Techtextil/Texprocess NA, which finished its three-day run recently, brought North American performance and protective apparel and industrial product manufacturers together with some 519 exhibitors of the latest textile materials and manufacturing processes. The Messe Frankfurt GmbH show took place in Atlanta in conjunction with the JEC Americas Composites show.

Confirming the importance of the North American technical markets and there is an increase in foreign manufacturers setting up textile operations in the US Dave Gardner, Managing Director, Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of America (SPESA), which co-sponsored the Texprocess show said that their industry is really coming back home, and China and India are seeing the advantages of manufacturing in the USA.

With 40 per cent of the total volume share, North America has become the leading consumer of technical textiles for personal protective equipment (PPE), according to Mary-Lynn Landgraf, senior international trade specialist for the US Dept. of Commerce/OTEXA. Rich Lippert, marketing director at Glen Raven Technical Fabrics (GRTF), concurred. In general, we are seeing an increased demand for the traceability and peace-of-mind afforded by US-sourced FR materials. Lippert also commented that GRTF was seeing growth in the geosynthetics market, particularly in India and China.