The second European Convention dedicated to technical textiles, FUTEX, will be held on January 10-11 in Lille, France. The meeting will bring together European players from the technical textiles industry including manufacturers, researchers, and academics that will focus on the theme of ‘Extreme Textiles’.

Extreme textiles are an example of the progress and diversity of technical innovations achieved in the textile and fibre industries. Designed to withstand and protect from extreme conditions of heat, cold and pressure, these materials are the result of leading-edge scientific research and major industrial development. Their applications are widespread from thermal (oven) gloves to astronauts’ clothes, via shockproof textiles for transport.

Launched in 2005 on the initiative of Marcq-en-Baroeul Town Hall and CLUBTEX, an association that for 17 years has brought together around sixty manufacturers specialising in technical textiles for industrial use, the first FUTEX Conference attracted over 220 professionals, a third of whom from abroad, and welcomed over 3,000 visitors to its ‘Technical Textiles: Uses and Futures’ exhibition which was open to the general public.