STFI's second Akademie breakfast will take place on 14 May 2024 in Chemnitz. This event will serve as an open industry exchange on the topics of recruiting and qualifying skilled workers.

The latest edition of our STFI newsletter includes details of projects that will be showcased at our stand at Techtextil from 23-26 April 2024. It also features an interview with STFI recycling expert Johannes Leis and information about upcoming events at our research institute.

Currently, the industrial use of lightweight solutions often fails due to the high material and manufacturing costs. There are also unanswered questions about the ecological aspects of recycling and reuse. Innovative approaches were developed in the VliesComp project in this area of conflict.

STFI will be presenting fascinating, high-end textile products and solutions of tomorrow at Techtextil 2024. The highlights from current research results and innovations provide an insight into the digitalisa-tion of textile production, show applications for 3D printing and smart technical textiles and provide examples of particularly sustainably designed products as well as innovative approaches for protective and medical textiles.

At this year's JEC World, STFI will be presenting highlights from carbon fibre recycling as well as a new approach to hemp-based bast fibres, which have promising properties as reinforcement in lightweight construction. Visit us at the joint stand of the Saxony Economic Development Corporation and talk to our team of lightweight construction experts.

Green snowboards from silbaerg combine natural fibres with in-house recycled materials adapting extremely flexible to different riding situations. Since 2011, the company silbaerg from Chemnitz has been producing high-quality snowboards, which are manufactured by using the patented A.L.D.tech^®. The latest product line of green snowboards has now been honoured with the JEC Innovation Award 2024 in Paris.

Over the next 48 months,STFI and its 18 project partners will focus on recycling and transforming mixed polyester/cotton waste into high-quality and pure materials for the next use cycle.aligning with the EU's 2025 textile waste mandatory collection.

"All the strength we give away comes back to us experienced and transformed."
(Rainer Maria Rilke)

It's Christmas time – a moment for reflection, silence, gratitude, and joy. We want to express our appreciation for your trust and successful collaboration – wishing you, your team, and your families a peaceful Christmas and a healthy 2024!

The 16^th "recycling for textiles" colloquium took place in Chemnitz on 6 and 7 December 2023. 70 experts from the fields of textile recycling, textile machine construction and textile production exchanged views on the latest developments, trends and innovations in the industry.

The research project focussed on the application of innovative copper dispersions, which were converted into conductive layers using conventional drying or sintering processes.

The aim of the "Raw material classification of recycled fibres" project was to produce yarn from used textiles with the lowest possible loss of properties by optimising the tearing processes in the treatment of textile waste in combination with adjustments to the spinning process.

The renowned Innovation Award for Fibre Reinforced Plastics of the AVK – Industrievereinigung Verstärkte Kunststoffe e.V. was presented this year in Salzburg. The award goes to companies, institutes and their partners in each of the three categories "Products and Applications", "Processes and Methods" and "Research and Science" for outstanding innovations with fibre-reinforced plastics. Criteria such as level of innovation, degree of realisation and sustainability are evaluated. STFI was nominated in two categories and was awarded third place in each.

On 18 October 2023, the review meeting for the EU project "MC4 - Multi-level Circular Process Chain for Carbon and Glass Fibre Composites" took place at the Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut e.V. (STFI). In addition to representatives of the 16 project partners from 9 European countries, the responsible project officer and a reviewer appointed by the EU Commission also took part.

Occupational safety and health – A+A in Düsseldorf is the world's largest and most important event when it comes to safety and health at work. With the leitmotif "Impulses for a better working world", this year's focus is set on new ideas, products and solutions that help to make the working world safer, more efficient and healthier.

The sixth Exchange of Experience on Exhaust Air Purification of the Sächsische Textilforschungsinstituts e.V. (STFI) took place on 6 September 2023 in Chemnitz. With a total of 41 participants, the exchange of experience was again held as a hybrid event.

On 23 August 2023, the STFI invited representatives of the textile industry to an open exchange around the topics of skilled labour qualification and sustainable innovations. The first STFI Academy Breakfast brought textile entrepreneurs, the Federal Employment Agency and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce to a richly laid breakfast table to discuss approaches to solving the shortage of skilled workers.

The shortage of skilled workers requires new approaches for companies. If the search for qualified specialists remains unsuccessful, the path often leads companies to lateral hires. If they are hired, they have to be trained or, even better, qualified in their field of work. Companies are facing various challenges in this process.

New developments in textile research, innovative research projects, as well as exciting news from textile testing and certification – stay up to date with our newsletter!

The starting point of the project was the Covid 19 pandemic, which brought about a drastic change in our way of life. One of the most important protective measures was the wearing of face masks. These also serve as a general protection against airborne pathogens.

Hendrik Beier, Deputy Managing Director of STFI, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of Innovative Companies (VIU), Berlin, on July 6, 2023. With the completely newly elected board, the VIU heralds the generation change in order to position itself strongly for the future.