51st edition of Dornbirn Man-made Fibers Congress (Dornbirn-MFC) which is followed with great interest every year in the field of man-made fibers, was held between September 19 to 21. Tekstil Dünyası participated in the event focusing on the future of man-made fibers as the media partner. For 3 days, with 700 participants from 30 countries, developments in the world of man-made fibers were approached from both academic and sectoral perspectives. Major topics ofthe Congress held in Dornbirn, Austria are listed as follows: Fiber Innovations (sustainability), Fibers and Textiles in Automative (mobility), Man-made Fibers for Environmental Protection, Unconventional Fiber applications, Medical Applications, Technical Nonwovens (filters, membrane) and EU Research Projects.
Positive feedbacks were received in the 51st Dornbirn Man-made Fibers Congress. Special presentations for informing young people and the sector had the largest part in the collection of positive reactions. The presentations and academic studies are carried out for communication with the upcoming generations, technical knowledge for the next 50 years. The number of visitors and participating countries is growing continuously with these studies. Japan, Spain and Portugal are among the strongly represented countries in the events during this period. As Tekstil Dünyası, the media sponsor of the event, we took our place in the congress.
Presentations Guided the Participants
In the Plenary Session Mr. F. Van Houte, CIRFS Director-General, Brussels illustrated the challenges for the European Man-made Fibers Industry and their chances and opportunities in competition with international manufacturers. He explained that overcapacities for certain man-made fibers pulled down natural fiber prices, and the cost of energy and labour as well as legislative burdens put the manufacturers in trouble. Sarah Volk from GmbH Zukunftsinstitut gave one of the most important presentations at the congress. Speaking on the subject of Mobility 2050 – Trend and Scenarios, she tried to find answers to questions such as how increasing traffic and the resulting damage to the environment against the background of growing cities affect future mobility. Mrs. Prof. Müller (Hochschule Niederrhein / Mönchengladbach) spoke on the topic of sustainable procurement of clothing and textiles under marketing aspects. She said that the continuation of the sustainability movement, design, architecture, media, life-style, internet communities, fair trade, globalisation etc. was becoming a determining factor in strategic concepts of the fashion industry; and she gave information about possible approaches of the textile and garment making industry.
At the congress in which more than 100 presentations were made, Istanbul Technical University also presented a work. The subject of the presentation was the design of photovoltaic fibers with vacuum-free techniques for power generating textiles. In addition, presentations about the actual market and development trends in polyester nanofibers, smart and innovative textiles, viscose fibers, carbon fibers were made.
A report about the functionality and possibilities for recycling of composites in automotive was written by the company Johann Borgers within the topic Fibers and Textiles in Automotive. Apart from this, players in the sector were informed with 18 presentations on the topic. Another title of the congress was Unconventional Fiber Applications. National Nanotechnology Center (CeNTI) made a successful presentation on this issue. The potential use of TiO2 nanofibers with a coating of nanosilver and antimicrobial and self-cleaning properties for the elimination of toxic substances were talked about. Lenzing AG presented a report about their new TENCEL®FCP high performance fibers for concrete and plaster application. 14 presentations other than these dealt with innovative findings and new fields of application. Within the title Medical Applications, the technical university of Dresden presented a report about the cooperation with specialised institutes and hospitals on the development of chitosan-fibers for biomedical and technical applications. As for Technical Nonwovens, the companies gave presentations about the development of innovative fibers. EU Research Projects were introduced with 4 presentations. The main topics of this title are temperature-regulating fibers, polysaccharide applications in textiles, insect-repellents to biobased fiber-reinforced polymers for technical applications.
The next edition of the congress, which made a distinguished name with successful presentations and sectorial information, is to be held 11 to 13 September in 2013. The topics of the future congress are Bio-polymers and Bio-technology, Fiber Innovations (Filaments), Man-made Fibers for Environmental Protection, Unconventional Fiber Applications (Composites), Finishing, Sports-and Functional Wear. While in 2012 Japan, Spain and Portugal were subjects of the event, in 2013 special presentations on India, Indonesia and Korea are to be made.
