#Associations

2019-06-17

EURATEX General Assembly

Over 120 participants attended the annual EURATEX General Assembly in Brussels on 13 June. The event was a unique opportunity to hear testimonials from different countries and contexts, with speakers offering insights in dealing with the problem of attracting talent and encouraging skills development.

At the EURATEX General Assembly, international experts present the challenges and possible solutions to tackle the issue of attracting young and skilled workforce in the textile and clothing sector.

Although the industry is witnessing a period of positive evolution – since 2012 turnover has grown by 10% to € 178 billion, extra-EU exports are up by 23% and have reached 50 billion Euros for the first time, and labour productivity has grown an impressive 22% - it still faces significant challenges, the biggest one being the difficulty of recruiting and retaining skilled workforce.

In the opening session of the event, newly-elected EURATEX President Alberto Paccanelli stressed that “companies hiring today not only look for young people with the same skill sets as the retiring workforce, but also new talent with creative, highly technical and digital skills for high added value jobs in design, product development, technical textile production, digitalization, sustainability and circular economy.”

The Director for Skills of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Manuela Geleng, gave an overview of the policies and programmes being developed by the EU to support upskilling and training of workforce. She reminded the audience that EU countries on average spend 4.6% of GDP on initial education, but only 0.1% on continuous life-long learning, which is very ill adapted to today’s fast changing work environments and skill needs.

International speakers from the industry, national and regional initiatives and vocational education and training institutions presented their success stories, offering a look at the situation in different countries.

Common issues emerged, as well as clear solutions: a need for a new approach and changes in company culture are necessary to attract the new generation. Close collaboration between industry and training institutions is the key to the development of skilled professionals and the growth of the sector.

EURATEX appealed to policy makers at EU, national and regional level to accompany and support the sectoral stakeholders in their efforts to provide world-class textile and clothing education and training across Europe.

Mario Jorge Machado re-elected President of EURATEX

The EURATEX General Assembly has re-elected Mario Jorge Machado as President of EURATEX, renewing its confidence in his leadership at a crucial moment for the European textile and clothing industry. The sector is facing rising costs, global competitive pressure and an increasingly challenging transition towards sustainability and digitalisation.

Europe is losing its textile industry

EURATEX has released its latest Economic Update on the performance of the European textile and apparel industry in 2025. For the third consecutive year, the sector recorded negative results across all key indicators — production, turnover and employment — confirming a continued erosion of competitiveness across Europe.

Keeping products moving with Swedish automation at FILTECH 2026

At FILTECH 2026, taking place in Cologne from June 30th to July 2nd, members of TMAS – the Swedish textile machinery association – will highlight how the country’s engineering expertise is enabling filtration manufacturers to increase productivity, improve traceability and reduce dependence on labour-intensive manual processes.

Results of the 38th ITMF Global Textile Industry Survey

The global textile industry appears to be turning a corner, but this is more likely a fragile and possibly temporary improvement than the start of a durable recovery. According to the 38th ITMF Global Textile Industry Survey, conducted worldwide during the second half of May 2026, business sentiment, order intake, order backlogs and capacity utilization all improved versus March — yet every indicator remains weak by historical standards, and rising costs cast doubt on how long the upturn can last.

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

ITM 2026 makes happy participants with its international and qualified visitor profile

ITM 2026 International Textile Machinery Exhibition, one of the most prestigious meeting points of the textile machinery sector, attracted attention in its first three days, particularly with its diverse international visitor numbers. Industry professionals from all over the world had the opportunity to closely examine the latest technology machines and solutions displayed in operation. Thousands of visitors from approximately 100 countries, primarily Egypt, Pakistan, India, Uzbekistan, Syria, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, met at the Tüyap Fair and Congress Center for new investment and cooperation opportunities.

KARL MAYER presents a textile TEXTRONIC® innovation at ITM 2026

With highly efficient machines and continuous textile innovations, KARL MAYER underscores its role as a reliable partner for discerning top-tier customers. Just in time for ITM 2026 in Istanbul, the industry leader is introducing a true innovation: an eyelash lace with its characteristic fringed look – combined with a previously unattainable 4-way stretch. While the established fabric could until now only be produced as rigid version or with one-dimensional stretch, the new elasticity in both dimensions expands the possibilities for cross-band panel fabrics.

DYNEEMA® and NP Aerospace advance personal protection for military servicewomen

Dyneema®, owned by Avient Corporation, an innovator of materials solutions, is supplying its high-performance unidirectional (UD) materials to world-leading armor manufacturer NP Aerospace, enabling the production of armor systems designed specifically to fit the female body. With 2,000 new armor systems, including 4,000 plates, made in the United Kingdom (UK) and delivered in June 2026, this collaboration addresses a long-standing lack of high-quality personal protection specially built for female defense and security personnel.