Held March 28-30, 2006 at Cobb Galleria Center in Atlanta, GA, Techtextil North America 2006 attracted 4000 visitors who viewed 288 exhibitors from a record-breaking 25 countries.

Techtextil North America showcased the higher performance areas of technical textiles and continued to attract an eclectic collection of researchers, manufacturers and product specifiers. It is the only trade show that assembles all vertical aspects of the technical textile industry. From research and development, through raw materials and production processes and finally ending in conversion, further treatment and recycling.

Held in conjunction with the show, the Techtextil-Symposium North America included 65 lectures, covering most application areas, ranging from automobile textiles and protective clothing to the latest in research and emerging technology, including a major segment devoted to the promising nanotechnology area, its application and impact on the industry. In addition, the symposium provided views of the “state of the industry” and a glimpse to the future.

(left) GE Silicones was at Techtextil to introduce its range of high-performance plastics for technical textiles and nonwovens. The company is targeting hot gas filters, aircraft kick panels, flame retardant mattress barriers, aircraft fire blocking fabrics, high performance apparel and meltblown filtration media. (right) Ciba Specialty Chemicals has reported that its technical finishes have continued to enjoy considerable growth in the technical textile and nonwoven industries. Ciba’s Textiles unit is in the process of being sold to Huntsman.


(left) Fire  protective gear and other specialty apparel applications continue to be a strong focus in the technical textiles market. (right) Deerfield Urethane, a unit of Bayer, produces blown film and flat die film and has a significant presence in the automotive, medical, drapes, pipe liners businesses. Deerfield is also expanding its line of hotmelt adhesives in polyurethane, copolyester or copolyamide versions.

A range of nettings, films and nonwovens on display at DelStar Technologies’ booth show this company’s impressive range in the technical textiles market. Key interests include antimicrobial nets, reinforcements, oil reservoirs, sorbents and filtration.

(left) Jacob Holm Industries is focusing more effort on technical applications for its spunlaced nonwovens. Key areas include filtration and protective apparel. (right) Conwed Plastics recently launched a stretch laminate into the training pants market, where it eliminates the ruffling often caused by spandex. Company executives reported  that technical textiles offer a number of profitable niche businesses for Conwed’s stretchable materials.


(left) NSC Nonwoven has recently partnered with Rieter Perfojet to supply turnkey systems to the nonwovens industry. (right) Nordson Corporation promoted its nanophase and fine fiber meltblown technology at the show. The company has recently added a new coater to its trial lab in Dawsonville, GA.


(left) Behnam Pourdeyhimi, Stephen Sharp and John Hagewood of the Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center at North Carolina State University showcase their program’s capabilities. The center continues to expand, most recently with the addition of a new coater and laminator. (right) Daniel Feroe of Rieter Perfojet shows Texel’s Steve Brown nonwoven roll goods made using Reiter technology. The company’s Spunjet, a combination of spunmelt and spunlace, creates products offering bulk, softness and tensile strength and eliminate spunlace’s strong reliance on oil-based raw materials by incorporating pulp. Rieter Perfojet also showcased products made with its Jetlace 3000 spunlace machine.