Widen Your Horizons in Las Vegas

When Messe Frankfurt announced that Techtextil North America would be expanded to a yearly cycle with the next event scheduled in Las Vegas for 2009, some expressed surprise. When one stops to consider the move, it is an excellent opportunity for users, suppliers, product specifiers and researchers of technical textiles.

The study done for Messe Frankfurt indicates a large number of users of technical textiles are located in the western part of the U.S. California alone has somewhere around the eighth largest economy in the world. It is the port of entry for a very large number of products made of or with technical textiles that come from offshore. Large end users of technical textiles in the areas of agriculture, electronics, architecture and aerospace, to name just a few, are prevalent in the area. There are many manufacturers of products where technical textiles are the primary component. So why not go closer to your customers, your users, to showcase the latest technology and materials involving technical textiles? That is precisely what your competitors and the rest of the industry will be doing at Techtextil North America 2009.

Techtextil North America 2009 will open new horizons, educate and create interest in utilizing technical textiles in conventional or innovative ways and will make it easier for your customers to come to you, and for producers to widen their horizons to areas they may not be reaching. The new venue promises great potential for far greater exposure for many of the exhibitors – and for end users to find the latest technology and materials that may be utilized in their products.

As a long time organizer and director of technical textiles conferences, I often find when we shift location of an event – from the South to the North, for instance – we attract a slightly different audience, exposing many to a subject they may not have ventured to see before. I would anticipate this to be true in Las Vegas.

As Symposium Director for the event, it will be a challenge, but also an opportunity, to develop a new program oriented to users in the western part of North America, while also keeping those faithful from other areas interested. We try hard to present relevant and updated information to our attendees, information they can use now and in the future. The program committee and I are developing formats and segments to do this. Some segments will be new, such as textiles in Mobiltech (automotive, aerospace and transportation), architecture and agriculture. Others will feature expanded and new approaches to some of the most popular Techtextil North America segments, such as nanotechnology. And, of course, we will continue to feature the work of the researchers on new and exciting developments that will shape our industry and keep it vital and healthy.

It’s an exciting time for our industry. Sure, a lot has been lost to low-wage countries, but the week as I write this article, I have read of several new textile operations opening up or being expanded and/or planned near me in the Carolinas. These include fiber producers, spinners, body armor producers, high temperature/high-tech materials, and biomedical, to name a few. Like we have always said, there will continue to be opportunities for creative and innovative people in this industry.

Expose your products and your ideas to those eager to learn. Learn yourself. WIDEN YOUR HORIZONS! Come to the Sands Expo and Convention Center, April 21-23, for TTNA 2009 and explore the world of technical textiles. And, oh, did I mention that Las Vegas is a fun city?