By: Werner Zirnzak,
      Industrieverband Garne - Gewebe - Technische Textilien e. V.

Since October 2005, the general economic atmosphere in the European Union (EU) has been steadily improving, with average growth rates of 2.5-3.5 percent in 2006 and 2007. This positive economic atmosphere within the EU can be attributed primarily to German industry, but many other EU countries are also in a very good economic position today.

Nearly all industries are booming, especially the technical textile market segments. The reason for this is that most technical textiles will be consumed by other industries and if those industries are running well, technical textiles will also. Most EU consumers have slightly more money in their pockets as a result of tax reductions, lower unemployment rates and slightly increased salaries, with the result being that consumers are spending more now than before October 2005. Here too, technical textiles are gaining because more technical textiles are being used in consumer product segments such as sports, leisure, smart textiles and functional textiles. Investments by technical textile companies are increasing, with most of these funds going into quality, technology, process and innovation improvements and some to increasing capacities. Staff qualification has also become more and more important.

It is true that some of the technical textile producers in the EU realized growth rates above 10 percent in 2006 in comparison to 2005, with similar trends showing in 2007. In the EU, technical textiles represent 20-25 percent (or 22-27.5 billion €) of the total textile turnover. The reason for this gap is simple – there are no consistent European statistics available. Industrieverband Garne - Gewebe - Technische Textilien e. V. is currently working with EURATEX and the EU Commission to modernize and actualize the European statistics, with a focus on technical textiles. Nevertheless, as the song says, “It’s a long way to Tipperary.”

Through 2010, the market for technical textiles is expected to grow 3-5 percent per year in Western countries (NAFTA, EU and Australia) and by 5-8 percent per year in Asia and Russia. In Germany, for example, technical textiles today represent 45 percent of the total textile turnover (over 6 billion €) and by the end of 2007, they may represent 50 percent of the total textile turnover (or 6.3-6.5 billion €).

In 2006, Germany realized exports worldwide of $3.9 billion USD, representing a world market share of 12.5 percent, while the U.S. realized exports worldwide of $3.4 billion USD, representing a world market share of 10.8 percent. China is third with a world market share of 8.8 percent. It is important to recognize that Western countries are experiencing a technology advantage in technical textiles of approximately 5-10 years, compared with countries like China, India and Russia. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly invest an increasing amount of money in research and development and also be prepared to follow customers around the world with production facilities if they are required. Technical textiles producers who are not prepared and/or not willing to do this take the risk of losing medium- and long-term competitiveness and their global customers.

China, India and Russia currently import 70-80 percent of their technical textiles, especially those of high quality, due to their lack of capacity and technical know-how. Therefore, the opportunity for the Western countries to penetrate these markets with technical textiles is quite good. An excellent platform for seizing these opportunities is the TECHTEXTIL exhibitions worldwide, such as TECHTEXTIL INDIA, TECHTEXTIL CHINA, TECHTEXTIL RUSSIA, TECHTEXTIL NORTH AMERICA, and TECHTEXTIL FRANKFURT, where producers of technical textiles are able to present their products and services.

While India and Russia are mainly complying with international rules and standards, there have been issues with China regarding patents, quotas, product piracy and proper chemical use. Additionally, China has prevented the revaluation of its currency against the USD for more than 5 years. In the meantime, the Chinese currency has decreased in value by 55 percent against the USD. Many European textile producers believe that if China doesn’t become more cooperative, China should be excluded from the WTO and other international organizations. The U.S. government, the EU Commission and other Western countries should cooperate by encouraging the Chinese government to comply with international rules and standards.

To recap, European technical textile producers who are regularly investing, following their customers and their customers’ needs and treating their highly-qualified staff well will have an excellent future and they will be among the long-term survivors.

About the Author:
Mr. Werner Zirnzak serves as the deputy director of Industrieverband Garne - Gewebe - Technische Textilien e. V. (IVGT) and Secretary of ETT CLUB (Entrepreneurs Club of the European Suppliers of Technical Textiles).

Industrieverband Garne - Gewebe - Technische Textilien e. V.(IVGT) is the German textile trade association for manufacturers and suppliers of textile raw materials, yarns, fabrics, house textiles and technical textiles. Their members include over 170 companies in the textile industry and in the field of industrial trading in textile raw materials and textiles. Members of the association include one-third of the German textile industry with an annual turnover of approximately 5 billion €.

The association represents the interests of its members in all technical and economic policy issues in Germany, the European Union and institutions in other countries.

To increase the competitiveness of its members, IVGT represents them in all matters in the textile chain ranging from the raw material to the end product. They seek to develop close contacts with national and international decision makers as well as with competence centers, enabling them to provide members with the most relevant information for the branches represented.