Techtextil gives impetus to India’s technical textile revolution

A high level of energy, business networking and dynamic synergy was seen at the sixth edition of Techtextil India where 175 exhibitors from 11 countries including national pavilions from Germany and the People Republic of China showcased a gamut of technical textile solutions to 5,436 visitors from 38 countries. The fair marked a 34 per cent increase in exhibition space, growing by 11 per cent in terms of exhibitors (2015: 158 exhibitors) and 7 per cent visitors (2015: 5,050 visitors) compared to the previous edition. Smart future textiles, recycled fibres, sustainable alternatives, welding, wearables, functional solutions were among some of the highlights on the showfloor.

Closing its three-day run with positive impressions, the 6th edition hosted a series of business and knowledge-oriented features as well as the successful launch of Texprocess in India. The premiere of the Texprocess pavilion at Techtextil India and the Texprocess Seminar resulted in intense synergy and has created the foundation of what is to become independent co-located platforms for technical textiles and garment machinery in the coming years for India.

Led by industry visionaries, the symposium hosted 18 sessions covering a wide range of topics from global trends to domestic market focused subjects like protective agrotextiles, aerospace applications, advanced composites, fibre innovations and smart textiles. The full-packed hall saw 130 high-profile speakers and delegates from Garware Wall Ropes Ltd, Ginni Filaments Ltd, Grasim Industries Ltd-Birla Cellulose, Reliance, SRF Ltd, Strata Geosystems (India) Pvt Ltd etc who took advantage of the platform to gain insights on new applications and market outlook.

Presenting a new concept for smart wearable textiles at the symposium, Mr Saumil Shah, Co-founder & VP – Institution Sales, Broadcast Wearables Pvt Ltd who was one of the speakers at the last session explained: “We chose Techtextil India to publicise the launch of our wearable LED shirts and the response has been encouraging. Delegates have shown interest in this new concept and we have acquired good leads with whom we can initiate trade in the coming months.” Having met potential partners at the fair even in previous editions, he added: “We were also here last edition and had some very good discussions and are in the advanced stage of closing deals with a few renowned brands whose contacts we acquired from the fair. It works both ways for my business as I not only acquired leads but could also use this platform to source fabrics and raw materials for my product.”

In conjunction with the symposium, the special telecast of Dornbirn MFC was another first and was highly appreciated by sector players for providing access to the plenary lectures that the industry looks forward to every year. While several exhibitors could not attend this due to the busy schedule at stands, visitors were seen taking advantage of this new feature at the fair.

Held biennially in India, the next edition of Techtextil India including the Texprocess Pavilion will take place from October 10-12, 2019 in Mumbai and continue its focus on the 10 product groups and 12 application areas of technical textiles.