World Champion Austria Textile industry
The perfect combination of tradition and innovation Vorarlberg is a global hotspot for the development and production of fine fabrics and smart textiles.
Photo: Jens-Ellensohn
T
he textile industry may have lost its position as a leading sector over the last few decades – machinery construction has been occupying the top spot with a 50 percent share – but the production of fabrics, ribbons and lace is still essential to Vorarlberg as a business location. This ranges from traditional products and increasingly towards smart textiles as a key technology. The textile industry realised a long time ago that the future can be found in the combination of fabrics and electronics. The trailblazers of this new line of business were a few embroidery companies that set up the “Smart Textile Platform” twelve years ago; by now, up to 50 businesses and research institute from Austria and abroad have joined forces.
Physics added a second professorship with the focus on textile composite materials and technical textiles,” explains Andreas Staudacher from the Vorarlberg Economic Chamber. The type of products that are being researched ranges from sensor chairs and battery storage technology to lightweight carbon composite materials and textile concrete. The Smart Textile Platform has already developed a number of market-ready products with sensors from Vorarlberg such as the WISBI mattress protector that detects wetness and movement, the smart insoles by Stapp One or the QUS sensor sports short by SanSirro.
Smart textiles and technical fabrics ... By now, about 50 percent of the added value of the Vorarlberg Technical fabrics make up about half of Vorarlberg’s textile production. textile industry is made up of technical fibres – a success story that wants to be continued. The Innovative key technology Textile Competence Centre Vorarlberg 2 (TCCV2) is set to open in “This commitment has led to several technology corporations such April 2021. In addition to the Republic of Austria and the Province as Google, Amazon and Microsoft becoming customers of textile of Vorarlberg, the partners involved include businesses from Vorarlcompanies from Vorarlberg. Research and development has also berg and other provinces, foreign businesses from Germany, Switincreased. A textile competence centre has been set up in Dornbirn, zerland, Italy, Spain and Great Britain as well as scientific research for example, and the Research Institute of Textile Chemistry and
