Brazilian textile industry executives take part in innovation mission

A group made up of Brazilian textile industry executives will arrive in Europe this week for a series of technical visits to important centers of research and innovation in Portugal and Italy. The international benchmarking in innovation mission is taking place in the week before ITMA and is being executed by Texbrasil, the Brazilian Fashion Industry Internationalization Program, developed by Abit and Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), in partnership with CITEVE, CeNTI, University of Minho and Politécnico di Milano.

The Brazilian companies that took part in this mission are PH FIT, Sapeka, Digitale Têxtil, Santanense, Tekla, Audaces, Rhodia, Anfra, Moovexx, Lepper and Coteminas, in addition to representatives from SENAI-Blumenau. The agenda kicks off this Friday (November 6) in Portugal, where visits will be made to the main technology development laboratories for the industry and the biggest innovations in microbiology, nanotechnology and textile physics and chemistry will be presented, among other innovations.

The following week the group will continue on to Italy and will have access to development structure, production and innovative management techniques at major Italian textile companies. The mission’s high point will be a visit to the ITMA trade show, which only takes place every four years and is regarded as the main international event in the textile chain. Over 1,300 exhibitors from nearly 50 countries are confirmed to attend this edition, which is being held from November 12 to 19.

According to Vasco Loureiro, CEO at Sapeka, ITMA is more than a great opportunity to modernize production. “It’s where we can see how the market looks and what our position is in relation to what we make in Brazil,” says Loureiro. Assessing the country’s place is precisely one of the mission’s goals, while also aiming to keep the Brazilian textile industry competitive and up-to-date with innovations in both technology and sustainability.

To do this, knowledge acquired and machinery purchased at the show are applied to companies’ day-to-day operations and reach the end consumer, who is always hungry for the latest innovations. “The importance of this trip lies in being able to be at the cutting edge of the process of innovating, developing products and enhancing processes,” says Geraldo Nilton, manager at Santanense.

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