Dornbirn Global Fibre Congress 2023 to offer 125 lectures this Sept

Connecting the textile value chain, from fibre to end user, the event is expected to succeed with the participation of visitors from 34 countries, from the fibre and textile industry as well as brands and retail, Dornbirn said in a press release.

The presentation, ‘Circularity: The new business model’, by Stephan Sielaff, CEO of Lenzing AG, will provide insight into this cutting-edge issue in the fibre industry and will highlight this topic from the perspective of a leader of the cellulose fibre industry.

Dirk Vantyghem, CEO of the European Apparel and Textile Organisation (EURATEX), will present ‘The European Union (EU) Sustainable Textiles Strategy - Its Impact on the Global Textile Ecosystem’, which will give an overview of the EU textile strategy and the preparations of the planned legislation. The upcoming changes for the European/global textile companies will be enormous. EURATEX has asked European institutions to create a consistent and intelligent regulatory framework, to provide financial resources for investments in innovation and to stimulate the demand for sustainable textiles.

The long-standing sponsor of the Dornbirn GFC, Gherzi Textil Organisation AG, will be represented by CEO Giuseppe Gherzi with the title ‘2030 - A New Textile World Order’ and will focus on the new way forward for the global textile industry.

Major energy provider Verbund AG will also be represented at the congress. Its innovation director Rudolf Zauner will give a presentation titled ‘Energy Innovations – The Key to Climate Neutrality’, highlighting the importance of the fibre and textile industry in this context.

The aim of the Dornbirn GFC is to present sustainable innovations in the fibre industry. Central topics include sustainability and circular economy. Cooperations are a necessity in this context and Dornbirn GFC acts as a network generator. RWTH Aachen has entered into such a cooperation with industry partners and offers a whole block of lectures on Friday morning.

Among the many titles include ‘Automation and digitalisation of textile sorting for reuse and recycling’, 'Sustainable recycling: How length-preserving tearing contributes to the production of high-quality yarn’, 'From mixed waste to recycling feedstock – automated sorting and pre-processing of post-consumer textiles’, 'Condition monitoring with intelligent sensor fibres to enable sustainable technologies’, and ‘Potentials and opportunities for the use of shape memory fibres in 4D textiles’.

The innovators were organised in cooperation with FashionForGood and PWC. The series of lectures by more than 20 participants ranged from the topics of light-curing processes for stretch textiles, upcycled flexible foam from natural fibres to quantification methods for recycled fibres in fabrics and yarns.

The ‘Young Scientist Award’ of Lenzing AG will be awarded again this year at the Dornbirn GFC. As one of the leading innovators in sustainably produced fibres and fabrics, Lenzing AG has been in an excellent position for decades. Through contact with young scientists, research and development can be advanced and innovative and technological progress is guaranteed. The winner of the Lenzing ‘Young Scientist Award’ will be rewarded with €5,000, the press release added.

Man-made fibres research innovations at universities and research institutes are supported with the annual awarding of the Paul Schlack Prize as well as cooperation with the industry with the Honorary Prize. In 2023, the European Man-Made Fibres Association (CIRFS), Brussels/Belgium, will continue the tradition at the 62nd Dornbirn GFC in Dornbirn, Austria, highlighting R&D excellence at the plenary session.

The Main Paul Schlack Prize will reward €3,000 to an author of a theme from a university or research institute. The Honorary Prize will be presented to a project leader of a joint research project between a university/research institute and industry.

Key topics for Dornbirn GFC 2023 are fibre innovation and biomaterials, sustainability and circular economy, nonwovens and technical textiles, and apparel and sports.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (NB)