Australia and Sweden are both considered leaders in the field of technical textiles – now, the two countries are set to share their knowledge. Austrade Stockholm business development manager Kerstin Classon gives us an inside look into how.
Next Textile Boras 2009
Developments in textiles are surging forward at astonishing speed and two of the pacemakers are Australia and Sweden.
Last month, a business and networking event entitled ‘Next Textile Boras’ was launched in an attempt to encourage the two markets to build opportunities together, share their achievements and establish new contacts and business partners.
A delegation of textile experts from Australia was invited to attend a comprehensive two-day program in Sweden, with visits to the Swedish School of Textiles, industry seminars, networking activities and visits to regional production companies such as FOV Fabrics AB.
Next Textile Boras 2009 was organised in collaboration with international design festival and conference producers FutureLab, the Australian Trade Commission, the Swedish School of Textiles and the City of Boras.
Australian trade and business delegates included the Textile Fashion Industries of Australia (TFIA) heads Jo-Ann Kellock and Andreas Schimkus, International Fibre Centre’s Joseph Merola, LM Australasia’s Michel Abeysekera, RMIT University’s Dr Olga Troynikov and Mark Brooks, who represented wool suppliers Lempriere and The Merino Company.
An even bigger program and delegation is planned for Next Textile Boras 2010. An unlikely pairing?
I have been working closely with the fashion, textile and design sectors for Austrade since 2003. During this time, I’ve followed the incredible advancements made by Australian institutes in the field of wool, performance, and smart and technical fibres and fabrics.
While the Australian fashion industry is facing challenges with offshore manufacturing, the technical textiles sector is becoming increasingly globally competitive, advancing with research and development (R&D) in fibre innovations and products.
Some of the latest innovations include hydrophobic textiles that remain clear and dry by mimicking the surface of a lotus leaf (Deakin University), ‘ColourClear’ technology which whitens wool and wool blends (CSIRO), and the ‘Bruck Bionic Gemini’, which is a water repellent, anti-odour, anti-microbial, quick drying and low heat-stress textile (Bruck Textiles).
The Swedish and German fashion industries are facing a similar transformation phase to Australia, with intensifying competition from low-price imports and manufacturing increasingly moving overseas.
As a result, the industries in Sweden and Germany have developed strong interdisciplinary and niche textiles research and development and almost half of their textile production is now in technical textiles.
The growing and increasingly dynamic marketplace of technical textiles demands high R&D investments and a collaborative approach in order to compete and stay ahead. Some key success factors will be identifying and growing strong niche areas and forming competitive partnerships.
We therefore monitored and outlined industries and opportunities in Australia and Sweden, turning our initial focus to the latter market.
There are several major exporting companies based in Sweden that work with smart, wearable or technical textiles in sports and performance, workwear and outdoor. Some key players include Fristads, Fjällräven, Haglöfs, Tierra and Houdini.
Some companies manufacture in Sweden while others produce in Asia and eastern Europe. However, R&D and design and purchasing decisions are made in Sweden so it’s important to see the potential reach of these companies, not just look at their home market.
More than half of Sweden’s entire textile industry and the largest logistic nodes of the branch are reachable from Boras within 45 minutes. Boras is situated in the south-western region Västra Götaland, Sweden’s most prominent industrial region and the heart of the Swedish textiles industry.
Lighting the fire
In the second half of 2008, I initiated dialogue with some key Swedish contacts – innovation centre Smart Textiles, the Swedish School of Textiles, the Swedish Textile and Clothing Industries Association (TEKO) and the organisers of design festival and conference Future Design Days.
The Swedish School of Textiles already had some ongoing collaboration with Australian institutions and expressed an interest in expanding and intensifying these.
Boras City had recently commenced a regional strategy to build a northern European textiles centre and was planning a major event called Next Textile Boras in 2010. Part of that strategy was to identify complementary international partners: a perfect opportunity for Australian textile innovators.
Our discussions resulted in a special invitation from the Swedish School of Textiles and the City of Boras to Australian textile delegates. They were invited to an introductory special version of Next Textile Boras on June 11 to 12, 2009. The visit was timed with Techtextil in Frankfurt, the leading international technical textiles trade fair on June 16 to 18, 2009.
The final countdown
In November and December 2008, an information alert was communicated to some key stakeholders in Australia. This was to gauge their interest and to seek collaborative support from industry bodies and state government departments.
From January to March, the Department of Innovation Industry and Regional Development (DIIRD, VIC) and Department of State and Regional Development (DSRD, NSW) expressed interest in supporting the initiative. The TFIA and Technical Textiles and Nonwoven Association alerted their members about the opportunity. TFIA was given the auspice by DIIRD to arrange a delegation group from Victoria.
In April, a delegate group was confirmed from Australia and event preparation began and continued right through to June. The final program included a half-day seminar at the Swedish School of Textiles and visits to textile companies Ekelunds Linneväveriet i Horred AB, AB Ludvig Svensson and FOV Fabrics AB.
FOV is of particular interest to fashion players as it develops, manufactures and markets technical woven textiles and functional garment fabrics in-house, with a fully integrated production process and a complete laboratory.
Over the years, FOV’s product range has changed from acetate and viscose linings to high-tech fabrics for apparel and industrial use. The company develops fabrics that have heat, light and sensory properties.
The verdict
The event revealed an opportunity for Australia to position itself as a leading fibre nation, with strong capabilities in both wool and man-made fibres. The “fibres” aspect extends across several strong industry sectors – clean technology, sports/performance/outdoors, fashion, smart/technical textiles, the medical sector as well as rescue/defence/fire fighting/police services.
Other areas of interest and opportunities for Australian fashion players include wool solutions and environmentally friendly fibres and fabrics.
The event wasn’t a pure “fashion” initiative nor strictly for academia, nor did it offer any clear business opportunities that could be written on the spot. Outcomes, apart from valuable knowledge exchange in this technology-driven sector, include identification of skills, research and development collaboration, as well as direct export business leads. These are now being followed up by delegates, TFIA and Austrade.
The feedback
LM Australasia chief executive Michel Abeysekera.
“Our Cylk brand is sold into London and Stockholm. We also supply our seamless silk range into Germany and eastern Europe. At the moment we are working with a few companies who are keen to stock our Yoganic brand, which is a seamless yoga range produced using eco and sustainable yarns.
"My intention for attending the event was to better understand the market, develop contacts and get an insight into the Swedish fashion industry. It is an important market for us given their strong focus on eco yarns and sustainable product. This has been an area of growth for us with our eco chic ranges for the past two years.
"We developed contacts in Swedish academia, explored possible distributorship opportunities and began to understand the close relationship the Swedish Fashion School has with business.”
Mark Brooks, representative of The Merino Company (TMC) and Lempriere.
“The Merino Company provides natural fibre solutions to the world’s leading retail and apparel brands. We are currently focusing on the major wool consuming markets of North America, northern and western Europe, the UK, Japan and Australasia.
"Northern Europe is a very important region for TMC’s future growth plans; some key brands are located within this region where merino wool performance product features highly. The total supply solution, including traceability and verification, that TMC is able to offer, is a significant factor in the buying process of these brands.
"Textile Boras in Sweden provided an excellent opportunity to promote TMC as a leader in natural fibre solutions to key players in the European textile industry and to seek new and develop existing customers and supply chain partnerships.
"The connection to regional industry and education facilities where future development projects can be established, can only enhance the growth and supply opportunities in this region for TMC.”