Frankfurt – The return of the Techtextil and Texprocess exhibitions has been heralded as huge success, as exhibitors and visitors once again travelled from around the world to explore the latest industry developments.
Despite ongoing travel restrictions, all three trade shows, including Heimtextil, are reported to have maintained their pre-pandemic level of internationality in terms of both exhibitors and visitors.
The shows attracted 117 participating nations, around 63,000 visitors and 2300 exhibitors. In addition to European countries, Pakistan, India, Korea and the USA were also among the top visitor nations.
"The textile industry remains a high-growth market that needs face-to-face interaction," said Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies.
"In these times of massive supply chain disruptions, we have provided the markets with our unique crossover at the most important international marketplace for product innovations along almost the entire textile value chain at exactly the right time."
Sustainable innovations – in the form of fibres, fabrics, cutting technologies and water-saving dyeing processes – were amongst the plethora of products and services on display. These featured in the Sustainability@Techtextil and Sustainability@Texprocess area.
For the first time, Techtextil and Texprocess were also held virtually. In the Digital Extension platform, exhibitors presented themselves digitally and therefore extended their presence at the trade fair. Visitors were able to benefit from many offers of the Digital Extension and optimally prepare their visit to the trade fair as early as 13 June 2022. The digital platform of Techtextil and Texprocess will be available until July 8, 2022 enabling Messe Frankfurt's conference formats, such as the Techtextil and Texprocess forums, to still be accessed.
In addition to the return of in-person Techtextil/Texprocess events, this fair was also different in that it coincided with homeware show Heimtextil.
Though the event typically takes place independently in January, lingering COVID-19 concerns forced organisers to synergise with Techtextil and Texprocess in Frankfurt.
Despite the change in schedule, exhibitors expressed their appreciation for the new format, which allowed stakeholders to meet up once more. That said, the next Heimtextil is expected to return to a January date, with reports it will get underway from 10-13th next year.
Meanwhile, the next Techtextil/ Texprocess event will run from 23-26th April 2024.
