"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 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.

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!

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.

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.