitiveness of our industries, on both sides of the Atlantic. 

The entities remain confident that, despite the submission of the agreement to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the vision of the agreement's strategic role for both sides of the Atlantic will prevail.

For the textile industry, the agreement confirms the commitment to economic integration and predictable rules, as well as signalling support for multilateralism in a challenging global scenario. 

FITA, ABIT, and EURATEX reaffirm their commitment to actively contribute to this implementation process of the agreement, as well as to undertake other inter-regional and international projection actions that consolidate both blocs as relevant actors in the global economy.

The EU textiles and apparel industry includes ca. 200,000 companies and 1.2 million dedicated workers, generating a turnover of nearly €170 billion. 

The Mercosur countries also have a significant textile and clothing industry. In Brazil, this industry has 25,700 companies with 1.3 million employees and a turnover of USD 40.9 billion. In Argentina, the textile and clothing industry comprises 4,000 companies and employs 540,000 workers along the value chain.

The Mercosur-European Union Partnership Agreement offers the textile and apparel industry opportunities related to market access, technological cooperation, investment, strengthening of environmental standards for countries in both economic blocs.

In times of rising cost pressure and growing quality demands, textile producers worldwide are searching for solutions that combine precision, efficiency, and sustainability. With its latest innovation, the Orthopac RVMC-20 plus, Mahlo once again demonstrates how to improve technology to meet today’s challenges.

For decades, Mahlo has set the benchmark in automatic weft straightening. The new Orthopac RVMC-20 plus continues this tradition, building on the trusted Orthopac RVMC-15 while introducing a decisive technological step forward: double scanning with AI-supported control systems.

The concept relies on two detection units – one at the fabric inlet and one at the outlet. At the inlet, so-called Feed Forward Control analyzes distortions before they even reach the straightening rollers, ensuring precise positioning from the first centimeter. At the outlet, Closed Loop Control continuously monitors the result and applies AI-based corrections in real time. This dual approach enables the system to cope even with highly variable distortions at high production speeds. The outcome is reliably straight fabric, less waste, and consistent premium quality.

Innovation without Replacement
A key feature of the RVMC-20 plus lies not only in its precision but also in its retrofit capability. Instead of requiring manufacturers to purchase an entirely new machine, Mahlo has designed the scanning module so that existing Orthopac RVMC-15 systems can be upgraded with minimal effort. By simply adding a second scanning unit, the older equipment is effectively transformed into an RVMC-15 plus – giving customers access to the latest technology without the cost of a full replacement.

The benefits of this approach are clear: upgraded machines deliver higher precision and more consistent results, while reducing waste and saving valuable raw materials. At the same time, extending the service life of existing equipment lowers capital expenditure and supports a more sustainable use of resources. In an industry facing both economic and ecological pressures, this combination of efficiency and responsibility represents a strong competitive advantage.

A Global Opportunity
With thousands of Orthopac systems already in use worldwide, the RVMC-20 plus offers a compelling proposition to textile manufacturers across markets. Every installed RVMC-15 now presents an opportunity for modernization. For customers, this means a reliable path toward improved quality and cost efficiency. For Mahlo, it strengthens the company’s position as a long-standing partner to the textile industry.

Textile Factory 7.0 – the vision of a networked, emission-free industrial park of the future for the city of Mönchengladbach is becoming reality. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) has approved funding for the project.

The aim of the project is to establish a technology and development centre in Mönchengladbach and thus develop an industrial park of the future. Instead of considering individual technologies in isolation, Textile Factory 7.0 combines energy efficiency, AI/robotics and biotechnology in a single functional textile real-world laboratory under the close cooperation of industry and research.

The project will make a decisive contribution to sustainably increasing the attractiveness and productivity of regional textile production: the T7 Factory will create new jobs and strengthen innovative textile research at the location.

The kick-off will take place as a networking event on 19 March 2026. Industry players will then work on common issues relating to the future topics of the T7 Factory: on-demand manufacturing, microfactory engineering, digital textiles and biosphere. The ITA's technical experts will be available as contact persons for the topics of microfactory engineering and digital textiles. If you are interested in cooperation or insights into the progress of the project, you can register here.

The project partners are the ITA – Institute of Textile Technology at RWTH Aachen University, the Research Institute for Textiles and Clothing at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, the Association of the North-West German Textile and Clothing Industry, the Association of the Rhenish Textile and Clothing Industry, the Textile Academy NRW and Wirtschaftsförderung Mönchengladbach GmbH.