#Associations

2019-12-11

Top young talent for a technologically strong industry

Caption: Chairman of the foundation and the winners (from left to right): Heinrich, Kaluza, Elbayoumi, Elser, Pötzsch, Dornier, Eckert. (Source: ©ITM/TU Dresden)

At the end of November, the chairman of the Walter Reiners-Stiftung (Foundation) of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association, Peter D. Dornier presented awards to six successful young engineers in Dresden. The award ceremony took place as part of the Aachen-Dresden-Denkendorf International Textile Conference.

The focuses of the award-winning works of the young engineers reflect the strengths of German textile machinery construction: the sector is particularly strong where high-quality applications and products are concerned.

Janina Elser, TU Chemnitz, Abdelrahman Elbayoumi, ITA Aachen and Hendrik Pötzsch, ITM Dresden, were honoured with creativity awards for the cleverest bachelor or project work. The prizes are endowed with 3,000 euros each.

Ms. Elser's bachelor thesis dealt with the prototypical development of circular knitted knee bandages. The subject of Mr. Elbayoumi's bachelor thesis is a feedback control system for an over-braiding process. Mr. Pötzsch's project work deals with the production of carbon fibres using solvent wet spinning technology.

Tim Kaluza, ITM Dresden and Julia Eckert, ITA Aachen, were awarded two promotion prizes in the category diploma / master thesis with prize money of 3,500 euros each. Mr. Kaluza's diploma thesis deals with the automated production of mesh-free multiaxial fabrics.

In her master thesis, Ms. Eckert developed an environmental assessment system for the production of jeans.

This year, the promotion prize of the German Textile Machinery Industry in the dissertation category was awarded to Dr. Stefan Heinrich, TU Chemnitz. The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros. The result is a fundamental work on gear requirements in textile machines, which will make a greater contribution in engineering practice.

Walter Reiners Foundation - Recruiting and promoting talent

Through its Walter Reiners-Stiftung (Foundation), the VDMA Textile Machinery Association is actively involved in promoting young engineers. Every year, the foundation awards prizes for the best dissertation, diploma or master's thesis and creativity prizes for clever bachelor's and semester theses. Through financial support for university excursions to VDMA member companies and to the leading trade fair ITMA, it provides students with regular insights into practice. The Internet portal talentmaschine.de and the homepage of the Textile Machinery Association txm.vdma.org (under the heading Young Engineers) provide information on the occupational field of textile machinery, the activities of the foundation and excursion reports by students.

Young researchers recognised for cutting-edge work in recycling, fibre technology and textile mechanics

At the Aachen-Dresden-Denkendorf International Textile Conference held in Aachen at the end of November, Peter D. Dornier, Chairman of the Walter Reiners Foundation of the VDMA, honoured five successful young engineers. Promotion and sustainability prizes were awarded in the categories bachelor/project theses and diploma/master theses. Academic theses that develop solutions for resource-saving products and technologies, for example, are eligible for the sustainability awards.

VDMA members at ITMA ASIA + CITME in Singapore

With 69 exhibiting member companies, ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 is once again marked by a strong presence of VDMA companies. Altogether 82 companies from Germany will exhibit at the show, covering about 3,500 square meters of exhibition space, topped only by China and Italy. VDMA initiated a German Pavilion with two group stands (spinning in hall 4 and finishing in hall 7) with a total of 30 exhibitors.

VDMA member companies on display at ITMA ASIA

ITMA ASIA + CITME end of October in Singapore will see a strong participation of around 70 VDMA member companies. They will cover nearly all different machinery chapters along the textile value chain including spinning and man-made fibres, nonwovens, weaving, braiding, knitting & warp knitting, finishing & dyeing as well as technologies for textile recycling and processing of recycled material. VDMA initiated a German Pavilion with two group stands (spinning in hall 4 and finishing in hall 7) with a total of 30 exhibitors.

Smart technologies for green textile production

With 42 exhibiting member companies, ITMA ASIA + CITME 2024 is once again marked by a strong presence of VDMA companies. They cover nearly all different machinery chapters with a focus on spinning and man-made fibers, nonwovens, weaving, braiding, knitting & warp knitting, finishing & dyeing as well as technologies for textile recycling and processing of recycled material. In total, the German participation at the fair is the largest from outside China.

EDANA warns of consequences of misclassification of PET spunbond imports

EDANA would like to remind its members and industry stakeholders of the legal requirement to comply with the EU rules on customs classification when importing nonwovens from third countries outside the EU. In this regard, it was recently discovered that there appears to be a high level of customs misclassification occurring in our industry. This could have dangerous and costly consequences for importers.

Engineering depth and diversity for composites

Airbond is the latest member of the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA) to receive recognition for contributions to the composites industry. The engineering firm based in Pontypool, South Wales, has just received the Make UK Energy and Sustainability Award for its Lattice 3D Printing project.

ITM 2026 will bring the global textile technologies industry together in Istanbul

ITM 2026 International Textile Machinery Exhibition, considered one of the most important organizations in the field of textile technologies in the world, is preparing to bring together all stakeholders of the industry in Istanbul between June 9–13, 2026. The exhibition, where advanced technology machines and innovative solutions for every stage of the textile production chain will be showcased, will offer an important global meeting platform for manufacturers, technology providers, investors, and professional visitors.

Revived Replacement Elements for VISLON® wins the iF Design Award 2026

YKK Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Koichi Matsushima; hereinafter “YKK”) is proud to announce that its Revived Replacement Elements for VISLON® has been awarded the prestigious iF DESIGN AWARD 2026, an award that recognizes excellence in design and quality, organized by iF Design Foundation.

AI Circular Economy Conference 2026 fuels innovation at the intersection of AI and Circular Economy

The AI Circular Economy Conference 2026, organised by nova-Institute, brought together 116 participants from 15 countries in Cologne and online to explore the transformation of the chemical and materials industry supported and accelerated by artificial intelligence. During the two-day event, leading experts from industry, research, start-ups and the investment community discussed how AI can maximise the potential of renewable carbon creating efficient circular value chains. The conference featured 24 presentations and multiple panel discussions, highlighting the growing convergence of digital technologies and circular material systems. It demonstrated how artificial intelligence is progressing from the experimental stage to real industrial implementation within the circular economy.