ITMA 2015
CEMATEX launches 'ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award' and announces vast educational and networking opportunities at ITMA 2015
Mr Charles Beauduin, President of CEMATEX, said: "Sustainability, as we all know, is a major concern for global businesses involved in the textile and garment making chain. Hence, we have adopted the theme 'Master the Art of Sustainable Innovation' for ITMA 2015."
"We are pleased to launch the ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award to make ITMA the meeting place where captains of the industry converge to source technologies and share their expertise in the area of sustainable innovation."
The ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award comprises three categories, two of which are open to post-graduate students:
- Industry Excellence Award
- R&E Excellence Award – Masters
- R&E Excellence Award – Doctorate
Industry Excellence Award ]
The award recognises textile and garment manufacturers who have leveraged on technological innovations to advance business sustainability that benefit people, planet and profit. It aims to promote sustainability excellence in textile and garment production through active collaboration between technology providers and industry users.
The panel of judges includes:
Research & Education Excellence Award
The Research & Education Excellence Award - Masters and Doctorate - recognises outstanding achievements in textile and garment related post-graduate research. It highlights excellence in relevant research fields with the aim of furthering the development of cutting-edge technologies which will power future innovations in the industry.[pThe judges are:
- Dr. Jeroen Vits, Secretary General of Belgian Textile Machinery Association (SYMATEX)
- Prof. Vladan Koncar, Head of Research ENSAIT & Director of GEMTEX Laboratory (GEMTEX & ENSAIT)
- Prof. Thomas Gries, Director of the Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen University
- Dr. Takeshi Kikutani, Professor for the Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials at the Graduate School of Science and Engineering of Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Prof. Behnam Pourdeyhimi, Director, The Nonwovens Institute (NCSU)
The winner of the ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award will receive a cash prize of 10,000 euros and a prestigious trophy, among other rewards. Cash prizes of 4,000 euros and 5,000 euros will be awarded to the winners in the Masters and Doctorate categories, respectively.
Nominees of the Industry Excellence Award ITMA 2015 must be nominated by exhibitors. Institutions participating in the ITMA 2015 Research and Education pavilion are eligible to nominate their post-graduate students for the Research & Education Excellence Award
Entries can be submitted online at www.itma.com from 1 September 2014 to 1 March 2015.
ITMA 2015 - a knowledge hub
Complementing the exhibition are several initiatives that will promote knowledge exchange and networking. "All the initiatives are designed to help industry members heighten their engagement with the very important subject of sustainable innovation at ITMA 2015," explained Mr Beauduin.
Research and Education Pavilion
The pavilion showcases leading-edge research that will power textile innovation and well-known institutions that develop world-class human resources. Papers on topics related to 'Sustainable Innovation', 'Achievement in Innovation' and 'Technical Textiles' are invited for submission. CEMATEX will continue to support institutions participating in the pavilion through a grant of at least 50 per cent to help cover their participation cost.
World Textile Summit
The World Textile Summit made a successful debut at ITMA 2011. It is owned by CEMATEX, MP Expositions and World Textile Information Network. To be held on 13 November 2015, the second summit will explore sustainability strategies that create business value in the textile manufacturing value chain. It has the support of Textile Institute and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.
Nonwovens Forum at ITMA
ITMA 2015 has the support of International Association for the Nonwovens and Related Industries (EDANA). EDANA and ITMA 2015 organiser MP Expositions will jointly organise a nonwovens forum on 16 November 2015. The programme will feature topics related to global industry trends, opportunities and challenges, as well as production technologies and management.
Textile Colourant and Chemical Leaders Forum
The Textile Dyestuff and Chemical Leaders Forum, launched at ITMA 2011, was an industry initiative that drew lively participation from dyestuff, colour and chemical professionals from around the world. The forum has been rebranded as Textile Colourant and Chemical Leaders Forum, to be in line with the ITMA index of products change from dyestuffs to colourants. This forum will be held on 14 November 2015.
Innovation launch pad
ITMA is returning to Milan after 20 years, and response for exhibit space for the 2015 exhibition has been positive. Over 65 per cent of the space booked to date has been reserved by CEMATEX members. Currently, Italy takes the top spot, followed by Germany, Turkey, India, Switzerland and Belgium. Washing, bleaching, dyeing and finishing; spinning; knitting; weaving; and printing are the top sectors.
Ms Sylvia Phua, MP's strategic partner of ITMA 2015, said: "ITMA has a strong reputation as the world's most established textile and garment technology showcase. Every four years, the entire global industry converges at ITMA to witness the launch of cutting-edge innovations. Hence, we are anticipating even more applications to stream in once ITMA ASIA + CITME has concluded as most of the exhibitors have been busy with the combined show."
Around the world, interest in the nonwovens and technical textiles sector is on the rise, thanks to strong demand from end-user industries. As a result, ITMA 2015 will have greater emphasis on technological innovations in this sector.
"ITMA is always reinventing itself in order to be a relevant showcase of solutions that meet the present and future needs of the industry. As more innovative materials and applications are created, leading textile and garment industry players can leverage on ITMA to explore new and better solutions that can move their business forward in this exciting sector," added Ms Phua.
At the same time, buyers can source a wide range of raw materials. The fibre and yarn chapter at ITMA features natural, man-made and technical fibres, and natural, synthetic and technical yarns. The 2015 edition will also include a new sub-chapter on recycled fibres and yarns as the textile and garment industry moves towards sustainable production.
Ms Phua opined, "ITMA has a large exhibitor base of machinery manufacturers and hence it presents a rare opportunity for fibre and yarn producers to work alongside textile machinery partners at ITMA during live demonstrations. We believe that this synergistic collaboration will benefit buyers from around the world."
Owned by CEMATEX, ITMA is the world's largest textile and garment technology showcase held since 1951. The last ITMA exhibition was held in Barcelona, Spain, in 2011. It featured 1,355 exhibitors from 45 countries, visitorship of 100,067 from 140 countries and some 50 delegations from 27 countries.