The immense potential market that exists for technical textiles in the Middle East region, in particular its uses in the safety and protection areas, will be the focus of the inaugural Techtextil Middle East Symposium being held alongside Intersec 2014 in January.

The two-day series of presentations and interactive panel discussions organised by International Newsletters in association with Messe Frankfurt, will throw light on the fast-growing technical textiles industry with a particular emphasis on their applications in the Middle East region.

Technical textiles are synthetic fabrics designed with pure functionality in mind and are currently in demand by a vast array of industries including for automotive applications, medical, geotextiles, agro and protective textiles.

Leading industry representatives will underline the tremendous benefits to be gained by the appropriate use of technical textiles in protective and safety functions. The symposium will also highlight specific application areas that are relevant to the Middle East market.

The Middle East region, currently enjoying a phase of considerable economic growth accompanied by a surge in the creation of new infrastructure and transport and logistics facilities offers enormous potential for the use of Protech (technical textiles especially for the safety and protection of workers) and Buildtech (textiles for building and construction). These will be highlighted in detail at the symposium.

The role of protective gear in keeping wearers cool in extreme conditions will be discussed in a presentation by Technical Absorbents Ltd. (UK), while Norafin will speak about the use of non-wovens in protective gear. Other topics that will be discussed include: the importance of standards and testing; innovation and technical textiles and experts will also take a look at the global markets for technical textiles.

“The best kind of protective gear is designed to keep workers comfortable in their work environment,” said Anita Bemrose of Technical Absorbents Ltd. “Keeping the worker cool and dry in the workplace is especially important in regions with extreme climates such as the Middle East.”

“Non-wovens are among the fast growing sectors of the technical textiles market,” said Christian Rosenkrantz, Business Development Manager at Norafin. “With possible applications across a broad spectrum of end uses ranging from medical products through technical composites to protective apparel, non-wovens are set to play an increasingly more visible part in the technical textiles market.”

Techtextil, which will be present with a pavilion at Intersec 2014, is organised by Messe Frankfurt and is the leading trade fair of its kind in Frankfurt. Techtextil is present with five brand shows in significant markets such as China, India, Russia and the US.

Intersec 2014, the leading international trade and business development platform for safety, security and fire protection industries in the region, takes place at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from January 19 to 21, 2014.

With eleven events, Messe Frankfurt is one of the world's leading organisers of fairs and congresses for the expanding international field of safety and security technology. Eight trade fairs and three high-grade congresses in Germany, Asia, the Middle East and South America provide optimum opportunities for gaining a foothold in these dynamic growth markets.