#Colloquia / Symposia

2017-11-10

Aachen, Dresden and Denkendorf, together, are forming the 'textile triangle' of the future

Boasting over 600 participants most recently, this conference counts as one of the most important textile conferences in Europe. Starting in 2016, the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research, Denkendorf (DITF) are now also a co-organizer. Thus, the Aachen-Dresden-Denkendorf International Textile Conference will take place on a yearly alternating basis at one of the three sites. This year it will take place in Stuttgart from 30-Nov-2017 to 1-Dec-2017.

Parallel to the International Textile Conference, the organizers respectively launch the German Textile Colloquium as a national equivalent with changing special themes in the spring.

This year’s partner country USA is represented by speakers among others in two plenary and three keynote lectures, presenting new technologies and developments. High-class presentations and posters will showcase national and international scientific achievements and results from the fields of high performance fibers and yarns, medical textiles and medical technologies, and composites for various applications.

In addition, ADD ITC and Forschungskuratorium Textil e.V. have organized a transfer session where achievements within the IGF-ZIM program will be summarized.

The research institutions in the Aachen, Dresden and Denkendorf regions invite all interested companies, research institutes, associations and students from all over the world to participate in the lively exchange of experiences, new ideas, and information at the Aachen-Dresden-Denkendorf International Textile Conference, held at the Kongresszentrum Liederhalle in Stuttgart.

For the plenary sessions, internationally renowned contributors offer insights into industry visions, trends, and innovations from the areas of research, automotive, medical technologies and composites.

The opening plenary session on Thursday ends with a panel discussion on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Walter Reiners-Stiftung. The chairman of the Foundation, Peter D. Dornier from Lindauer DORNIER GmbH, speaks with former prize winners of the VDMA Textile Machinery Foundation for young engineers.

The closing plenary session on Friday provides an outlook on the future of textile auxiliaries and gives impulses for the development of sustainable fibers.

IGF-ZIM Transfer Event: From Idea to Practice

The well-established IGF-ZIM Transfer Event “From Idea to Practice” will again be organized by the Forschungskuratorium Textil e.V.. Attendants will be introduced to selected successful products and methods developed in co-operation between researchers and industry representatives, and effectively realized by the industry.

http://www.aachen-dresden-denkendorf.de/en/itc/

Plenary lectures:

Prof. Dr. Raymond G. Boeman; IACMI – The Composites Institute, Knoxville, USA
Prof. Dr. David Hinks; NC State University – College of Textiles, Raleigh, USA
Eckhard Reese; Daimler AG, Mercedes Benz Werk Hamburg, Germany
Dr. Pau Turon; B. Braun Surgical S.A., Barcelona, Spain
Dr. Herbert Bachus; CHT R. Beitlich GmbH, Tübingen, Germany
René Bethmann; VAUDE GmbH & Co. KG, Tettnang, Germany

Keynote lectures:

Prof. Dr. Martin W. King; NC State University, Raleigh, USA
Mary Lynn Landgraf; OTEXA – Office of Textiles and Apparel, Washington, USA
Dr. Tom Masselter; Universität Freiburg, Germany
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Felix L. Paulauskas; Oak Ridge National Laboratory/University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge, USA
Dr. Andreas Schmidt; Hohenstein Institute, Bönnigheim, Germany
Sven Torstrick; German Aerospace Center (DLR), Stade, Germany
Dietrich Wienke; DSM Dyneema, Geelen, Netherlands

Small tolerances, big impact and a recyclable alternative to elastane

ITA Master's student Janne Warnecke investigated tension differences over the fabric width in the weaving process and thereby contributed to quality assurance; ITA Bachelor's student Jasmin Roos found a basis for the development of recyclable yarns and textiles. For these developments, they were awarded the Walter Reiners Foundation's Promotion and Sustainability Prizes on 27 November. Peter D. Dornier, Chairman of the Walter Reiners Foundation, presented the awards at the Aachen-Dresden-Denkendorf International Textile Conference (ADD-ITC) in Aachen, Germany.

Aachen Summer School: Strengthening German-Korean cooperation in 4D and robotics

The Aachen Summer School has established itself as an important platform for promoting cooperation between RWTH Aachen University and Seoul National University. The focus is on practice-oriented research projects in the field of 4D and robotics technologies, which have been successfully implemented for years at the Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University.

ITA postdoc Dr Leonie Beek is revolutionising oil filtration with a bionic textile

On various biological surfaces, oil is adsorbed from water surfaces and transported along the leaf. In her dissertation, ITA Postdoc Dr Leonie Beek transferred this effect to a technical textile using her Bionic Oil Absorber (BOA), which can remove up to 4 litres of diesel per hour from water at technological readiness level 4. For this development, Dr Beek was awarded the Paul Schlack Prize 2025 for her dissertation ‘Bionic textiles for oil-water separation modelled on superhydrophobic biological surfaces’ on 10 September 2025. The award ceremony took place during the opening event of the Dornbirn GFC Global Fiber Congress in Austria.

38th International Cotton Conference Bremen: Let´s Talk about Cotton!

The 38th International Cotton Conference Bremen, to be held on 25-27 March 2026 in Bremen’s parliament building on market square, once again sends a powerful signal for professional excellence and international dialogue. The focus is on the latest market trends and technical innovations throughout the entire value chain – from agriculture and quality assurance to processing and the circular economy. With its high-calibre speakers, the conference remains an indispensable forum for anyone involved in shaping the cotton industry scientifically, technically, or economically.

More safety and comfort for protective clothing thanks to auxetic fabrics

When everyday materials are pulled, they stretch or elongate in the direction of the pull and become narrower in cross-section. We can also observe this property in two-dimensional textiles. Auxetic structures behave differently here. They have the striking property of not changing under tensile stress or even increasing their width or thickness. These properties are advantageous, for example, in protective textiles or textile filter media. The DITF are researching auxetic fabrics for various applications.