ATLANTA — May 2012 — The ninth edition of Techtextil North America, now incorporating ATME-I, took
place April 24 – 26, 2012 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta,Georgia. The show was
co-located with Texprocess Americas which resulted in a dynamic synergy creating the largest and
best technical textiles, nonwovens, textile machinery, sewn products and equipment trade show in
the Americas.
The 2012 Techtextil North America event hosted 314 exhibitors from 22 countries including
international pavilions from Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, Italy and Portugal with a total
co-location attendance of 6,800 from 62 countries and 475 exhibitors from 26 countries.
Michael Jaenecke, Director Brand Management Technical Textiles/Techtextil commented, “It was
already the 9th Techtextil North America and yet I can not remember such a busy show – from the
very first minute of the first day. The feedback from the busy floor was very positive regarding
quality and quantity of the business talks. The reasons are various, amongst others the recovery of
the US economy,the combination with the premiere of Texprocess Americas and the support of the
associations ATMA and SPESA. Due to their success at this show some companies and country pavilions
gave options for Techtextil North America 2013 in Anaheim, California.”
John Gallagher, President of Messe Frankfurt USA, on the conclusion of the 2012 edition
commented “I am extremely pleased with the results of Techtextil North America and Texprocess
Americas. Our attendees experienced three days of informative symposiums and a busy exhibit floor
with business being conducted. The positive comments I heard bode well for the industry. We look
forward to these events continuing to be the meeting place for these industries.”
The kick off to the event was the keynote address by Miguel Caballero, known as The Armani of
Bullet Proof Clothing. Miguel’s speech regarding his business and how far he has come with his
innovative ideas which brought his designs to life filled the audience with excitement which they
took to the show floor.”
ATME-I Incorporation
2012 saw the first edition of Techtextil North America with the incorporation of American
Textile Machinery Exhibition-International (ATME-I). The American Textile Machinery Association
(ATMA) and Messe Frankfurt USA have agreed on the inclusion of ATME-I with Techtextil North America
every even year starting in 2012. Clay D.Tyeryar, President and Assistant Treasurer for the
American Textile Machinery Association (ATMA) commented, “I was very pleased with the incorporation
of ATME-I into Techtextil North America. The quality and quantity of attendees was the best we have
seen in over a decade in North America. We are looking forward to the continuing cooperation in
2014.”
Symposium 2012
Held concurrently with the exhibition and developed by industry experts, the
symposium contained twelve sessions with more than 48presentations in a variety of formats that
covered a wide range of topics from high performance nonwovens, sustainable materials,military
developments and research to medical textiles.
Those who attended the symposium felt the sessions were informational and the speakers
extremely knowledgable. One in particular, Connie Chiueh, Material Innovation Team Leader-Footwear
with Reebok International Ltd, USA stated “the symposium gives an ice cross section of new material
developments occurring in many different industries, which is beneficial for any material
specialist looking for new innovations.” Other attendees, such as Jim Kaufman with TEAM felt that
“the speakers were engaging and the content was in line with the direction of our business today.
There were good questions from the audience and afterwards, there were still attendees talking with
the speakers. It was nice to attend sessions that were directly relevant to our business interests
and future.”
Attendee Statements
Atayne, Jeremy Litchfield, President & CEO, USA: “Techtextil North America and
Texprocess Americas is a must go to show for anyone whose business is connected to the textile
industry. Having the opportunity to see the latest in materials and manufacturing equipment all
under roof is a great time and travel expense savings.The quality of companies exhibiting was
outstanding. In just a day and a half, I made many new connections that will help to drive our
business forward and help us compete in the global marketplace as a US based manufacturer.”
Honeywell International, Henry Ardiff, Principal Scientist,Specialty Materials Advance Fibers
& Composites, USA: “Attending Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas is a
great way for an industry newcomer to start building their base. An informative symposium, live
demonstrations with real materials on real equipment, and high energy presenters result in a rich
experience.”
Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Blaine Kessler, Global Non-Wovens Research & Engineering
Development Lab Mechanical Engineering Support, USA: “This was my first visit to
Techtextil North America and I was impressed with how many different companies were represented.
Even though my expertise is in the Nonwovens arena, we were able to develop a list of four or five
potential vendors to follow-up with to further discuss our equipment needs on an upcoming project.
With my technical background, I truly enjoyed chatting with the various manufacturers. My colleague
and I came away with some cool ideas that will enable us to be a bit more creative on future
projects.”
Exhibitor Statements
China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association Ph.D., Mr. Li Lingshen, Chairman,
Beijing, China: “Techtextil North America as part of the Messe Frankfurt Techtextil Brand
is the perfect platform for Chinese companies in the technical textile field to engage in foreign
markets. Not only are they doing business at events like these, but they are also able to learn a
lot.”
Gehring Textiles, Bill Christmann, VP Sales, USA: “Overall, I would say one of the
best shows in the past few years – based on quality of attendees; feasibility and viability of
their needs; and expectation of real and probable new business opportunities germinated over these
three days…. Honestly, I have never been apart of a show with so few ‘tire kickers.”
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc., Kim K Thompson, CEO, USA: “Techtextil North
America was an ideal venue for us to debut our products and technology to the technical textile
industry. We found it to be unmatched in terms of providing us with networking probabilities and
connections to potential customers and corporate partners.”
Navis Tube Tex, Jeff Dixon, Senior Director, International Sales, USA: “We feel
the Techtextil North America was beneficial to assisting Navis TubeTex to continue expanding into
the technical and industrial markets.”
TenCate Protective Fabrics, Mike Allen, Senior Director of Marketing, USA:
“Techtextil North America has stepped it up a notch and has proven to be one of the best shows we
have exhibited at in years! The exhibit hall stayed crowded with quality buyers and produced the
key people we have been reaching out to. The colocation between Techtextil North America and
Texprocess Americas was brilliant! We look forward to participating in Anaheim in 2013 and going
back to Atlanta in 2014!”
Texel, a division of ADS Inc., François Bourgault, Marketing Manager, USA: “The
Techtextil North America Show has always been the most productive Trade Show for us. The 2012
Edition was no exception and once again delivered a very good Return On Investment for Texel. The
Messe Frankfurt team and their subcontractors were also available and easy to work with,
before,during and after the Show. ”
Textiles Omnes S.A., Jefe de Ventas, Columbia: “We had a very good show, many
visitors and hopefully promising new business.”
Techtextil North America 2013
The tenth edition of Techtextil North America, the only trade show in the Americas
dedicated to technical textiles and nonwovens, will beheld March 19 – 21, 2013 at the Hilton
Anaheim in Anaheim, California.
For more information, please visit www.techtextilNA.com.
Posted on May 22, 2012
Source: Messe Frankfurt USA
