T urkey is a country experiencing an increased demand for technical textiles and nonwovens, according to the Export Promotion Center of Turkey (See " Turkey: Nonwovens And Technical Textiles Poised For Growth," Textile World Asia, this issue). The country is gearing up to host Hightex 2010, the 3rd Istanbul Technical Textiles & Nonwoven and Weaving Technologies Trade Fair, May 15-18, at the Tüyap Fair, Convention and Congress Center in Istanbul. This relatively new show again will showcase the wide range of technical textile and nonwovens technologies, raw materials and intermediate products. In a change from previous editions, weaving technology also will be exhibited at this year's event. Show organizer Teknik Fuarcilik Ltd. - a textile publishing and fair organizer based in Istanbul - feels that the weaving industry's ability to persevere and continue developing new technologies has made it an important category to integrate into Hightex's comprehensive technical textiles and nonwovens technology categories. 


Exhibits at the show will be indexed in five groups:

• technology such as airlaid, crosslapping, meltblown, spunbond and wetlaid;
• machinery and accessories including waste-handling technologies, printing machinery, dyeing equipment, embossing machinery, laboratory equipment and tufting machinery;
• raw materials including polymer chips, fiber, yarns, adhesives and chemicals;
• finished materials, which will be organized into agricultural, apparel, industrial, transport, protection, sports, building, food, home furnishing, cosmetics, ecological, geo, medical and packaging textiles application categories; and 
• smart textiles.

Visitors will find Hightex exhibits in Halls 7, 8 and 9 at the Tüyap Fair. The halls will be open May 15-17 from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m; and on May 18 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Size And Scope
As of TW Asia's press time, numbers for anticipated visitors and exhibitors at Hightex 2010 were not available. The first edition of the show, held in 2005, recorded 318 exhibitors - of which 162 were international companies - and 10,000 visitors, including 1,500 people attending from foreign countries.
In 2007, organizers reported 320 exhibitors - of which 170 were international companies - from Turkey and 20 international countries, and also 10,000 visitors - 3,200 of whom were international.

Visitor numbers at each show were made up of guests from Turkey and some 35 other countries including Iran, Syria, India, Pakistan, China, Korea, Uzbekistan and the Ukraine; as well as European countries such as the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany and Greece; among other countries.

International Technical Textiles Congress
The 4th International Technical Textiles Congress will be held at the Tüyap Fair concurrently with Hightex 2010. Hosted by the Istanbul-based Dokuz Eylül University's Department of Textile Engineering, the congress will give researchers and industry professionals the opportunity to meet, mingle, discuss opportunities and exchange ideas in the field of technical textiles. Papers will be presented on a variety of topics including: functional fibers; nano technical textiles; medical textiles; protective clothing; military textiles; filtration textiles; composite materials; smart and interactive textiles; packaging textiles; automotive textiles; sporting textiles; agricultural textiles; and geotextiles, civil engineering and construction textiles. The registration fee is 200 euros, and a 50-percent discount is offered to students with valid identification. People wishing to learn more about the congress or to register for the event may do so at http://web.deu.edu.tr/ttk.

For more information about Hightex 2010, or to register for the show, visit www.hightex2010.com

January/February/March 2010