Successful launch of CETI in Lille, France
CETI, the European Centre for Innovative Textiles, has been launched successfully on October 10, 2012 in Lille (F) – we have previously reporting on this important step forward – and with receiving around 1400 guests among policy-makers, researchers, engineers, industrialists. The exhibition and tour of CETI’s workshops attracted 2300 visitors on the Open day on October 14, 2012
At CETI’s opening day a first framework partnership agreement has been signed between CETI and ENSAIT (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Industries Textiles), Roubaix. CETI’s scientific management has been confided to Eric Devaux, university professor and spinning expert as well as researcher at the Gemtex lab of ENSAIT and 15 past and actual PhD students, engineers and technicians will research in the areas of spinning and nonwovens at CETI. Publications will be made under ENSAIT-CETI.
Global consumption of Technical Textiles amounted to USD 133 billion in 2011 and is earmarked at USD 175 billion by 2020 and USD 200 billion by 2030. The global market will reach 25 million t in 2012 meaning a fivefold increase in the last fifty years, whereas the traditional textiles markets for clothing an upholstery will reach 50 million t in 2012 and has been doubling during the same period of time, these are the findings of Evelyne Chaballier, director of economic studies and prospective at the IFM and her presentation at the opening of CETI.
The other speaker, Brigitte Defoort, materials and process expert at EADS Astrium declared at the same occasion “We also set great store by nonwovens which should offer us exceptional properties, especially in terms of their strengths, which is one of our areas of research”.
“Our research is aiming to make textile fibres as versatile as paper, and capable of blocking the effects of GSM waves” explained Laurent Montes, project manager at the InP Grenoble/Minatec and mico-nanotechnologies expert. And Emmanuel Sitbon of Sitbon Architects added that textiles are little or incorrectly used in architecture “and yet they are fabulous materials, comparable to concrete, metal or brick. Textiles can be flexible and rigid at the same time and have added property of shape-memory. All of these citations were testimonials in the framework of the presented study “Prospective 2030”.
On October 11, 2012 also the first CETI International Forum took place and was attended by over 400 professionals from the USA, Canda, Japan, Brazil and Europe, including the Mediterranean basin. This day was organized by Clubtex, Up-tex and CETI in partnership with ENSAIT, IFTH, Centexbel, HEI-ISEN-ISA, the North Carolina Research Centre and the Japan Chemical Fiber Association presenting a vast scope of new applications, new fibres and for bio-polymers and a specific focus on filtration and insulation markes. Two important cross-sector markets to make use of the equipment first installed at CETI (spinning, dry-laid and meltblown nonwovens), the second phase of investments will take place during the first quarter of 2013 and will go into the areas of spinning, weaving, knitting, braiding and finishing.
CETI hosted during the inaugural week also a variety or organizations, including Crottexnet network approving European projects, ACTE the network of European Towns of Textiles, Eurasanté Cluster, IFTH in charge of disseminating the scientific results of the Microflex project. Also received was Oxylane company to evaluate its development projects and the common denominator: a new generation of textiles.
Also the FUTUROTEXTILES AWARDS (innovative textiles and design, an initiative of Lille-design and CETI in partnership with lille3000 and FUTEX) were bestowed to two professionals and three students. The project LOOP received the award for High Technology for Textiles Innovation and went to José Subero and Paula Colchero, each receiving EUR 5000 as a price sum, together with a budget of EUR 10000 for the development of their urban object (seat) which makes use of technical textiles and favours social interaction.