48th Dornbirn Man-Made Fibers Congress (Dornbirn-Mfc)

The 48th  Dornbirn MAN-MADE FIBERS CONGRESS  will be held from 16 - 18 September 2009 in Austria. From the time of last year’s congress up to the end of the year the financial crisis unfolded and escalated dramatically.  Europe is now painfully aware of its impact on the real economy. “Responsibility has to become the leitmotif of economic, social and environmental activity” and is also the leitmotif of Mr. Friedrich Weninger the new president of the Austrian Man-Made Fibers Institute. As member of the board of LENZING AG, he is a renown expert with a close relationship to man-made fibers. Mr. Andreas Eule (CEO Cordenka) has been elected president of CIRFS/Brussels that is enjoying a close long-term with DORNBIRN-MFC. This will ensure the continuous expansion of this European/American lead event in the coming years.

Positive response to the topic “Climate Change”

The focus of this year’s 48th DORNBIRN-MFC is climate protection and its motto “Communicating the Textile Future” we are sending a clear confirmation signal that the fiber industry and academic research has got the message. The issues of climate protection , environmental compatibility and conservation of resources will form the picture of the 21st century.

In the plenary session o the opening day Mr. Eule/CIRFS Brussels will speak about the development strategies of the European man-made fibers industry. Messrs. Prof. Effenberger (Institute for textile chemistry and chemical fibers/Denkendorf) and Prof. Fuchs (Saxonian textile research institute/Chemnitz) will acknowledge the history and merits of Paul Schlack and Wilhelm Albrecht and their contributions to the world of man-made fibers, followed by the Paul Schlack prize awarding ceremony to a young scientist. Thanks to the efforts of IVC/Germany we were able to win Prof. Reichholf from Zoologische Staatssammlung/Munich for a lecture on the topic “Climate Change – Biological View”, followed by Mr. Bob Peoples from the American Chemical Society/Washington on the topic “Green Chemistry”. The presentation of Mr. Elmar Witten from Industrievereinigung verstärkte Kunststoffe/Frankfurt on the topic of “Market and Market Development for Composites in Europe” will conclude the plenary session in the morning.

With more than 100 individual lectures the section “New Developments in Fibers” (incl. bicomponent fibers and nano-technologies) is represented during the whole congress and will be opened with a presentation of Mr. Omatsuzawa from Japan Chemical Fibers Association/Tokyo giving an overview about the development of environmentally conscious technologies and textile products in Japan. “Fibers for Medical and Hygienic Textiles (incl. Smart Textiles) along with the section (Fibers for Composites, Transportation and Professional Wear” show the importance of these 2 topics.

A further highlight is the section “Fibers and Textiles in Connection with the Climate Change” (incl. Water Management, Geotextiles, Agrotextiles) followed by a presentation of “EU Research Projects”. The section “Last Minute Highlights” has been put at the end of day 1 and 2.

Increased “Clustering” in coming years

A look at the development of the European/American Man-Made Fibers -, Textile - and Nonwovens-Industry shows that only the most innovative and healthiest companies weather the storms successfully. In order to improve the positioning of the DORNBIRN MAN-MADE FIBERS CONGRESS as a communication platform, we are planning to organise meetings of the textile and garment making industry and other association before the official opening our congress. First approaches have produced vivid interest.

New promotion model with “Friends of Dornbirn”

New ideas and unconventional solutions, a gift of the young, as well as experience – both are required to keep one’s eyes on the ball. However big the challenges presented in difficult times: we must promote young talents. Dornbirn has always been an interesting forum in this respect, too: young technicians and scientists are given the opportunity to present their ideas and to network. We are in urgent need of their creativity and their competence, for our future. This task will be supported actively by the “Friends of Dornbirn”. In order to participate in this circle of supporters, please send an Email to: oechiwien@Eunet.at.