#Associations

2025-12-09

Young researchers recognised for cutting-edge work in recycling, fibre technology and textile mechanics

Caption: 2025 award winners with the foundation chairman and professors © 2025 Image source: DITF

At the Aachen-Dresden-Denkendorf International Textile Conference held in Aachen at the end of November, Peter D. Dornier, Chairman of the Walter Reiners Foundation of the VDMA, honoured five successful young engineers. Promotion and sustainability prizes were awarded in the categories bachelor/project theses and diploma/master theses. Academic theses that develop solutions for resource-saving products and technologies, for example, are eligible for the sustainability awards.

The Walter Reiners Foundation awarded a sustainability prize worth 3,000 euros in the bachelor's category to Jasmin Roos. In her thesis, written at RWTH Aachen University, Ms Roos dealt with the development of sustainable solutions in textile recycling. Her approach was to replace non-recyclable elastane with melt-spun yarns.

Raphael Wiederkehr, DITF Denkendorf, received a promotion award worth €3,500 in the master's category. In his thesis, he evaluated the influence of a carding machine on the quality of mechanically recycled fibres. The aim is to reduce the proportion of yarn and fabric residues and increase the proportion of recycled material in the spinning process. His topic was the automation of the process chain for the production of welded textile hard goods.

Another promotion award, worth €3,500, went to Janne Marie Warnecke, RWTH Aachen University. In her work, she focused on the topic of FEM analysis of stresses and deformations in a fabric during winding in a weaving machine.

A promotion award in the diploma category, worth €3,500, was presented to Lena Fink, TU Dresden. Ms Fink addressed a highly topical challenge: the forming of multiaxial fabrics into profile preforms.

Yuanjing Cai, TU Dresden, was awarded a sustainability prize worth €3,500 in the diploma category. In his work, Mr Cai shows how the production of carbon fibres (CF) can be made more sustainable by substituting the precursors.

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.

VDMA members at ITMA ASIA + CITME in Singapore

With 69 exhibiting member companies, ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 is once again marked by a strong presence of VDMA companies. Altogether 82 companies from Germany will exhibit at the show, covering about 3,500 square meters of exhibition space, topped only by China and Italy. VDMA initiated a German Pavilion with two group stands (spinning in hall 4 and finishing in hall 7) with a total of 30 exhibitors.

VDMA member companies on display at ITMA ASIA

ITMA ASIA + CITME end of October in Singapore will see a strong participation of around 70 VDMA member companies. They will cover nearly all different machinery chapters along the textile value chain including spinning and man-made fibres, nonwovens, weaving, braiding, knitting & warp knitting, finishing & dyeing as well as technologies for textile recycling and processing of recycled material. VDMA initiated a German Pavilion with two group stands (spinning in hall 4 and finishing in hall 7) with a total of 30 exhibitors.

Smart technologies for green textile production

With 42 exhibiting member companies, ITMA ASIA + CITME 2024 is once again marked by a strong presence of VDMA companies. They cover nearly all different machinery chapters with a focus on spinning and man-made fibers, nonwovens, weaving, braiding, knitting & warp knitting, finishing & dyeing as well as technologies for textile recycling and processing of recycled material. In total, the German participation at the fair is the largest from outside China.

ITMF names three winners of the Sustainability & Innovation Award 2026

Three projects from the UK, Korea and China have been selected as winners of the ITMF Sustainability & Innovation Award 2026. The projects address textile-to-textile recycling, chemical recycling for automotive textiles and a regenerative approach combining silk production with ecological restoration.

Italian textile machinery at TITAS 2026: strategic partnership and tailor-made solutions for the Taiwanese market

The excellence and innovative capabilities of Italian textile machinery technology are coming to Taipei for TITAS 2026 (Taiwan International Textile & Garment Machinery Show), the leading event for the island’s textile industry and the wider Asian region, scheduled to take place from 6 to 8 October 2026.

KARL MAYER invites the Global Textile Industry to celebrate its 90th anniversary at its German Headquarters in 2027

KARL MAYER is turning its anniversary year 2027 into a milestone for the textile sector. To mark its 90th anniversary, the industry leader is inviting customers, partners, and experts from around the world to a unique event series in September aimed at pushing boundaries, unlocking new opportunities, and jointly setting the course for a new era in textiles – just as KARL MAYER has done throughout its history. The company’s headquarters in Obertshausen, near Frankfurt, is the place to be.

Durak Maxibalance thread supports users’ movement and balance comfort

Durak Tekstil, a leading brand in its industry, has developed Durak Maxibalance, a new product engineered with bio-ceramic and FAR IR technology. Ushering in a new era for sportswear, activewear, and medical textiles, this technology offers features designed to support balance and movement comfort by reflecting the energy absorbed from the body back into it.