TTNA Moves the Needle on Ideas

Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas 2025, generated industry momentum, global participation, and powerful conversations among the nearly 400 exhibitors from 28 countries. The colocated events delivered three energized days full of forward-thinking solutions, cross-sector connections, and the latest innovations, held in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center from May 6-8.

“It’s inspiring to see such a diverse, dynamic community coming together under one roof,” said Sarah Hatcher, Group Show Director for Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas. “This event is about more than what’s on display. It’s about the energy of discovery, the exchange of ideas, and the relationships that drive this industry forward.”

The Showfloor Showcases the Latest and Greatest

Across both shows, attendees experienced the full scope of the supply chain, from fiber and machinery to finished goods and cutting-edge software. With a unified exhibit floor, the events fostered organic networking, industry collaboration, and an outlet for decision-makers sourcing everything from raw materials to automation tools.

On the show floor, the Tech Talks stage became a hotspot for quick-hit insights, panel discussions, and real-world applications. Covering everything from smart textiles and workforce challenges to sustainable sourcing and reshoring, these bite-sized sessions made industry trends accessible and actionable.

This year’s curated lineup was made possible by Casey Strauch (Hohenstein Institute America), Melissa Sharp (Zeis Textiles Extension), Xochil Herrera Scheer (The Chicago Pattern Maker), and Jasmine Cox-Wade (Gaston College), who brought diverse expertise and fresh perspectives to the program.

“TTNA continues to be a valuable networking opportunity for us. The engaging discussions we had throughout the show highlighted just how important in-person education and events are for fostering meaningful industry connections and innovation,” said Casey Strauch from Hohenstein Institute America.

Dialogue-Driven Symposium

Away from the bustle of the show floor, the symposium sessions offered attendees an in-depth look at some of the most pressing issues shaping the industry. Led by thought leaders and technical experts, the sessions blended strategy with application, providing practical takeaways on innovation, policy, and market dynamics across textiles, nonwovens, and sewn products.

Sessions that stood out included “Unraveling the Future: Cutting-Edge

Advancements and Developments in Fiber,” with Stephen Sharp, Vice President of Fiber Innovation and Facilities Development at Gaston College, Dr. Abdel-Fattah Seyam, Professor of Textiles and Melissa Sharp (moderator), Deputy CEO of NCTISE Wilson College of Textiles, both of NC State University, David Chiles, Machine Sales at Hills. Inc, and Hilliad Smithers, Application Development Specialist at Avient. The discussion focused on the development and challenges of novel fibers and polymers, emphasizing the long-term processes and the need for strategic planning.

David Chiles discussed the use of degradable recycling polymers to reduce energy consumption in processing, the creation of self-bulking and selfcrimp fibers, and the incorporation of dissolvable microfibers for easier separation.

Dr. Abdel-Fattah Seyam shared the results of assessment of fiber adhesion in advanced fiber composites. Key points included the evaluation of adhesion cohesion and surface adhesion, with high-performance fibers like Kevlar and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene posing challenges.

To guide new research and development, the panel agreed that collaboration is the key to moving industry forward. They encouraged startups to seek partnerships with organizations like Gaston College and NC State for expertise and support which offer availability of pilot facilities and high-level expertise to help with development and testing.

“Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Circular Economy” was another panel focused on sustainable practices. The use of LCA helps to quantify environmental impacts and design materials, emphasizing the importance of resource efficiency and waste minimization. A European Unionfunded project on cascading fiber use was mentioned, which aims to optimize the reuse and recycling of natural and synthetic fibers. Specific metrics were provided: 100 million tons of fibers wasted annually, with only 1% recycled. The use of nano cellulose in textile dyes was also discussed, showcasing a significant reduction in energy consumption compared to traditional methods.

Jamie Gaitor, Product Developer at Celanese spoke about NeoLast, launched in January 2024, a melt-spun elastomeric fiber developed through a partnership between Celanese and Under Armour. NeoLast fibers are produced using recyclable elastoester polymers, which is a significant step towards improving the compatibility of stretch fabrics with future recycling systems and infrastructure.

NeoLast fibers are intended to be a substitute for elastane, namely Spandex, in applications such as sports apparel, outdoor wear, stretch fleece, swimwear, and socks. Celanese plans to make this innovative fiber available to the broader apparel industry beyond their partnership with Under Armour.

An interesting session on “Transforming Materials Design through Machine Learning” opened up the discussion on how AI can expedite the research and development to narrow down positive outcomes.

Dr. Chiho Kim, Chief Technology Officer at Matmerize, moderated the

Ttna Awards Companies That Go Above And Beyond

Announced during the show on May 7,

Techtextil North America’s Best New Technology was awarded to REPREVE®, the flagship brand of Unifi, Inc. This brand continues to lead the global textile industry in sustainable innovation and circular manufacturing. With over 42B plastic bottles recycled and the equivalent of 950M T-shirts in textile and yarn waste diverted from landfills to date, UNIFI® is expanding its circularity efforts by recycling post-consumer plastic bottles and reclaiming post-industrial and post-consumer textile waste. UNIFI is working towards its goal of recycling 50B plastic bottles by the end of 2025 and 1.5B T-shirts by FY2030, further solidifying its role as a pioneer in sustainable textiles.

REPREVE is made through proprietary processes that transform recycled bottles or textiles into high-quality recycled polyester fibers into different products such as REPREVE Our Ocean® and REPREVE Takeback™. This process includes advanced techniques for cleaning, shredding, and pelletizing, followed by extrusion into fiber. Compared to virgin polyester, noted in an LCA Study, specific REPREVE panel focused on AI. Dr. Kim shared his company’s cutting-edge product, which integrates polymer domain knowledge with advanced data science methods and AI technologies to transform and accelerate industrial materials development at scale. The company mission is to revolutionize and modernize the materials R&D environment by offering data-driven software for the costeffective and rapid design of functional and sustainable polymer formulations. products offer considerable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and energy consumption, while maintaining the strength, durability, and versatility required for demanding applications across apparel, home, automotive, and industrial markets. Available in filament, staple, resin, and ThermaLoop™ insulation, REPREVE can also be enhanced with performance technologies such as moisture-wicking (Sorbtek®), thermal comfort (TruTemp365®), and durability (Fortisyn™), making it suitable for everything from activewear and outdoor gear to upholstery and nonwoven fabrics. UNIFI’s vertically integrated process ensures traceability and transparency, providing brands and consumers with verified environmental claims through U-TRUST® and FiberPrint® technologies.

Dr. Victor Fung, Assistant Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, and Dr. Deepak Kamal, Cheminformatics Scientist at Syensqo also presented.

Innovations like Integr8™ and REPREVE with CiCLO® further exemplify UNIFI’s commitment to developing sustainable, high-performance materials that support a more circular and responsible textile industry. Through ongoing investment and collaboration, REPREVE remains at the forefront of the movement to create a cleaner, more resilient future and has become a trusted solution for brands seeking high-performance fibers with significantly reduced environmental impact.

Dr. Fung shared his research on MatterTune, a modular and extensible framework that provides advanced fine-tuning capabilities and seamless integration of atomistic foundation models into downstream materials informatics and simulation workflows, thereby lowering the barriers to adoption and facilitating diverse applications in materials science.

Dr. Kamal shared his expertise on data-driven methodologies to accelerate the discovery and design of advanced polymeric materials.

The panelists work on the integration of generative AI in material science for predictive modeling and design include

Texprocess Americas Awards included:

• Best New Technology & Digitalization: Automatex –Automated Fitted Sheet Sewing and Folding Line

• Best New Technology: JUKI – JUKI DX-01

• Best New Concept: Aptean – Aptean Shop Floor Control

“These winners represent the kind of innovation that is not only exciting but deeply impactful to how our industries operate,” said Kristy Meade, vice president of Technical Textiles & Technology Shows, Messe Frankfurt Inc. “Their technologies are pushing boundaries and solving real-world challenges.”

One of this year’s honorees emphasized the critical role of innovation in today’s manufacturing landscape: “Receiving this award means a lot to us, having been in the industry for many years,” said Per Bringle, senior manager at Aptean. “Increasing efficiencies in productivity is just more important than ever right now. We really appreciate the recognition for the tools we’ve developed to help manufacturers automate, shrink costs, and become more efficient. Bringing these technologies to the table to keep the margins intact and create greater throughput is needed now more than ever.” using physics-informed neural networks and intuition-informed networks for property prediction, and adaptive experimentation frameworks for formulation and testing. The conclusion was that science is still in the hands of humans, but AI could assist researchers to eliminate less viable ideas, therefore increasing positive outcomes of efforts. www.techtextil-north-america. us.messefrankfurt.com.org

Techtextil North America will take place August 4–6, 2026 in Raleigh, N.C.