#Associations

2021-08-26

BTMA elects new CEO

The British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA) has announced that Jason Kent has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the BTMA Group, which also includes subsidiaries nw texnet and The Textile Recorder (Machinery & Accessories) Exhibitions Ltd (TREX), effective from Monday 23rd August 2021.

Jason has been a non-executive member of the BTMA board for over eight years and brings a wealth of experience with him, having spent 35 years working in the carpet tufting machinery industry.

As a time-served mechanical technician engineer, he ascended through a series of positions of greater responsibility with Cobble Blackburn until its acquisition in 2013 by the Vandewiele Group, where he undertook the role of Managing Director for the tufting machinery business.

He also studied part-time for his MBA back in 2011 and is also a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

“Jason is the right person for leading the BTMA into the future,” said Alan Little, BTMA’s Association Director. “Jason’s textile machinery background, business development skills and extensive knowledge of the BTMA and its members will help in delivering the strategic vision of the board. The current BTMA staff look forward to working alongside Jason to assist him in achieving his goals”.

“I am very privileged to be joining the BTMA,” said Jason Kent. “I believe there are many generational changes ahead that our members must face and the BTMA needs to be ready and capable of supporting such challenges.”

“As I see it, we have three initial goals in providing better business outcomes for our members through active engagement in addressing industry skills deficits, ensuring we are at the forefront of the industrial digitalisation revolution, and leveraging opportunities brought about through innovation and the associated global focus on sustainability.”

“We have so many great people in our members, associates and colleagues that our opportunities are considerable. With people at my forefront of attention, I want to waste no time in engaging with our members over these coming months to communicate the BTMA Group’s vision in more depth and to also establish more comparatively our goals, challenges and distinctions.”

Founded in 1940, the British Textile Machinery Association actively promotes British textile machinery manufacturers and their products to the world. The non-profit organisation acts as a bridge between its members and the increasingly diverse industries within the textile manufacturing sector.

Fluorescent ban will impact on colour, warns BTMA

The British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA) is alerting apparel brands, retailers and their supply chain partners to an important change taking place this month. As of February 24th 2025, the sale of all fluorescent lighting will officially come to an end in the EU and UK, with potentially significant implications for everyone along the supply chain – from designers and fabric manufacturers through to merchandisers and window display artists.

Nike unites innovation, design and product teams to accelerate athlete-centered innovation

Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse are joining forces under a new, athlete-focused creation structure aimed at accelerating innovation and driving growth across NIKE, Inc. The new setup unites the Innovation, Design and Product teams from all three brands into a single “creation engine” that will enable greater sharing of insights, technology and manufacturing methods throughout the innovation process. This integration is part of Nike’s new Sport Offense strategy and is designed to enhance the creation of products that help athletes perform at their best.

DORNIER celebrates its anniversary at ITMA Asia + CITME

To mark its 75th anniversary, machine and plant manufacturer Lindauer DORNIER will be presenting the latest developments in its rapier and air-jet weaving machines at ITMA Asia + CITME in Singapore (Hall 2, Stand B401) from 28 to 31 October 2025. The focus will be on energy-efficient weaving technologies, new IoT solutions for networked textile production and systems for the series production of modern fibre composite components.

BCI warns against ‘dangerous dilution’ of EU corporate directives

The approval of the European Commission’s Omnibus I proposal by the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs, accepting controversial changes to key sustainability directives is of great concern. These changes, namely to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), threaten to significantly dilute business reporting and due diligence obligations.

Pioneering open-source framework shows how early innovation drives a just and net-zero fashion future

The non-profit H&M Foundation, in collaboration with Accenture, has unveiled From Signals to Systems Change, an insight report calling on the fashion industry to rethink its role in transformation. At its core is the Reimagined System Map, a pioneering open-source framework that visualises how early-stage innovation could drive a just and net-zero textile future.