From the Sector

Against the background of the worsening pandemic situation in Germany over the past two weeks and the associated restrictions, Heimtextil, scheduled to take place in the second week of January, is cancelled. Messe Frankfurt is working with the industry to determine whether and in what form a new offering in the summer of 2022 can be organised to run parallel to the Techtextil/Texprocess trade fair duo. Later events such as Ambiente, Christmasworld, Creativeworld, Paperworld and Frankfurt Fashion Week are still planning to take place at the present time.

Due to the unforeseeable dynamics in the development of the pandemic, the reciprocal and cumulative effects of the relevant factors, as well as the extreme escalation and deterioration of the pandemic situation in Germany within a very short period of time, including the decisions taken at the Conference of Minister Presidents on 02.12.2021, the date of Heimtextil right at the beginning of the year, in the second week of January, cannot be kept. Heimtextil, the leading international trade fair for home and contract textiles, will be cancelled. Messe Frankfurt is working closely with all industry partners to find out whether and within what framework Heimtextil can be held parallel to Techtextil and Texprocess from 21 to 24 June 2022.

Heimtextil as an international trade fair has always kicked off the spring trade fair season and is the first major international trade fair in Germany directly after Christmas and New Year with exhibitors and visitors from over 135 countries. The exponential increase in the number of infections in a very short period of time and the accompanying multitude of developments and resolutions that are clearly outside the realm of influence of the organizer have led to a significant deterioration in the general conditions and necessary requirements for holding Heimtextil as a major trade fair of international relevance at this early stage. These developments include in particular the classification of Germany as a high-risk area and the associated travel warnings, international and intercontinental travel restrictions in India, Japan, the United States and Great Britain, as well as the quarantine obligation and “2G” (only with vaccinated and recovered status) requirements without recognition of the WHO vaccine list in Germany. Equally important are the steadily rising infection figures and the accompanying urgent appeal, including by the Robert Koch Institute, to reduce contacts to a minimum and to cancel all major events.

A large number of the exhibiting and visiting companies at Heimtextil are currently reacting to this with travel and trade fair attendance bans out of an obligation of concern towards their employees to protect them from health risks. The global willingness to travel is continuing to fall rapidly.

The planning and staging of the other spring trade fairs Ambiente, Christmasworld, Creativeworld and Paperworld is not affected. Due to their later dates in the year, at the end of January and mid-February respectively, these fairs are still planning to take place at the present time. Compared to Heimtextil, which is the most international trade fair at the Frankfurt location, Frankfurt Fashion Week currently has a much lower international profile and from this perspective can therefore still take place. The extremely volatile situation is continuously reviewed and evaluated in close exchange with the relevant authorities and industry partners.

• The leading denim ingredient brand joins lablaco’s virtual reality Circular Fashion Summit 2021 as an Innovation Partner

ISKO continues to reaffirm its commitment towards circularity by participating as an Innovation Partner in the Circular Fashion Summit 2021 by lablaco. The summit will bring together leaders of change across design, technology and sustainability to share knowledge and take action towards creating a circular future for fashion. The event will be held in a VR version of the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris and will take place on 9-12 December.

ISKO’s approach to circularity is built on creating a future where no virgin resources are needed to produce beautiful durable and high performing woven fabrics To achieve this, the leading denim ingredient brand is working to remove its reliance on fossil fuels and virgin materials by employing only renewable energy and by setting the challenging target of using 100% recycled or reused materials.

This impressive goal is possible thanks to the cutting edge technologies ISKO is working with such as a one of a kind process which fully separates and recycles cotton and polyester blends at scale, and collaborative partnerships with MoRe Research that are aimed at discovering new possibilities for cellulose based materials. ISKO’s new generation of R TWO™50+ fabrics are also playing a role in moving towards this goal. E ngineered for nature’ they use a minimum of 50% pre and post consumer recycled blend reducing carbon and water footprints by 45% and 65% respectively, and are all GRS certified ISKO also believes that the transition to a circular economy cannot happen without addressing the impact on biodiversity and our ecology. Tackling the over-sourcing of raw materials is key, as the extraction of new natural resources and the impact on carbon emissions in processing them contributes to more than 90% of biodiversity loss.

DOMOTEX will not take place in January 2022. This was announced by Deutsche Messe AG as organizer of the leading trade show for carpets and floor coverings.

"We have been fighting for DOMOTEX together with the exhibiting companies until the very end, and have been in daily communication with the industry for months," says Sonia Wedell-Castellano, Global Director DOMOTEX, Deutsche Messe AG.

"DOMOTEX is particularly affected by the impact of the Corona pandemic, as the vast majority of DOMOTEX exhibitors and attendees come from abroad. However, given the current pandemic situation, international business travel is not expected to recover in the short term," adds Wedell-Castellano.

Just over a month ago, the organizers wanted to stage DOMOTEX in the southern part of the Hannover exhibition grounds in a compact format as a Re-Start event in three halls, thus giving the industry a chance to meet physically after almost two years of pandemic.

Wedell-Castellano: "What was considered a realistic and promising Re-Start scenario a month ago, and was also well received by the market, has proven to be no longer feasible in recent days."

The organizers are looking into a DOMOTEX date later in the 2022 calendar year. 

JEC Forum DACH will open its doors from November 23 – 24, 2021, the promise of a two-days gathering around business meetings and conferences. JEC Forum DACH will offer actors of the composites profession in the region the opportunity to exchange and learn about current and future developments of the industry through a rich program of conferences, the JEC Composites Startup Booster, and the AVK Innovation Awards. It also includes pre-arranged Business Meetings between sponsors and attendees as well as sponsors’ workshops.

CONFERENCES, KEYNOTES, AND MARKET OVERVIEW
JEC Forum DACH will feature cutting-edge live conferences with experts from the industry as well as
exclusive keynotes organized by the AVK.

MEETINGS PROGRAM
In  order  to  help  the  sponsors  to  save  time  and  establish  connections  with  real-interest business partners, JEC Group has developed a Business Meetings program: an efficient facilitator to connect precise needs to corresponding offers. These one-to-one meetings will be held on the sponsors’ booths during the two days of the event.

FEATURED SPONSORS’ WORKSHOPS
JEC Forum DACH will host 9 sponsors’ workshops during the two days: CMS SPA, Elantas Europe S.r.l., Kisling AG, Kroenert GmbH & Co KG, Maschinenfabrik Herbert MEYER GmbH, Netzsch Process Intelligence GmbH and Schwarzpunkt (part of Helvoet Group), Saertex GmbH & Co KG and SVT, Trima Spol Sro and Walter Mäder AG will present their know-how and technology during 30 minutes’ presentations in front of the attendees as well as in livestreaming.

FOSTERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP WITH THE JEC COMPOSITES STARTUP BOOSTER
JEC Composites Startup Booster is the leading startup competition in the world of composites.
It enables the community to find and assess innovations with a potential impact on their respective industries. The competition will be held at JEC Forum DACH for the first time with the pitches’ session on November 23rd at 2:15pm followed by the Awards ceremony at 6:15 pm.
The finalists are: ANYBRID (Germany), CARBON CLEANUP (Austria), CARBON-DRIVE (Germany), FIBRECOAT (Germany), and TOUCH SENSITY (France).

CELEBRATING INNOVATION WITH THE AVK INNOVATION AWARDS
This year at JEC Forum DACH, JEC Group and AVK will co-organize the AVK Innovation Award.
One of the goals of the AVK Innovation Awards is to give prominence to the innovations and the companies/institutions behind them, thus publicizing their performance throughout the industry. These awards will celebrate innovations in fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) / composites during the Awards ceremony on Tuesday 23rd, at 6:15pm.

Full program and speakers list here.

Fibre Extrusion Technology, UK is celebrating a successful INDEX20 nonwovens exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland, which closed on 22 October. Although the company has a long history in supplying meltspinning equipment for the nonwovens sector, this represents its first venture at a dedicated nonwovens show.
 
FET’s Managing Director, Richard Slack explains. “Techtextil and ITMA have previously been our main exhibitions of choice, but INDEX20 was an ideal vehicle for FET to launch our new laboratory scale spunbond system, which enables client development of nonwoven fabrics in a number of formats and polymers.”
 
FET already has spunbond systems in the field, including composite systems which utilise both spunbond and meltspun functions. The growth in global nonwovens technology, partly driven by demand for pandemic-related materials, is forecast to continue.
 
“We were delighted with the response at INDEX”, continued Richard Slack. “There was considerable interest shown in the new spunbond system and its potential for lab scale innovation. It’s clear that the industry is seeking new alternatives to synthetics at the moment, and our technology is able to assist with the testing and assessment of many of the new feedstocks being pioneered in this extremely inventive sector, where everyone is suddenly talking and cooperating with everyone else, regardless of whether they are generally competitors. We recorded in excess of 20 serious enquiries from totally new contacts and sectors, including blue chip companies in the hygiene, medical and packaging industries.”
 
“There were initial concerns about projected attendance figures, especially from China and USA companies, but we experienced good footfall from key decision makers, especially those from Europe. It was encouraging to at last experience the opportunity for face-to-face contact with old and new customers on a large scale and we are now starting to reap the benefits with enquiries continuing to flow in”.

India’s leading trade fair in technical textiles, nonwovens and composites, Techtextil India, is ready to make a comeback through its hybrid edition launch from 25 – 27 November 2021. With a series of live product demonstrations, insightful knowledge sessions and B2B networking opportunities, the multimodal trade fair will provide a strong avenue for technical textile professionals to reimagine their business potential.
 
After a successful grand edition in 2019, Techtexil India is all set to return for the very first time since the pandemic. The three-day exhibition will be hosted in a hybrid format from 25 – 27 November 2021, Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon which will unite technical textile players from across its varied application areas. Top technical textile brands including JB Ecotex, PARK Nonwoven, Loyal Textiles Lenzing, Mehala, Meera Industries, amongst many others will showcase their latest products at the hybrid fair. Moreover, leading German brands exhibiting at Techtextil India 2021 will be hosted under the German pavilion.

The conjunction between the physical exhibition and the online business matchmaking platform will make way to a wider range of networking. Local and international visitors who are unable to attend the venue will be able to witness the exhibition virtually through the ‘MFI virtual app’ which will host live knowledge sessions and product demonstrations for visitors. The two-day multimodal trade fair allows the visitors to search for specific products like fibers, yarns, nonwovens, machinery, coated textiles with easy-to-use filters further to which they can share their query or connect directly with the respective exhibitors.

At the same time, visitors attending the venue will be welcomed under a well-organised physical exhibition following the government-authorised safety protocols of ‘MFI SafeConnect’. These protocols will enable visitors to engage in secure face-to-face interactions with exhibitors and witness the latest technical textile technologies and innovations in-person.

Alliance with the Government of Tamil Nadu
In a bid to strengthen indigenous production through the state and attract investors, the nodal agency for investment promotion and facilitation for the Government of Tamil Nadu – Guidance has signed up for Techtextil India 2021. Furthermore, technical textile players from Tamil Nadu such as Cyber Textiles India Pvt Ltd, Jayashree Spun Bond, Lenzing Ag India, Liester Technologies, Loyal Textile Mills Ltd, Milltex Engineers Pvt Ltd, Superfil Products Pvt Ltd, Uster Technologies (India) Pvt Ltd have also confirmed their participation for the exhibition.
Announcing a close co-operation with Messe Frankfurt India for the 2021 edition, Ms Pooja Kulkarni, IAS MD & CEO, Guidance Tamil Nadu, stated: “While there are several inherent advantages for the growth of technical textiles in Tamil Nadu specifically, many raw materials used in the production of sanitary products, artificial ligaments, seat belt webbings, airbags are still heavily imported. In this context, the alliance with Techtextil India Forum can help us reduce import dependency and bring investments in R&D, manufacturing, innovation by partnering with global technical textiles companies.”

With 50% of India’s textile mills in Tamil Nadu and complementary clusters of knitting, weaving and medical devices manufacturing in Coimbatore, and Tiruppur, the region provides immense opportunities for Meditech investments. Two petrochemical and refinery units – One in Cuddalore and another in Nagapattinam by CPCL is in the process of being established in Tamil Nadu. These units will enable availability of MMF raw material for the textile industry across the state. Hence, manufacturing in Tamil Nadu can be a win-win arrangement for investors as India provides access to the burgeoning market as well.

International expertise with German pavilion
Techtexil India 2021 edition will feature an exclusive German Pavilion showcasing products and technologies from top German manufacturers, including Autefa Solution Germany GmbH, DILO Systems GmbH, Emtec Electronic GmbH, Georg Sahm GmbH & Co, Karl Mayer Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Merz Maschinenfabrik GmbH and Oerlikon Barmag Zweigniederlassung der Oerlikon Textile GmbH & Co.

IFFT/Interior Lifestyle Living has wrapped up three successful days of business at Tokyo Big Sight’s South Halls. From 18 – 20 October 2021, a total of 11,147 visitors found their way to the fairground. Assembling again for the first time since the pandemic began, 300 exhibitors from five different countries and regions welcomed visitors with an extensive and diverse selection of products in 10,390 sqm of gross exhibition space.

“As the place where designers set trends and decision makers meet, IFFT/Interior Lifestyle Living has once again proven to be the premier trade fair in Japan for the entire living space,” says Mr Yasushi Kajiwara, Managing Director of Messe Frankfurt Japan Ltd. “After last year’s fair was deferred due to the pandemic, we worked hard to present industry buyers with new impulses and ideas at this edition. This included an additional focus on up-and-coming designers at dedicated zones for new talent.”
 
Fresh talent and green living
With products for the entire living space assembled at the fairground, trade buyers were once again spoilt for choice, but a number of product zones in particular were worthy of special attention.
As a new initiative for 2021, the renowned Japanese architect Mr Keiji Ashizawa gathered prospective new interior designers and their products at the highly anticipated '+Talents' Zones.
 
To maximise connections, a series of fairground tours were also arranged to bring architects closer to the best new designers and their interior products for the Japanese market. A new 'Ethical' Zone was also introduced to spotlight green living, up-cycling, fair trade, and more.

• CHIC Shanghai successfully completed under high safety and hygiene conditions
• The trend hotspot for the Chinese sales market: Lively interest of more than 20,000 trade visitors in the new collections of the 487 brands at the NECC in Shanghai
• Sustainability in great demand in all areas
• CHIC Shenzhen focuses on trading in the strong sales region of South China and the international clusters Hong Kong and Macao: Date postponed from November to December due to current Covid-19 cases in China

The fashion world of China met at the physical event CHIC Shanghai from October 9-11, 2021 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai

487 exhibitors presented themselves in clearly structured segments on 50,000 square meters. Maximum compliance with the security measures determined the course. Against this background the exhibitors welcomed more than 20,000 trade visitors and reported cheerful orders.

The 487 exhibitors were also satisfied with the business activity and reported successful orders.

Perfect presentation platform: the CHIC Matching area
The expanded matchmaking events at CHIC were also enthusiastically received.
In total, over 37 matchmaking events took place in the specially set up matching area consisting of several presentation platforms and private negotiation rooms at the fair. From company presentations by industry giants such as Shein, through trade fair tours to selected one-on-one discussions, CHIC brought exhibitors and visitors together in a targeted manner. More than 600 participants have been matched by this CHIC event. Among them visitors such as Shein, Walmart, Wang Yi Yan Xuan, Tiktok, BAILIAN GROUP, LIQUN etc, parts of the organizer's broad network.

Continuing growth: sustainable productions
Sustainability is one of the most important consumer trends in China. CHIC played the theme in all exhibition areas; from womenswear, kidswear and menswear to accessories, sustainable collections were represented in all segments.

Design talent and traditional styles
In the IMPULSES area, innovative designer brands showed inspiring trends, high-quality collections and fashion variety like Kmusso, MIJA or Yu Jian Tian with its new design collection made by natural materials such as mulberry silk and wool, presenting the unique traditional Chinese style.

CHIC Shanghai presented the entire range of the fashion business in a total of 12 exhibition segments. This year's acclaimed visual concept, created by lava beijing, has been awarded the Bronze Award of the Hiiibrand Awards 2021 in the Identity category.

Digital tools and physical events
In addition to the on-site trade fair offer, CHIC is expanding its reach through the consistent use of digital tools. The CHIC app combines all the functions needed for a successful trade fair participation, from the digital trade fair catalog and matchmaking to direct appointments and live chats for all participants who cannot be on site.

The next CHIC in Shanghai will take place in March 2022.

RadiciGroup is exhibiting at the A+A trade fair, an international event focusing on safety solutions for the workplace, to be held in Dusseldorf, Germany, from 26 to 29 October. This international show gives RadiciGroup the opportunity to present its latest developments in personal protective equipment (PPE) for industrial use, including coveralls, gowns, caps, full hoods, shoe covers and boots.

This international show gives RadiciGroup the opportunity to present its latest developments in  personal protective equipment (PPE) for industrial use, including coveralls, gowns, caps, full hoods, shoe covers and boots. These products are part of a new line, Radipeople, a trade name identifying the new protective workwear sold by RadiciGroup: end products of a traceable supply chain, in which special attention is paid to the choice of raw materials and the quality of the final products offered the market.

At RadiciGroup, care for the health and safety of people is one of the pillars of the Group's sustainability strategy, combined with a strong commitment to safeguarding the environment. Radipeople Eco, the first protective coverall with 100% end-of-life recyclability is proof of such commitment. All parts of Radipeople Eco: the fabric, lamination, zipper and thread are made of the same material, 100% polypropylene. Furthermore, the Group’s offering includes garments made with Respunsible®, a spundbond obtained from recycled polypropylene or materials certified under the ISCC Plus scheme.

Thanks to their versatility and technical characteristics, the nonwoven solutions proposed by RadiciGroup are suitable for many industrial sectors, including oil and gas, utilities, construction, food, automotive painting and shipbuilding, maintenance, agriculture, laboratories, microprocessor manufacturing and the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

Radipeople personal protective equipment delivers excellent protection against external agents (liquids, splashes, jets, particles and sprays), high protection against biological hazards and infectious agents, and high robustness and lightness to optimize protection, on the one hand, and comfort, on the other. All Radipeople protective equipment is made of fully traceable materials, manufactured by a totally Italian production chain involving hundreds of workers, and sold in packaging designed with an ecodesign approach, that is, fully recyclable minimized packaging.

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles concluded its 27th autumn edition in early October. Held alongside four other concurrent textile shows, the fair was the only major event for this sector able to take place in China during this season, providing a much-needed business platform for 735 exhibitors and 20,106 trade buyers. The fair was held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd expressed: “Due to the valuable cooperation of many parties and the continued support of our exhibitors and other partners, we were able to hold the fair as scheduled despite a number of challenges. Since the pandemic situation was brought under control in China last year, we have expended considerable resources to ensure our textile fairs still take place to provide trading platforms that connect the global industry. This edition was especially important as it was the only major fair to take place in the country at this time.”

While a number of international exhibitors participated this year with individual booths, the Belgium Pavilion presented home and contract products and five Chinese regional pavilions from Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Huzhou, Haining, and Tongxiang also featured. Two trend forums also provided inspiration for 2022, while the IKASAS Japanese Home Design Gallery, New Voices of Top Youth Upholstery Designers City Roving Exhibition and China International Fiber Art Exhibition gave further insights into various aspects of the industry.

Fair’s fringe programme highlights sustainability, design and more
As with all of Messe Frankfurt’s textile fairs around the world, sustainability is a big focus. A number of events under this focus took place in the fair’s fringe programme, including a half day forum titled How Sustainable Fashion is Reshaping Lifestyles, with a range of innovative companies and prestigious universities participating as speakers.

The Design Talk session featured a series of presentations from leading international designers, including from China, Japan and Europe, to share their design insights. And a new concept this year, titled New Voices of Top Youth Upholstery Designers – Intertextile Upholstery Design and City Roving Exhibition, showcased the work of six groups of young local designers from across China who presented the interior design ideas of their generation through displays and a forum. And reflecting the changes that continue to accelerate in the industry, a number of e-commerce and cross-border trade events took place, including sessions from the likes of JD Home, AliExpress and Tmall.

The 2022 Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Spring Edition will take place from 9 – 11 March, while the Autumn Edition is scheduled for 23 – 25 August 2022.