Industry News
Frankfurt Tradeshow Trio Techtextil, Texprocess, Heimtextil: Innovation Hub and Reloading Platform
by Yvonne Heinen-Foudeh, Senior International Correspondent
With a trade show calendar shaken by the vagaries of the global pandemic all around, Texprocess and Techtextil, the bigger siblings of the U.S. offshoots, kicked off four weeks after the Atlanta editions in Frankfurt, Germany. Personal business encounters, intensive networking, and updates on the state of the art in technology and material innovations, plus plenty of impetus with a view to new business models, strategies for repositioning oneself in times of change — all this was offered by the re-launch of the global textile fairs at the Frankfurt/Main venue from 21–24 June.
- Buyers from all over the world took the chance of the one-time parallelism of the trade show trio through the combination with the Heimtextil Summer Special for cross-networking to place orders and initiate new business relations. With the contemporary Digital Extension, the Frankfurt trade fair makers keep communication and collaboration alive beyond the analog platforms.
- The focus of talks and updated offerings at all three parallel trade shows, as well as the wide range of special exhibitions and accompanying information forums:
- • Process optimization utilizing integration and digitalization
- • Sustainability in materials and trims through innovative technologies
- The development departments of the suppliers have eagerly used the Corona-related forced break. Rarely has such cumulative, partly groundbreaking innovation on the bid of the situation, tailored to the exact market been available for discovery and evaluation - in this millennium. [For more, see also the article on Texprocess and Techtextil Innovation Award in this issue.]
Despite ongoing travel restrictions, all three trade shows maintained their pre-pandemic level of internationality in terms of both exhibitors and visitors. Messe Frankfurt counted for Techtextil and Texprocess as well as the Heimtextil Summer Special around 63,000 visitors and a total of 2,300 exhibitors from 61 countries.
Across all three events Italy, France, Turkey, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Pakistan, and the USA formed the top visitor nations. Visitor satisfaction also remained stable at a high level for all three events, averaging 91%.
• The next Techtextil and Texprocess, Frankfurt, will be held April 23–26, 2024.• The next Heimtextil will take place from January 10–13, 2023.
Detlef Braun, Managing Director of Messe Frankfurt, in his opening speech to the trio of trade fairs: "In times of crisis, change always brings business opportunities. And pave the way for progress and competitive advantages. In addition to dealing with the immediate situation, textile companies face the task of finding their way into their own circular economy and rethinking their supply chains," Braun continued.
Photo: Thomas Fedra/Messe Frankfurt
Christopher Veit did not pass up the opportunity to personally explain the new products to our team: "We don't have a VEIT beer garden integrated into our show display this time, but plenty of innovations," explains the third-generation CEO in good spirits.
Parallel to the three trade fairs for textile materials, home textiles, and technology solutions, the city on the river Main again presented its Frankfurt Fashion Week.
After pandemic restraint with the previous minimal edition this time a veritable fireworks display of more than one hundred events was offered under the Frankfurt Fashion Week umbrella brand. From June 20-26 fashion shows, talks, exhibitions, presentations, and open studios invited interested visitors to explore and experience everything related to sustainable design. The Frankfurt Fashion Week is a marketing platform for the regional fashion and design scene as well as cultural and creative industries.
The FFW is coordinated by the Frankfurt Economic Development GmbH on behalf of the City of Frankfurt to establish Frankfurt Fashion Week as a distinctive Frankfurt-style event,” said Economic Affairs Officer Stephanie WüstMesse Frankfurt had docked with Frankfurt Fashion Week and made its Neonyt Lab, this time held from June 24–26, a home play by transferring the event from its former venue in Berlin to Frankfurt/Main*.
In a mix of conferences and exhibits, Neonyt Lab is dedicated entirely to the broad range of topics around sustainable fashion and addresses both, fashion professionals as well as consumers.
* There actually is a second city named Frankfurt in Germany. Frankfurt, on the Oder River, is located in the Brandenburg region, close to the Polish border.
Catwalk for designer Samuel Gärtner’s fashion show: the historic iron and concrete footbridge “Eiserner Steg”, connecting the city center to the southern banks of the Main River: Stunning views to the young creator’s styles and Frankfurt’s skyline by night. Photo: Renate Hoyer
"Freudenberg is taking it seriously," is how V.P. Global Communications Holger Steingräber summed it up at the Techtextil booth. The global company from Weinheim has always been exemplary when it comes to sustainability and environmental protection. Latest customer service of their Performance Materials business unit: Support to achieve GRS certification.
Holger Steingraber, Freudenberg V.P. Global Communications