Ms Kim Glas as Keynote Speaker at Techtextil NA Symposium

19 Feb '10

4 min read

The latest technology, applications, and the overall direction of the technical textile and nonwovens industry will be presented by experts and leaders from around the world during Techtextil North America Symposium being held May 18 - 20, 2010 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

Held concurrently with the exhibition, the symposium will contain thirteen sessions with more than sixty-five presentations in a variety of formats that will cover a wide range of topics from high performance nonwovens, sustainable materials, military developments and research to smart fabrics and medical textiles.

“This year's symposium is an exciting mix of technical to markets/marketing oriented programs,” comments Bill Smith, Symposium Director. “Innovation is a major factor in our industry and as the economy improves, companies and individuals need practical information to give them direction. In the 2010 edition, speakers will tell you where we are in the economy and in our industry, what is coming down the road, and ideas for adapting new technology to your business.”

Keynote Address and General Session
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Textiles and Apparel, Kim Glas, will address the range of trade issues affecting the technical textiles industry and include some information on the Department's Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative. Other topics in this opening session will include a worldwide Industry overview, status of the U.S. manufacturing sector and Implications for technical textiles, plus the
importance of technical textiles.

Natural Fibers and Sustainable Materials
Use of sustainable materials in technical textiles is becoming an important issue in the industry. While synthetic fibers dominate, natural fibers, such as flax, cotton, and kenaf are still widely used and are 'making a comeback' in many areas. Others, like PLA fibers, though man-made materials, are also sustainable. Included in the session will be unique applications as well as important differences between “sustainable” and “green”.

Technical Textile Research
The National Textile Center will again participate with Techtextil North America in presenting the latest, most relevant work being done by the National Textile Center Universities.These sessions highlight research in the industry that will drive developments to improve materials and make possible new products. The final selection of topics and presenters will be determined by the National Textile Center at a later date based on the status of the projects and relevance of the work, but it is anticipated that research currently being done in the fields of biomedical textiles, energy, biohazards, environmental, and textile manufacturing (high-tech process control) will be presented.

Military Developments
This topic has always been one of the most successful in the history of the symposium and will once again be led by Eugene Wilusz, Ph.D. from Natick Soldier RD&E Center. Subjects under development include a variety of ballistics, chemical, FR, etc. A special talk will focus on customization of nonwoven military uniforms – is this the future?

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