#Techtextil 2026

2024-12-12

From pre-treatment to finishing: Textile Chemicals & Dyes at Techtextil 2026 for the first time as a separate product area

From fibre production to coating: For the first time, Techtextil bundles the range of exhibitors in the field of Textile Chemicals & Dyes in an independent product area from 21 to 24 April 2026 in Frankfurt. The leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens is creating a central hub for suppliers and users. It thus emphasises the increasing demand and relevance of Textile Chemicals & Dyes for the global textile industry.

Techtextil 2026 concentrates Textile Chemicals & Dyes in a separate product segment for the first time. It thus emphasises the broad range of applications and the growing economic importance of these products. The leading trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens is responding to the growing demand from users and the requirements of suppliers for a centralised and concentrated industry platform for textile chemicals and dyes. Techtextil is creating new synergies with this future bundling. Textile Chemicals & Dyes will be located in the same hall as Fibres and Yarns and Performance Apparel Textiles. Preliminary stages, suppliers and users will come together in the immediate proximity of each other. This makes it easier for them to communicate specific requirements and needs and find solutions more quickly.

‘Textile Chemicals & Dyes are becoming increasingly important for the production of technical and performance textiles. At the same time, the demands on suppliers and users are increasing, for example with regard to environmental regulations or supply chains. At Techtextil, we will bring the players even closer together in future. In this way, we enable dialogue, comparability and raise even more awareness for this promising sector,’ says Sabine Scharrer, Director Brand Management Technical Textiles & Textile Processing at Messe Frankfurt.

Their growing importance is underlined by a 2021 analysis by the market research firm ‘MarketsandMarkets’.[1] According to the study, the global market for textile chemicals is expected to grow to a volume of 33.1 billion US dollars by 2026. The study cites a number of factors as drivers of this growth, including the increasing demand for chemicals for the rapidly growing technical textiles market.

Techtextil is the most important international platform for technical textiles, nonwovens, functional apparel textiles and textile technologies. Textile Chemicals & Dyes are an important part of this portfolio and are relevant for all application areas such as outdoor and protective clothing, industry, automotive, aerospace, medical technology, filtration and construction.

Whether for nonwovens, coated textiles or functional clothing textiles - chemicals and dyes are indispensable for textile production. In various pre-treatment, dyeing and finishing processes, they determine the visual appearance of fibres, yarns, nonwovens and textile surfaces. More importantly, they give them important functions. Textile chemicals give outdoor rain jackets their water-repellent impregnation, work clothes their performance and ensure crease-free and soft bed linen despite frequent washing. Moreover, they sterilise medical textiles for safe use in operating theatres, protect erosion protection fleeces in road construction from UV radiation and make industrial textile filters oil and water repellent. They also ensure the flame protection of firefighter suits and improve the durability of airbags so that they function reliably for the life of the car.

[1] Market Research Report, MarketsandMarkets, Aug. 2021, Textile Chemicals Market by Fiber (Natural, Synthetic), Product Type (Coating & Sizing, Colorant & Auxiliaries, Finishing Agents, Desizing Agents, Surfactants), Application (Apparel, Home Textile, Technical Textile) & Region – Global Forecast to 2026

Techtextil & Texprocess score with growth and set as drivers of innovation the course for future-proof industries

High-tech textiles in twelve application areas, the global innovative power of technical textiles and nonwovens as well as the digitalisation of the textile-processing industry: with 38,000 visitors from 102 countries and 1,700 exhibitors from 53 countries, Techtextil and Texprocess have grown in terms of exhibitor numbers and recorded a 29 percent increase in visitor numbers. At the leading trade fairs, the density of forward-looking textile solutions that are transforming entire industries was particularly noticeable.

Techtextil and Texprocess: strong start with 1,700 exhibitors and a panel discussion on new opportunities with AI, from textile production and processing to recycling

With 1,700 exhibitors from 53 countries, Techtextil and Texprocess 2024 are underscoring their pioneering significance for the global industry. At the opening event, the leading international trade fairs focused on the highly relevant subject of AI and thus generated future-oriented impulses. AI offers new opportunities along the entire value chain - from production and processing to recycling. In the panel talk, experts explained how AI is energising the textile industry.

FET’s revolutionary gel spinning system wins Techtextil Innovation Award

FET has received the prestigious Techtextil Innovation Award 2026 in the New Production Technology category. The Techtextil Innovation Award honours outstanding ideas in textile technology, sustainability, AI and the creation of technical textiles, selected by an international jury of experts. Ranging from new materials to new production technologies, this award recognises progressive ideas that are driving forces for numerous industries, such as automotive, medical and construction.

Young talents honoured – 60 years Walter Reiners Foundation

At the Techtextil trade fair in Frankfurt at the end of April, Peter D. Dornier, chairman of the VDMA’s Walter Reiners Foundation, presented awards to five successful young engineers. Promotion and sustainability awards were presented in the categories of bachelor’s/project theses and diploma/master’s theses. Academic theses are eligible for the sustainability awards if, for example, they develop solutions for resource-efficient products and technologies.

Techtextil 2026: KARL MAYER impresses as an innovative sector partner

KARL MAYER looks back with satisfaction on its participation in Techtextil 2026. From April 21 to 24, the international industry leader used the trade show in Frankfurt to meet with numerous key customers at its booth and, at the same time, establish many new contacts. Most visitors came from Germany, followed by major markets such as Poland, the United Kingdom, Turkey, France, and Portugal.

Ence and ShareTex begin initial testing of the ATENEA innovation project to promote textile recycling in Spain

Ence and ShareTex are making progress on the Atenea R&D project, which aims to develop a complete value chain for textile recycling in Spain. Specifically, the goal of the ATENEA project—which is funded by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI)—is to connect all the necessary stages for the recovery of textile waste, from collection and management, through recycling and transformation into new raw materials, to their incorporation into new textile products.

DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

What if used plastic bottles, PET packaging material and polyester textiles could become raw materials just as high performing as virgin resources? That is the ambition of DePoly, a circular materials company based in Sion, Switzerland which inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6th & 7th. The first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland, this industrial Showcase Plant represents a major milestone in the company's growth and its journey toward commercialization.

Commission clarifies rules on plastic bottles recycling

The European Commission today adopted new rules on recycling of single-use plastic beverage bottles made primarily of polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles). These rules establish, for the first time, a methodology to calculate, verify and report chemically recycled content. This is part of the Commission’s December 2025 plastics package.