From the Sector

“You can’t see it or hear it – and that’s exactly why it’s ideal for this application,” says Stefan Wallner, Automotive Sales Manager at JUMBO-Textil. The Textation Group subsidiary specializing in technical narrow textiles is an expert in elastics and produces, among other things, components for automotive suppliers, such as rebound strap, release strap, and tensioning braids. Many of these products remain hidden from view. Built-in into the seat or behind a trim panel, they reliably fulfill their function: tensioning, holding, adjusting, fixing ... The textile components work behind the scenes – lightweight, quiet, and durable.

Invisible High-Performer
One of these “invisible high-performers” is a cleverly designed functional tape. The combination of an elastic and a non-elastic woven tape serves as a flap fastener for a card pocket in the seatback. The force-elongation behavior can be precisely controlled by specifying the dimensions and materials of the elastic tape. The non-elastic tape ensures stability at the rubbing points and silent operation.

The flap is held in place by two such combination tapes, which are installed in a crisscross pattern in the seatback. The non-elastic tapes are threaded through a slit in the flap and folded and sewn on the other side so that they are securely anchored behind the slit. The elastic tapes are hooked into precisely defined holes in the seatback. The holes are cut out using laser cutting. Thanks to the sealed hole edges, they are stable and durable. This complex component goes unnoticed by vehicle passengers. Only for the brief moment when they open the flap, one to two centimeters of the non-elastic woven tape flash into view from the side.

Close cooperation, precise specifications
Auto Leder Atelier GmbH, or ALEA for short, uses this high-quality functional tape from JUMBO-Textil. The specialist in interior finishing – from lamination to leather upholstery – manufactures high-quality interior components in series production for car manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers in the luxury and premium segments, including leather seats and trim for some of the world’s most renowned car brands." Strength-elongation behaviour, flame retardancy, surface properties … – no parameter must deviate from the final sample. The textiles must deliver the performance for which they are designed, right down to the very last fibre. “As a solutions provider, we supply narrow textiles that are precisely tailored to the respective requirements – from environmental conditions to the installation situation – and deliver exactly what the customers need in each case. For ALEA’s functional tape, we have developed a special variant with two different tape widths and produced samples with the exact project-specific properties,” explains Wallner. “A detailed understanding of the customer’s project is essential for this.”
    
Regular on-site discussions
ALEA also attaches great importance to the partnership. “As well as their impeccable appearance, feel and sound, our leather products offer maximum functionality. Every detail counts, whether visible or hidden,” emphasises Mario Haufe, COO of ALEA. “Our partner, JUMBO-Textil, supplies highly functional, ready-to-fit components for our products. That is why we work with the company based in North Rhine-Westphalia. And experience shows that this result also depends on good collaboration with the supplier. Only those who understand us, our expectations, our production conditions and the component’s installation requirements can supply us with components that fit perfectly into the product and our processes.”

JUMBO-Textil was on site at ALEA when the project began. The development team in Sprockhövel therefore knows exactly how the colleagues in Hofstetten work and what they need. All the specifications for the specialised functional tape were precisely defined jointly. JUMBO-Textil then developed several possible solutions, from which the ALEA team was able to choose the perfect option. “As a result, even the prototype for the first installation trial was quite close to the final solution,” explains Haufe. “This was once again an excellent example of collaboration that benefits everyone: us, the car manufacturer and, ultimately, all those travelling in the vehicle who stow their tablet – or whatever else they have with them – safely in the seatback flap.”

• Combination of elastic and non-elastic materials
• Available in various widths
• Available in customer-specific colours
• Holes created by laser cutting or interlaced during the braiding process
• Ready to use: pre-assembled, e.g. with a sewn-on flat plastic profile
• With sewable plastic
• Elastic material: natural rubber
• Flame-retardant finishing

Carbitex, a leading innovator of flexible carbon fiber materials used in performance footwear, announces the appointment of Dheepak Arumukhom Revi, Ph.D., to the newly created role of Principal Scientist. 

Arumukhom Revi’s career has focused on translating cutting-edge movement science into practical technologies that improve mobility, comfort, and performance in both healthy individuals and people with neurological impairments. Prior to joining Carbitex, Arumukhom Revi held research and engineering roles at REEV, Harvard University, and Boston University, where he developed wearable sensing systems, robotic assistance technologies, and data-driven approaches for understanding human movement. He earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Boston University in 2025 and has authored numerous scientific publications and patents in the fields of biomechanics, wearable sensing, and neurorehabilitation. 

“Having Dheepak on board at Carbitex brings biomechanics capabilities in-house and strengthens our science-led product and technology development,” says Junus Khan, president and founder of Carbitex. “While we’ll still collaborate with external labs, our internal capability will allow us to advance our development significantly faster and conduct more fundamental research.” 

In his new role, Arumukhom Revi will accelerate product integration with brand partners by translating biomechanical insights into practical solutions and driving research that will support product innovations, concepts, and performance benefits for the footwear industry. Arumukhom Revi will contribute to the scientific foundation behind Carbitex’s recently launched educational hub, the Center for Better Flex, helping expand the collective understanding of footwear flex and movement. 

“Footwear is one of the most direct interfaces between human movement and the designed world, yet the static footwear properties constrain the dynamic foot,” says Arumukhom Revi. “I'm excited to bring biomechanical rigor to help translate what we're learning into products and platforms that actually change how people move.”

Beyond athletic and casual footwear, Arumukhom Revi will help explore Carbitex applications in work, medical, and other specialized categories where engineered biomechanics can create meaningful value.