Texprocess 2019, the leading international trade fair for processing textile and flexible materials, highlighted digitalisation and sustainability in textiles. With its supporting programme of lectures and competitions, Texprocess offered exhibitors and visitors an insight into the latest developments in the industry from May 14-17, 2019, at Frankfurt. Around 317 exhibitors from 34 countries demonstrated the latest developments in the processing of textile and flexible materials to 26,400 visitors from 96 nations, including visitors coming from Techtextil. With growth in exhibitor numbers of 1.6 per cent and five per cent in visitor numbers, this year, Texprocess enjoyed its biggest show to date, according to a press release on the show. The overriding theme of Texprocess – subsumed under the heading ‘Impact 4.0’ – was the continuation and development of Industry 4.0, together with the changes that it brought with it as a component in the value-creation chain. A large proportion of the sector’s technology providers have, for a number of years, been working successfully on the digitalisation of the entire value creation chain, starting with 3D body scanners, 3D simulation software for collection design, robotisation, and predictive maintenance in the cutting department and including the interlinking of all the sewing machines in an entire production line across national borders. Three of the four winners of the 2019 Texprocess Innovation Award received the prize for new digital solutions: Dürkopp Adler won over the adjudicators with the new M-Type-Delta sewing machine, which learns independently and can be integrated into fully digitalised production lines in the automotive, upholstery and leather industries. Assyst received the award for their new, innovative 3D process, which significantly alters the way the value creation chain in the textile industry functions. Lectra were singled out for their fashion-on-demand technology, the first end-to-end solution for the personalisation of fashionwear. There was, moreover, much discussion at Texprocess about the increasing use of artificial intelligence combined with cloud-based solutions in, for example, the area of machine learning. Sustainability and digital printing of textiles were also major topics of discussion at Texprocess. The fourth Texprocess Innovation Award went to Vetron Typical Europe for their ultra-light sewing unit with carbon components. Digitalisation, and the inter-connectivity that goes with it, was reflected, too, in what amounted to five micro-factories in all at Texprocess. These gave the trade visitors an impression of how integrated textile processing works and where the added value lies for both processors and customers. In collaboration with the DITF and with partners from industry, Techtextil and Texprocess showcased, in the Digital Textile Micro-factory, a total of three extensive and fully networked production lines. Line one demonstrated the manufacture of individually designed polo shirts. In line two, shoe uppers were produced using a 3D knitting process. And line three demonstrated how textile and flexible materials, such as faux leather, are processed. Is sustainability the key to innovation in the textile sector? The question at the heart of the Fashionsustain Conference, held within the framework of the Texprocess Forum, played an important part at Texprocess. According to Micke Magnusson, co-founder of the Swedish start-up, We are Spindye, who gave the keynote speech, sustainable innovations in textiles are crucial to the sector’s survival. At Fashionsustain, major figures in the sector, including, amongst others, Clariant, Indorama, Lenzing, Perpetual Global, Procalçado, as well as Kering and Zalando, came together to discuss issues relating to sustainability in the textile and fashion sectors. Fashionsustain was chaired by, amongst others, Karla Magruder, founder of Fabrikology International. Fibre manufacturers Lenzing, knitting machine producers Santoni, and shoe component manufacturers Procalçado subsequently went on to present the Innovation Roadshow entitled ‘The Future of Eco-Conscious Footwear Manufacturing’, which offered examples of sustainable practices in shoe manufacturing. Exhibitors Assyst presented an example of a software solution that optimises the entire product development stage, the Avalution 3D bodyscanner system. Following on from Fashionsustain, an offshoot of the Neonyt Conference came discussion of the topic ‘Impact 4.0 and the future of Industry 4.0’, organised by the textile care, fabric and leather technologies division of the Association of German Machinery and Plant Manufacturers (VDMA). The programme was again designed by DTB (Dialog.Trust.Business).
