Texprocess: Full range of technologies for textile processing

Automation, individualisation, customisation and sustainability. The range of technologies at the coming Texprocess is more comprehensive than ever. Four months before its start, the leading international trade fair for the processing of textile and flexible materials is almost booked up.

Trade visitors from the fashion and clothing industry, upholstered-furniture manufacturers and all processors of textiles will find at Texprocess, from 14 to 17 May 2019, an even broader range of machinery and methods for processing textile and flexible materials. Once again in its level of bookings Texprocess is exceeding the results of the previous event.

"The coming Texprocess will be taking off even further. While on all sides people are talking of Industry 4.0, at Texprocess we are now talking of Impact 4.0. Trade visitors will find an impressive range of technologies which in every respect are having formative effects on the way we manufacture and process textiles, effects which will continue in future", says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles and Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt.

With exhibitors currently from some 29 countries, Texprocess will be showing the whole range of textile-processing technologies – from design, to layout, to cutting, making, trimming, digital textile printing, conditioning, finishing, textile logistics and textile recycling. Among the exhibitors registered will be all international market leaders, including Amann, Brother, Dürkopp Adler, Human Solutions, Juki Central Europe, Morgan Tecnica, Pfaff, Tajima, Veit and Vetron. Following a temporary absence, Sunstar will be one of those represented at Texprocess again. Among those which have registered for the first time are Browzwear Solutions, Lasembor, INL International Technology, Siruba Latin America and Summa NV. China, Japan and Taiwan have registered for national pavilions.

Micro-factories show integrated production processes

Micro-factories – an approach to textile processing which is fully networked and allows individualised products, while working rapidly, flexibly and locally – will be the focal subject at the coming Texprocess. Texprocess currently features four micro-factories:

The Digital Textile Micro-Factory at Texprocess and Techtextil, in collaboration with the Denkendorf Institutes for Textile and Fibre Research (DITF) and partners from industry, will be presenting three production lines in Hall 4.1 alone – one each for the manufacture of clothing, a 3D knitted shoe and for processing technical textiles, e.g. for the automotive or furniture industry.

RWTH Aachen University, jointly with various partners from industry and research, will be producing a smart cushion in its Smart Textiles Micro-Factory in the passage between Halls 4.1 and 5.1, thus demonstrating the industrially compatible production of a smart textile, from design to finished product, to serve as an example of the process. The prototype of the cushion will have been showcased previously at Heimtextil 2019.

Six firms working in several fields – visualisation, CAD cutting systems, automated body-mass calculation, layout and process automation –have also come together under the umbrella concept "World of Digital Fashion." In Hall 4.0 they will be jointly showing the ways in which their products can be integrated and combined in various different workflows within the value-added chain, making the digital process chain into a live experience. The focus will be on the customisation of clothing and fashion.

Additionally, Efka, a manufacturer of industrial sewing-machine drive systems, and CAD specialist Gemini will be showing how to produce individually designed football shirts. The micro-factory presents an easy solution that most companies can implement using existing resources and structures.

Focus on sustainability

Sustainability is one of the central themes of the upcoming Techtextil and Texprocess. For the first time, the two fairs will be showcasing their exhibitors’ efforts towards sustainability. The Techtextil and Texprocess Innovation Awards give prizes for sustainable textile innovations and processing approaches. In addition, the Texprocess Forum will offer a thematic block exclusively around the theme of sustainability in the textile and fashion industry, with an offshoot of Fashionsustain, Messe Frankfurt’s conference about sustainable textile innovations.

Techtextil and Texprocess sharing a hall for the first time

For the first time Techtextil and concurrent Texprocess will be sharing an exhibition hall in 2019. In Hall 4.1 Texprocess will be showing its Digital Textile Micro-Factory, with one production line each for clothing, shoes and the processing of technical textiles. In addition exhibitors will be featuring product preparation, finishing, textile logistics, internal materials flow and textile conditioning, plus suppliers of sewing solutions. The Texprocess Special Treatment Area will also be located there, with exhibitors from the effect-finishing segment.

Also in Hall 4.1, Techtextil will be showcasing some of the suppliers of woven, laid web, braided and knitted fabrics, coated textiles, and nonwovens, as well as selected suppliers of textile machines. Suppliers of functional apparel textiles mark the transition to Texprocess. In the shared hall, visitors will get an insight into the entire production process, from raw material to finished product.

Complementary programme with talks and awards

The Texprocess Forum in Hall 4.1 on every day of the fair will be featuring talks by experts on current topics in the industry. Once again the Forum will be organised in collaboration with the Textile-Clothing Dialogue (Dialog Textil-Bekleidung (DTB)), the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the World Textile Information Network (WTiN). For the first time Messe Frankfurt will also be bringing a section from its conference at Berlin Fashion Week to Texprocess in Frankfurt, in the shape of Fashionsustain Berlin, thus providing a bridge to the sustainable end product.

For the fifth time Messe Frankfurt will be honouring the best new technological developments through its Texprocess Innovation Award. Entries for the prize are possible up to 18 February 2019 at www.texprocess-award.com. Entry is open to both exhibitors at Texprocess 2019 and also to all firms, institutes, universities, polytechnics, and individuals not exhibiting. The prizes in the various categories will be awarded during the joint opening event of Texprocess and Techtextil on 14 May 2019. At the same time a special exhibition area will be showcasing all prize-winning Texprocess products.

Visitors will also find new IT solutions for the clothing industry at IT@Texprocess. Among the presentations to be shown by exhibitors will be software for customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), product life-cycle management (PLM) and supply chain management.

Sewing and clothing technology with a further sales plus

According to information from VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies, a partner in the Texprocess concept, in 2017 German manufacturers of sewing and clothing technology earned 7 percent more in real terms compared with the previous year, making this the highest export result since 2003. "With export sales of € 603 million, Germany comes in third place among exporting countries, after China and Japan", says Elgar Straub, general manager of VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies. "Our member firms' technologies are in international demand. Our firms are constantly building up their competitive position. That is because they are continually developing and innovating."

At the last Texprocess, in May 2017, 312 exhibitors from 35 countries showed 13,718 visitors from 109 countries the latest developments in the processing of textile and flexible materials. Moreover 11,399 visitors to Techtextil found information about the range at Texprocess. The two fairs in all welcomed 1,789 exhibitors from 66 countries and over 47,500 visitors from 114 countries.

Background information on Messe Frankfurt

Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. With more than 2,500* employees at 30 locations, the company generates annual sales of around €715* million. Thanks to its far-reaching ties with the relevant sectors and to its international sales network, the Group looks after the business interests of its customers effectively. A comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services. With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).