AI, Start-ups, Research: Techtextil and Texprocess bring together players in the textile industry

AI, Start-ups, Research: Techtextil and Texprocess bring together players in the textile industry

Frankfurt am Main, 7 April 2026. From start-ups to universities and research institutes: at Techtextil and Texprocess, the world’s leading innovation trade fairs in Frankfurt am Main, exhibitors present future-oriented concepts for the global textile industry. With the international Campus & Research area, a strong participation from start-ups and the latest AI applications for textile processing, both trade fairs showcase current developments in the textile industry. By bringing together innovation, research and application, they enable new partnerships across the textile value chain.

Universities, research institutes and start-ups present their visions for the global textile industry at Techtextil and Texprocess – ranging from new materials and smart design tools to automated production chains. “Techtextil and Texprocess bring together global research with textile and user industries. This leads to new ideas and collaborations that bring innovations to the market more quickly,” says Sabine Scharrer, Director Brand Management Technical Textiles & Textile Processing at Messe Frankfurt.

Campus & Research: A global meeting point for textile research The Campus & Research sector continues to grow and is even more international in 2026: around 40 research institutes and universities from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America share their latest findings with the textile industry here. Participants include Saxion University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands), the InnoFiber Research Lab at the University of Minho (Portugal), IMS Bauhaus Latino América (Uruguay), the Higher Institute of Technological Studies of Ksar Helal (Tunisia) and TU Dresden. The TFI – Institute for Flooring and Interior Systems at RWTH Aachen University demonstrates in a special exhibition how a textile-based guidance system for the visually impaired enables accessibility in indoor spaces. The research institutions and universities are identified by a special sign at the exhibition stand and in the online exhibitor search for visitors.

Start-ups lead the way for the textile industry About 20 start-ups exhibit their ideas and technologies on the exhibition grounds. At Techtextil, numerous newcomers present innovative approaches to fibres and yarns: the Swiss company Climatex displays circular textile technologies and fully recyclable products, whilst qCella (Switzerland) showcases a cellulose fibre innovation and ultra-thin surface heating technology. R.O.A.M Systems (USA) presents a new type of nonwoven fabric production using additive fibre placement. At Texprocess, the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab, Hong Kong) demonstrates an AI-supported textile inspection technology for automated textile fault detection and real-time quality control. The Bulgarian start-up Prodactive Solutions showcases, among other things, an AI-

supported SaaS platform for production control in the apparel industry. These and other start-ups can be easily found via a sign at their exhibition stands and in the online exhibitor search.

Experience AI innovations first-hand

AI can be experienced first-hand at Techtextil and Texprocess: visitors can interact with two robots at the Style 3D/Assyst booth. The company demonstrates how training software can be used to manage complex processes in apparel production. The Italian exhibitor Willy Italiana presents a checklabel machine that uses self-learning AI to inspect the quality of ribbons and labels. The Spanish exhibitor Picvisa Machine Vision Systems demonstrates how AI-supported optical sorting systems can assist recycling processes by identifying and separating textiles by material or colour. Exhibitors and presentations on the topic of AI can be easily found with the “Texpertise Focus AI” sign.