This is certainly due to the fact that nonwoven technologies are becoming more and more flexible, leading to nonwovens entering fields so far reserved for, e.g., wovens. The market introduction of Meta-Aramide based nonwovens for protective garments (‘Protech’) – which were historically based on wovens – is one indication for this trend. Spunlace nonwovens for decorative car interiors (replacing knits) are another.

Another above average growth area is to be found in textile reinforcements for high performance continuous filament reinforced plastics ‘composites’).Historically based on glass, Para-Aramide or carbon and driven by industries like aerospace, boat-building, sports equipment and wind turbines, continuous filament fabric based composites are now entering the automotive sector as well as areas like high end luggage (with PP tape based wovens), Medtech (prosthesis), Medical equipment, etc.Such typically woven, stitch-bonded or unidirectional (‘UD’) fabrics are – when combined by the fabric supplier with thermoset or thermoplastic matrix material - called ‘prepregs’ (preimpregnated continuous filament based textile surfaces).

Here, clearly thermoplastic matrix materials (like PA or TPU) are growing in importance at the expense of thermoset (like epoxy or phenolic resin). Thermoplastic prepregs are typically employed in ‘organic sheets’, a market where large amounts of R&D – especially by the auto industry – are currently invested.

The trend toward the use of thermoplastic ‘organic sheets’, which can be deep-drawn and overmoulded, represents a new market for European textile enterprises. By combining thermoplastic matrix material (such as PA, TPU or PPS) with textile reinforcements (like Glass, Aramide or Carbon wovens) on a laminator, a mouldable sheet is formed, which is then further processed by various deep-drawing technologies into structured parts (like structural elements of car seats or sports equipment) by the downstream non textile manufacturers (n.b.: lamination technology in general can be considered as another Technical Textile segment showing above average growth rates).

Prepregs are growing worldwide and as such offer opportunities for the textile fabric manufacturer to move down the value chain and build up plastic resin related intellectual property (‘IP’).

Looking at the larger picture one can state that the big megatrends ‘comfort increase’, ‘aging population’ and ‘weight savings’ all play in favour of the European Technical Textile industry.

This concerns Non-Wovens (e.g. for hygiene) as well as wovens (e.g. for composites).The future should thus be marked by continuous growth of Technical Textile demand in existing, emerging and new market segments, requiring, nevertheless, also a continuous high level of investment in R&D, product certification as well as plant and equipment.