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Techtextil and Avantex to be held in parallel in 2005

• At the same time and place: the complete spectrum of technical and functional apparel textiles
• The aim: Synergies for the sector

The next Techtextil and Avantex will be held in parallel in 2005. The new dates from April 19-21, 2005 will cover the entire spectrum of technical textiles and functional apparel textiles. Accordingly, the edition of Avantex planned for June 2004 will not be held. The aim of postponing Avantex is to generate the best possible synergies between the two subject areas. Avantex will be held as an independent symposium during Techtextil.

All further details regarding the organisation of the new constellation of events will be prepared in close cooperation with the industry over the coming months. Both events focus on the subject of functional textiles. Furthermore, Techtextil will be accompanied by a symposium. The features the two events have in common and that distinguish them are outlined briefly below.

Techtextil: A global concept

With ten events since making its debut in 1986, Techtextil has established itself as the leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens. The number of exhibitors and visitors from home and abroad has risen rapidly from event to event. In 2001, there were 785 exhibitors (approx. 65 per cent from outside Germany) and 17,200 visitors (approx. 49 per cent from abroad) compared with 195 exhibitors and 5,900 visitors at the first Techtextil fair. This year, registrations have been received from over 880 exhibitors from 42 countries. With its user-oriented concept of ten product groups and twelve areas of application, it has not only set new standards for the sector but also generated new impulses.

Today, there is a regular family of Techtextil events around the globe: in Atlanta, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Moscow.

Avantex: A small event on a high plane

The concept of Avantex is completely different. With its focus on innovations in the field of high-tech apparel textiles, it has opened up completely new horizons - and ensured a new level of awareness of the need for interdisciplinary cooperation. It made its debut in November 2000. The second edition followed in May 2002. Almost 2,700 symposium participants and trade visitors, almost half of them from outside Germany, 80 exhibitors and well over 100 garment innovations gave a signal in the direction of high-tech apparel textiles. There was an enormous media response to the presentation of the latest developments, many of them completely new or revolutionary, e g, the jacket with an integrated MP3 player from Infineon or a garment with integrated aerospace technology from Grado Zero Espace, which boosted the image of the sector among consumers. Furthermore, Avantex has branched out in a new direction for the presentation: from the middle of August to the end of October 2003, the ‘Avantex Commercial Caravan’ will tour department stores of Karstadt Warenhaus AG in ten German cities: a test market for new products. Furthermore, Avantex is associated with two EU projects: ‘WEALTHY’ und ‘-wear’ (www.Wealthy-IST.com; www.i—wear.org).

Techtextil + Avantex = synergy effects

Holding the two high-grade events in parallel has a number of advantages. Visitors have the chance to use both forums at the same time. Techtextil will be enriched by the visitor target groups of Avantex, i e, designers, garment manufacturers and the trade. Thus, in 2005, the Clothtech, Protech and Sporttech areas of application will play a more prominent role than before. Avantex will benefit from the broader exhibitor structure of Techtextil. From this point of view, there have been many common points to date in terms of institutes, fibres and yarns, membranes and fabrics.

A large proportion of the innovations at Avantex are based on innovations produced by cooperation in the textile process chain. Here, Avantex has revealed new fields. Thus, the way it has brought together the traditional textile sector with the exhibitor group of micro-system technology and the electronics industry is revolutionary. Both events are highly individual and will, therefore, mutually enrich each other.