SME industry is currently facing complex challenges: Energy and raw material costs are rising, new legal regulations are affecting supply chains and the circular economy, work is becoming digitalised and now requires employees to have the right qualifications. How do small and medium-sized enterprises meet these challenges? The Sächsische Textilforschungsinstitut e.V. supports SMEs in turning these challenges into opportunities for the future through digitalisation.

As part of the EU project BIONANOPOLYS, an innovation platform is being developed consisting of an OPEN INNOVATION TEST BED (OITB) with 14 modernised pilot plants and complementary services to support technological and economic activities. STFI is a project partner and joins the OITB with a meltblown nonwoven plant and a fibre nonwoven plant. The aim is the production of innovative nano-products from sustainably obtained raw materials for packaging and textiles as well as for the agricultural, cosmetics, pharmaceutical or food sectors.

The research project "CarboDesize – Inductive Desizing of Carbon Fibres" was implemented together with the partners Nomaco GmbH, Cobes GmbH and the Chair of Forming and Joining at Chemnitz University of Technology. In the course of the project, a technical prototype for the desizing of carbon fibres was developed.

Since the beginning of this year, the STFI has been listed as a joint training partner in the field of textiles and clothing at the Chemnitz Chamber of Industry and Commerce. In our module, we support your trainees specifically in the field of textile chemistry.

Das EU-Projekt BIONANOPOLYS startet einen offenen Aufruf zur Einreichung von Projekten für die Entwicklung, Erprobung oder Skalierung von Bionanomaterialien auf seinen 14 Pilotanlagen.

Qualified skilled workers are also becoming increasingly difficult to find in the textile industry. The STFI therefore offers modules and courses for specialist qualification and further training under the name "STFI Akademie". Jens Stopp and Denise Braun, both long-time employees of the STFI, manage the Akademie. In the following interview, they present the new field of competence.