#Associations

2021-11-18

Han Bekke receives IAF Golden Pin

Immediate Past President of IAF Han Bekke was awarded the IAF Golden Pin by IAF President Cem Altan on November 7, 2021 during the 36th IAF World Fashion Convention in Antwerp, Belgium.

The IAF Golden Pin is awarded to those who have been of extraordinary importance to the positive development of IAF. Only a few IAF Golden Pins have been awarded throughout IAF’s 49-year-old history.

Han Bekke’s importance to IAF cannot be overstated. Effectively, he was the IAF’s first Secretary General, supporting the Board of Directors of the organisation founded in 1972 when he had just joined the Dutch apparel industry association in Amsterdam. In 2006 when the IAF secretariat moved from London to Amsterdam, Han Bekke would become its Secretary General; a role he took in addition to his role as Director General of MODINT, the Dutch apparel and textile industry association. In 2016 Mr. Bekke took over the IAF presidency from then CMAI President Rahul Mehta, a position he would hold until last week, when Cem Altan succeeded him. Mr. Bekke will retain his seat in the IAF Executive Committee as Immediate Past President.

Han Bekke embodies the international spirit of IAF and the benefits this brings to its participants. Leading IAF he has grown to be a strong advocate of international supply chain solidarity and collaboration as well as of the urgent need to create a less fragmented set of rules and regulations for the apparel industry.

Immediate Past President of IAF Han Bekke (in the center) and IAF President Cem Altan (on the right) © 2021 IAF

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

Business situation weakens slightly, but the industry stays cautiously optimistic

The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) has published the results of its 39th Global Textile Industry Survey (GTIS), conducted from 14 to 22 July 2026 among companies along the entire global textile value chain. Worldwide, 10% of participants rated their business situation as good, 53% as satisfactory and 37% as bad — a balance of -26pp, down from -17pp in May but still well above the 2023 lows. All regions are now in negative territory, from South Asia at -3pp to North & Central America at -58pp.

Italian textile machinery orders show quarterly recovery in Q2 2026

In the period between April and June 2026, order intake for Italian textile machinery manufacturers showed mixed but encouraging signals for the second half of the year. The order index at constant prices stood at 46.6 points (taking 2021=100 as the base year), showing a slight decrease of 3% compared to the same quarter of 2025. This trend was largely due to the contraction recorded in the domestic market, which fell by 25% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

Febratex 2026 to be the largest edition of the leading textile trade fair in the Americas with 10 exhibition halls

Febratex 2026 will be the largest edition in the history of the leading textile trade fair in the Americas. Dedicated to the textile and apparel manufacturing industries, the event will take place from August 18–21, 2026, in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil, with a strong focus on technology, sustainability, and business generation.

Cotton Brazil Dialogues field trip brings international stakeholders closer to Brazil’s cotton production chain

How do you build trust across the global textile value chain? By opening the farm gates. This is the principle behind the Cotton Brazil Dialogues. At the end of July, the programme welcomed its first group of international participants for a five-day immersion into Brazilian cotton production, combining field visits with technical workshops to showcase the quality, sustainability, innovation and traceability behind one of the world’s leading cotton origins.

ITMA ASIA + CITME 2026 Shanghai showcases intelligent and sustainable manufacturing

From 20 to 24 November 2026, the textile machinery industry will gather in Shanghai for ITMA ASIA + CITME 2026, Asia’s leading business platform for textile machinery, to be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). The exhibition will occupy seven halls, with a total gross exhibition area of about 180,000 square metres. The exhibition has expanded by 10% over the last edition which reflects the continued industry interest in the region.