#Textiles & Apparel / Garment

2020-02-13

VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies: High expectations of Texcare International 2020

From 20 to 24 June 2020, the leading international trade fair Texcare International will once again be the worldwide meeting place for laundry and dry-cleaning technology in Frankfurt am Main. The top theme of sustainability will be reflected at the leading trade fair.

Top Topic Sustainability

The topic of sustainability continues to gain in importance and will play a role across all exhibitors. On the consumer side, awareness of sustainability is increasing and with it the demands on industry for more sustainable and resource-efficient production. The EU Commission is also prioritising the issue. The EU Commission's Green New Deal will also occupy and shape the textile care industry in the coming years. In this context, the topic of circular laundry is also rapidly gaining in importance.

Elgar Straub, Managing Director of the VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies Association (c) 2020 VDMA

Potentials through digitisation

The advancing digitisation in particular offers enormous potential to further advance these issues. Automation and artificial intelligence, among other things, are groundbreaking in this respect. Companies are thinking ahead on the topic of laundry to improve connectivity and digitisation and to drive the digitisation of the entire value chain. Resource conservation, efficiency and hygiene are the most important goals.

Due to worldwide changes, such as rising hygiene and living standards, the industry has extremely positive expectations for the future. "The growing global hygiene standards offer many new opportunities for the entire textile care sector. Therefore, our industry as a whole is looking positively into the future", says Elgar Straub, Managing Director VDMA TFL. Companies have high expectations of this year's edition of Texcare International because it will set the course of the sector for the coming years.

Industry Economy

Last year's tense political and economic situation also affected the laundry and dry-cleaning industry. The trade conflict between the USA and China and the unresolved brexite situation were just two of the geopolitical crises that have unsettled the markets. As these are all important target markets for the industry, these conflicts unsettle customers and reduce investment. It is precisely for this reason that Texcare is expected to generate positive investment impetus.

After many very successful years, the entire German VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies industry can look back on a growing year 2019 and a slowdown in the economy has become clearly noticeable. Order intake for the entire TFL industry (including garment and leather technology) deteriorated by 7 percent in real terms in 2019, but is still above the average for the mechanical engineering industry in general. In the same period, sales declined by 6 percent in real terms compared to the previous year.

In the laundry and dry-cleaning technology sub-segment, German exports fell by 11.4 percent in the first eleven months of 2019.

VDMA TFL is the conceptual sponsor of Texcare International

Texcare International is the leading international trade fair for the laundry and dry-cleaning sector. From 20 to 24 June 2020, international exhibitors will present trade visitors at Texcare with the latest machinery, plant, processes and services for laundry and dry-cleaning technology.

Young talents honoured – 60 years Walter Reiners Foundation

At the Techtextil trade fair in Frankfurt at the end of April, Peter D. Dornier, chairman of the VDMA’s Walter Reiners Foundation, presented awards to five successful young engineers. Promotion and sustainability awards were presented in the categories of bachelor’s/project theses and diploma/master’s theses. Academic theses are eligible for the sustainability awards if, for example, they develop solutions for resource-efficient products and technologies.

Young researchers recognised for cutting-edge work in recycling, fibre technology and textile mechanics

At the Aachen-Dresden-Denkendorf International Textile Conference held in Aachen at the end of November, Peter D. Dornier, Chairman of the Walter Reiners Foundation of the VDMA, honoured five successful young engineers. Promotion and sustainability prizes were awarded in the categories bachelor/project theses and diploma/master theses. Academic theses that develop solutions for resource-saving products and technologies, for example, are eligible for the sustainability awards.

VDMA members at ITMA ASIA + CITME in Singapore

With 69 exhibiting member companies, ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 is once again marked by a strong presence of VDMA companies. Altogether 82 companies from Germany will exhibit at the show, covering about 3,500 square meters of exhibition space, topped only by China and Italy. VDMA initiated a German Pavilion with two group stands (spinning in hall 4 and finishing in hall 7) with a total of 30 exhibitors.

VDMA member companies on display at ITMA ASIA

ITMA ASIA + CITME end of October in Singapore will see a strong participation of around 70 VDMA member companies. They will cover nearly all different machinery chapters along the textile value chain including spinning and man-made fibres, nonwovens, weaving, braiding, knitting & warp knitting, finishing & dyeing as well as technologies for textile recycling and processing of recycled material. VDMA initiated a German Pavilion with two group stands (spinning in hall 4 and finishing in hall 7) with a total of 30 exhibitors.

Messe Frankfurt commits further to East Africa: three textiles trade fairs during Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week from 2027

Messe Frankfurt and its Texpertise Network continue their steady, successful trajectory in the region. As Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week (ASFW) opened today, Member of the Executive Board Detlef Braun announced that Messe Frankfurt is licencing its three leading international trade fair brands Texworld, Apparel Sourcing and Texprocess to Nairobi, Kenya for the first time in 2027. From now on, they will take place annually as part of the Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week (ASFW) Nairobi.

“We Believe in the Value of Textiles”: Successful Opening of the KARL MAYER TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTER

KARL MAYER inaugurated its new, state-of-the-art TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTER (TIC) with a four-day opening week from April 21 to 24. The highlight of the week was the grand opening on Thursday, which drew a strong turnout from the international textile industry: around 220 customers, brands, and partners from across the textile value chain came to the company’s headquarters in Obertshausen for a first-hand look at the new high-tech development environment and lively exchange with industry peers.

Fifteen years of Autoneum – From spin off to global technology leader

What started as a strategic carve‑out has since become the success story of a global technology leader in acoustic and thermal management solutions for vehicles. Headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland, Autoneum supplies leading automobile manufacturers worldwide with innovative, lightweight and increasingly sustainable solutions.

Kruger, Canada, orders first nonwovens line for sustainable wipes from ANDRITZ

International technology group ANDRITZ has received an order from newly established Kruger Nonwovens to deliver a complete WetlaceTM hybrid line for the Wayagamack mill in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. With this investment, pulp and paper producer Kruger is preparing to enter the nonwovens market with a new generation of plastic-free, chemical-free materials for sustainable wipes. The line is the first of its kind in Canada and is scheduled to start production in 2028.

Picanol to present its leading weaving technology at ITM 2026

Picanol is pleased to announce it will be participating in ITM 2026 in Istanbul. This is a key event for industry professionals to engage with the Turkish textile industry as well as the extensive international audience attending the fair. During the event, Picanol will present its latest innovations to the visitors in Hall 8, booth 802.