“A month before INDEX 11, the exhibition space has been extended to be able to welcome more exhibitors”, said Pierre Wiertz, General Manager of EDANA. “The geographical diversity of the exhibitors continues to develop, reflecting the shifts in the nonwovens market, with large numbers of visitors from the Middle and Far East”.
This will be the 10th consecutive edition of INDEX 11, the world’s leading nonwovens exhibition, to be held in Geneva and will be accompanied by a compelling programme of activities, including special events, interactive workshops and education sessions.
Sustainability Report Launch
EDANA will launch its new sustainability report on the opening day of INDEX 11. Building on the association’s mission to create an environment beneficial to sustainable and profitable growth of the industry participants through the active promotion of sustainable development, consumer interests and transparency, the report examines how players throughout the supply chain work together to achieve a more sustainable final product. A multitude of nonwoven applications will be covered in the report.
Vision 2020 Launch
EDANA will also publicly launch its joint study on the future of the nonwovens and related industry, in a programme titled Vision 2020. Aimed at supporting member companies in identifying the challenges and opportunities in the coming 10 years, it was developed with support from futurists and market experts. Information about the programme will be shared with attending media on the opening day of INDEX 11, whilst EDANA members will receive the information and reports the week before.
Interactive Innovation Workshop
A workshop dedicated to innovation will be available free-of-charge to all registered visitors and exhibitors during INDEX 11. The “Management Workshop on Innovation” will help managers to judge the strong and weak points of innovation in their companies. A former R&D Director at Procter & Gamble and now a Future Business Development and Innovation advisor and coach, Dr. Karl-Michael Schumann will share insights, best practices and stories of success and failures as attendees learn how to build and sustain superior innovation capabilities. Advance registration for this valuable free event should be made on-line via the INDEX 11 website, www.index11.org., as demand is sure to be high.
INDEX 11 will also host a series of special events. They provide an additional, valuable platform to share knowledge and to network with business contacts from around the world. Highlights include:
INDEX 11 Awards
The EDANA Awards are designed to encourage and acknowledge innovation and new ideas in nonwovens, their raw materials and the machinery used in making or converting nonwovens. The winners of the prestigious INDEX Awards will be announced on 12th April 2011, the first day of the INDEX 11 exhibition, at the EDANA stand. EDANA’s INDEX 11 Awards are the highest accolade for the best examples of excellence in the nonwovens industry and highlight some of the most outstanding innovations. The interest in the awards has been very strong and the entries are assessed on creative ideas, new technology and innovative products.
Exhibitor Product Presentations
Under the umbrella theme of ‘Nonwovens Live’, these presentations from exhibitors will showcase cutting-edge innovations and the latest developments in the nonwovens field. Provided free to INDEX 11 visitors, they will take place in a specially-constructed auditorium within the exhibition halls, and will feature a series of around 30 presentations covering the whole range of the exhibition programme, starting the afternoon of 12th April.
Eminent Speakers
Speakers from all over the world, including some of the most eminent leaders of the industry, will take part in the free educational and promotional activities.
IFAI, The Industrial Fabrics Association International, is a special invitee at INDEX 11. IFAI will provide several workshops on selected U.S Technical Textile Markets. The symposiums - led by Mr. Jeffrey Rasmussen, Market Research Manager for IFAI will give some insights to help attendees understand the current conditions within the Fabric Graphics, Geosynthetics, Smart Fabrics and Construction/Building market segments.
There will also be a workshop on Nonwovens in Packaging led by Dr. George Kellie of Kellie Solutions, a leading UK marketing and technology company. The use of nonwovens is growing rapidly in the packaging field in a very broad range of applications from tea bags to fashion shopping bags. The session will also highlight revolutionary high-profile applications and a networking area with displays of new packaging products will also be on show.
Nonwovens are uniquely-engineered materials with a fabric-like structure which are used in a wide variety of applications; traditionally in the medical, hygiene and personal care products industries and increasingly in applications within the automotive, construction, home furnishings, filtration and packaging industries. They may be a limited-life, single-use fabric or a durable fabric, providing specific functions such as absorbency, liquid repellency, resilience, stretch, softness, strength, flame-retardancy, washability, cushioning, filtering, bacterial barrier and sterility.
With more than 500 exhibitors already confirmed, the exhibition covers over 52,000m2 of exhibition space. More than 12,500 visitors from over 100 countries are expected to attend this leading international showcase, which takes place in Geneva every three years.
