New date, new perspectives, new opportunities: from 4 to 7 May 2021, “Heimtextil”, together with “Techtextil” and “Texprocess”, will bring together leading representatives from industry, trade and design, science and research. On the current planning status and prospects for the trio of trade fairs, Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt, offers insights: “This year, we have all experienced an unprecedented situation with unforeseeable developments. None of us saw the scope and duration of the pandemic coming. And we are still at the point where we don’t know when we can make reliable plans again. But still, there is every reason to be optimistic. In late summer, Germany’s trade show industry had already been given the green light to hold trade shows again – before the second wave caught up with us.

We are all the more relieved that we decided early on to postpone Heimtextil until May 2021. Because even though we are still a long way from absolute planning certainty, we are nevertheless confidently tackling the Heimtextil, ,Techtextil’ and ,Texprocess’ 2021 projects – in the hope that after the second lockdown we are currently in, and after the no less challenging winter months, we will experience an easing of the pandemic situation in the spring of next year.

In September, we decided to move Heimtextil from January to May 2021 to coincide with ,Techtextil’ and ,Texprocess. In addition to the significantly improved prospects for success of the trade fairs due to the later date, the parallelism of the three trade fairs offers valuable synergy effects for many industry participants coupled with the unique opportunity to experience large parts of the textile value chain in one place – from fibers and yarns to functional textiles and production and finishing processes to the end product for various applications, especially for textile interiors.

The close proximity to producers of technical textiles and nonwovens with innovative functionalities at ‘Techtextil’ gives Heimtextil visitors and exhibitors the chance to meet potential partners from a new business segment. Machinery and the latest technologies for processing textile and flexible materials, as shown at ,Texprocess’, are also an exciting field from the point of view of many Heimtextil participants. In concrete terms, this means that product designers, buyers or textile engineers from exhibiting companies at Heimtextil can also establish business contacts at ‘Techtextil’ and ‘Texprocess’ and find out about market innovations.

What’s more, the simultaneous presence of dealers and furnishers, interior designers, architects and designers, materials experts from research and development, and machinery and technology specialists means that participants at all three trade fairs receive impulses from sectors that rarely come together in such a concentrated form at one venue. The trade fair trio thus rises to become a “textile powerhouse” that offers inspiration, know-how and business opportunities in completely new constellations. Above all, ,Techtextil’ and ,Texprocess’ will for the first time increasingly offer digital services. We will stream lectures and discussion panels and install a new online matchmaking. International industry participants will therefore have the chance to obtain in-depth information and generate valuable contacts, either in parallel or afterwards.”