#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.

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.

Next week’s focus: Intertextile Shenzhen & Yarn Expo Shenzhen fuse textile tradition with sustainable, digital trends

Fashion will not be left behind in one of the world’s undisputed tech and manufacturing capitals. Which is why next week, at Intertextile Shenzhen Apparel Fabrics and Yarn Expo Shenzhen 2026, the organisers have made special efforts to integrate textile topics such as materials innovation, holistic sustainability, digitalisation and AI. Yet, from 9 – 11 June at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, the platform also includes timeless tradition and heritage-inspired evolution in equal measure. Across both shows, over 600 exhibitors from 11 countries and regions are set to showcase everything from Peruvian alpaca wool fabrics to tea-derived fibres, while their fringe programmes will explore diverse solutions along the entire value chain.

2026 general meeting of the Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen at ITA

The Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen e. V. (proRWTH) looked back on a successful year of support at their 2026 general meeting. The meeting took place at Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen and was combined with a joint session of the Executive Board and the Administrative Board. Before the general meeting began, participants were given a guided tour of ITA, providing them with fascinating insights into current research and development topics in textile engineering.

Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brings supply chain leaders together around cotton innovation

Cotton Incorporated’s Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brought together more than 300 industry leaders from 140 companies across 10 countries, including more than 45 top global brands and sourcing organizations, underscoring strong global interest in cotton-rich product development, sourcing and supply chain collaboration.

Footwear innovation enabled by warp knitting technology– insights from New Balance

The future of the athletic shoe is increasingly being shaped on warp knitting machines. For KARL MAYER, the footwear industry is one of the most important growth markets – and one of the sectors where innovative textiles can realize their full potential. In his keynote address at the opening of KARL MAYER’s TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTER in Obertshausen in April, Vishnu Prakash Muthusamy, Senior Textile and Materials Engineer at New Balance, explained the opportunities that warp knitting technology opens up for performance, sustainability, and faster development processes, and why textile manufacturers are transitioning from suppliers to development partners.