From the Sector

Gebr. Otto is exhibiting at this year’s Techtextil from 21 to 24 June in Frankfurt. The Dietenheim-based textile company manufactures a selected range of functional high-tech yarns made, for example, of conductive, high-strength and flame-retardant fibres. Gebr. Otto’s aim at the trade fair is to make personal contacts and to expand regional technology chains. The textile solution provider is to be found, as in past years, at the BW-I joint stand in Hall 12.1 at Booth No. C80.

Growing demand for technical yarns
“In the industry Gebr. Otto is mostly known for its cotton yarns and twines,” says Robin Hefter, who is in charge of technical textiles at Gebr. Otto. Cotton is the fibre that is mainly spun in the company’s spinning mill. It has been Gebr. Otto’s main line of business for over 100 years. The technical yarns that have been in the company’s product range for a good five years are, by contrast, still relative newcomers. They account for around 10 per cent of the company’s output, their share of which is on the increase. “Technical textiles have proved to be a growth sector in recent years,” Hefter explains, “and due to current political events demand for them has increased even further.”

Portfolio with a protective character
That is a reference to personal protective equipment – clothing and gloves. Gebr. Otto’s highperformance functional yarns, many of which are based on high-tech fibres, are specially designed for use in this area. In addition to flame-retardant yarns made of meta-aramid Gebr. Otto processes antistatic or conductive fibres.

As a rule many chemical fibres are easily electrically chargeable without being able to discharge by themselves due to their low moisture absorption. That is why undesired discharges occur,
maybe even the next time you shake hands. In some situations, they can be life-threatening. “Imagine the team at a pit stop in a Formula 1 race,” Robin Hefter says. “refuelling a racing car
under pressure of time. There must not be a single spark, no matter how small.” That is why Gebr. Otto adds antistatic fibres to its technical yarns. They prevent electrostatic charging and
offer safety not only to pit stop teams but also to filling station attendants. If electric conductivity is required, conductive fibres are added. And high-strength fibres are used if high or ultra-high tensile strength is required.

Colour fastness rather than safety is required when it comes to spun-dyed yarns. The fibres take up the pigments more homogeneously than if they are dyed as yarn. They are much more colourfast and fade markedly less in sunlight because the pigment particles are better enclosed in the fibre.

• Erlebnisformate in Frankfurt am Main für die nachhaltige Cross Sector-Community

Neues Datum, neues Format, neues Umfeld: Die Neonyt, Community-Plattform für Mode, Nachhaltigkeit und Innovation, öffnet sich vom 24. bis 26. Juni 2022 auch für den Endkonsument*innen-Markt und verstärkt mit dem neuen „Neonyt Lab“ ihren mehrdimensionalen Sustainability-Ansatz: nachhaltiges Sourcing und Processing entdecken, textile Vorstufen kennenlernen, fertige Modekollektionen hautnah erleben und direkt kaufen. Unter dem Claim „New patterns“, neue Muster, entstehen in der vorletzten Juniwoche innovative Erlebnisformate für die nachhaltige Cross Sector-Community, Branchen-Newcomer*innen und alle Interessierten.

Als Trendplattform und Treffpunkt der nachhaltigen Textil- und Modebranche will die Neonyt im Sommer 2022 das Thema Sustainability in einer zentralen Location in Frankfurt am Main auch für Endverbraucher*innen erlebbar machen. Die Community erwartet Fashion Show, D2C-Trade Show, Konferenz und Showcases, Content Creator-Programm und Networking Space: Neonyt Lab lädt Brands, Konsument*innen, Einkäufer*innen, Designer*innen, Trendsetter*innen und Modeinteressierte ein, sich zu informieren und auszutauschen.
 
In derselben Woche, in der auch das Neonyt Lab stattfindet, treffen sich in Frankfurt am Main außerdem internationale Branchengrößen aus allen Bereichen entlang der globalen textilen Wertschöpfungskette: Das erstmalig parallel stattfindende Trio aus Heimtextil Summer Special, internationale Fachmesse für Wohn- und Objekttextilien, Techtextil, internationale Leitmesse für technische Textilien und Vliesstoffe, und Texprocess, internationale Leitmesse für die Verarbeitung von textilen und flexiblen Materialien, soll vom 21. bis 24. Juni 2022 Kreativität und Hightech, Anwendungsvielfalt und Know-how bündeln. Gemeinsam zeigen die Messen, etablierte Konferenzformate und die Community-Events der Neonyt die Bandbreite an textilen Möglichkeiten – von der Faser bis zum Recycling.

Since 11 February 2022, the Industrievereinigung Chemiefaser e. V. (IVC) has been listed in the German Lobby Register under registration number R000411. German Parliament decided in March 2021 to introduce the register.

Following various cases of suspected corruption and the rather poor marks by Transparency International for the German federal states in a lobby ranking, calls for greater transparency had grown louder. The Lobby Register Act came into force on 1 January 2022 after it had been agreed by the political parties of CDU/CSU and SPD in long negotiations. Now the act obliges professional lobbyists to make an entry in the publicly accessible register, providing details about their clients and financial expenditure.

Since the IVC has already been registered in the European Transparency Register for several years on a voluntary basis, the Frankfurt-based industry association of major man-made fibre manufacturers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is in favour of all initiatives that lead to more transparency in lobbying.

According to IVC's 1^st Chairman Klaus Holz (managing director of Trevira GmbH), the IVC sees the existing act as a first step towards strengthening the acceptance of organisations which seek and maintain political contacts. Holz deplores that many gaps and exemptions remain at the time being. He emphasizes: "It is up to the German legislator to bring about equal treatment of every stakeholder in the political arena in Berlin as quickly as possible, so that all those involved can meet on an equal footing."

Dr. Wilhelm Rauch, managing director of the IVC, adds: "We are also active on behalf of our industry throughout Europe for all issues relating to environmental protection and REACH. Therefore, it is essential for our work to know which organisations and persons we encounter in these efforts."

Mit dem Techtextil Forum setzt die Techtextil 2022 das offene Expert*innenformat von 2019 fort. Vorschläge für Beiträge können ab jetzt eingereicht werden.

Zur kommenden Techtextil (21. bis 24. Juni 2022), der Internationalen Leitmesse für Technische Textilien und Vliesstoffe, bietet das Techtextil Forum an den vier Messetagen mit Vorträgen, Diskussionen und interaktiven Formaten die Möglichkeit für den Austausch zwischen ausstellenden Unternehmen, Messegästen sowie Forscher*innen, Entwickler*innen und Anwender*innen rund um technische Textilien. Interessierte Vortragende können bis zum 16. Februar 2022 ihre Themenvorschläge einreichen.

Im Mittelpunkt des Techtextil Forums stehen neue Entwicklungen, Trends und mögliche Anwendungsbereiche von technischen Textilien, Vliesstoffen und funktionalen Bekleidungstextilien sowie Technologien, Verarbeitungsprozesse und neue Produkte. Themenvorschläge sind unter anderem in den folgenden Bereichen möglich: Health (Textilien im medizinischen Bereich/Hygiene), Interior, PPE (persönliche Schutzausrüstung und Objektschutz), Building textiles, (neue) Trends, Textilien für Mobilität/Fortbewegung und Sport & Freizeit.

Interessierte Vortragende können Vorträge, Workshops oder Diskussionsthemen vorschlagen. Die Vorschläge müssen in englischer Sprache unter https://techtextilforum2022.abstract-management.de eingereicht werden. Die Auswahl der Beiträge erfolgt durch ein mit Expert*innen besetztes internationales Programm-Komitee.

„Auch 2022 präsentiert sich das Techtextil Forum wieder direkt in der Messehalle. So hat das Fachpublikum die Möglichkeit, zwischen den Messeterminen Vorträge seiner Wahl zu verfolgen oder sich spontan an Diskussionen zu beteiligen. Die Vorträge werden außerdem gestreamt bzw. on-demand zur Verfügung gestellt. So bereichert der Austausch innerhalb der Branche die Techtextil nicht nur vor Ort, sondern auch im Nachgang digital“, so Michael Jänecke, Director Brand Management Technical Textiles and Textile Processing bei der Messe Frankfurt.

The EPTA – European Pultrusion Technology Association organizes in cooperation with the ACMA – American Composites Manufacturers Association - the 16th World Pultrusion Conference on 03 – 04 March 2022 in Paris, France (as a “hybrid event”, this conference will also have the option of online access). The conference is one of the leading pultrusion events in the world. The event takes place just before the JEC World 2022 in Paris (08 – 10 March 2022).

The presentations are to document innovations in the following subject areas of pultruded reinforced plastics:

● Market development in Europe, USA, Asia
● Innovative applications
● New Markets: Ideas for potential new applications with pultruded shapes or systems
● Sustainability: Technical possibilities, recycling, etc.
● Raw materials
   ○ Development of fibres
   ○ Development of resins
● Construction / Testing / Calculation
● Processes

The presentation language will be English. Deadline for paper submission (title, short abstract, speaker name and address) until 15th October 2021 to info@pultruders.com.
 
The European Pultrusion Technology Association was created in 1989 by a group of leading European pultruders with the mission of supporting the growth of the pultrusion industry by maximising external communication efforts and encouraging knowledge sharing between members. Since 2006, the association has existed under the umbrella of the AVK – Federation of Reinforced Plastics in Frankfurt, Germany. Membership of EPTA is open to all companies and individuals worldwide wishing to further the application of pultruded profiles. For further information visit http://www.pultruders.com.

• The Techtextil and Texprocess trade fairs have a positive view of the future and invite the sector to take part at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre from 21 to 24 June 2022.
• Exhibitors who register well in advance benefit from an early-booking discount.

The dates for the next editions of Techtextil and Texprocess have been set and the leading international trade fairs for technical textiles and nonwovens and for the processing of textile and flexible materials are set to attract exhibitors and trade visitors from all over the world to Frankfurt am Main from 21 to 24 June 2022. Thus, the fairs are shifting the biennial cycle of events from odd to even years, which fits in perfectly with the sector’s international event calendar. Companies that book exhibition space at one of the two trade fairs no later than 31 August 2021 benefit from an early booking discount. “We see the future in a positive light and are confident that we will finally be able to give the sector the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas and information in June 2022. The desire for personal encounters, direct communication and new impressions is growing from day to day”, says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles and Textile Technologies.

Elgar Straub, Managing Director, VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies, emphasises that, “Texprocess and Techtextil are the world’s foremost trade fairs for our innovative sector by a large margin. Both events offer customers an unrivalled overview of state-of-the-art innovations and technological developments – and beyond. Particularly when it comes to the latest trends for sustainability and digitalisation, Texprocess and Techtextil in Frankfurt represent the most important, future-oriented market. This makes it all the more important for both the exhibitor and visitor sides of the sector that we have the opportunity to obtain an overview of the latest market developments, to exchange ideas and information and to initiate new business. We are very relieved about this and hope that, next year, we will once again have the chance to generate new momentum for our sector in the international market.”

For the first time, Techtextil and Texprocess will occupy the western sector of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre with a total of four exhibition halls and, with a hybrid format, offer the best of both the physical and immaterial worlds: personal communication, virtual networking opportunities and maximum digital coverage. With a comprehensive hygiene and safety concept, Messe Frankfurt will ensure that all visitors and exhibitors can take part safely and with a good feeling.