The Dornbirn Man-Made Fibers Congress is to be rebranded as the Global Fiber Congress Dornbirn.
The decision opens the door for natural fibers and blends to be discussed alongside synthetic fibers, such as polyester, polyamide and acrylic, as well as cellulosics.
Congress organizers the Austrian Man-Made Fibers Institute (which itself is to be rebranded as the Austrian Fibers Institute) stressed that manmade fibers will remain the core of the event.
The congress will retain its European roots and Dornbirn will remain at the center. However, attempts will be made to market the event outside Europe, mainly in cooperation with partners.
Congress organizer Friedrich Weninger said Dornbirn continues to be a hotspot for innovation, but “we have to cooperate with other institutes and events. This will not dilute the brand – it will only make it stronger.”
Robert van de Kerkhof, president of the Austrian Fibers Institute and chief operating officer of Lenzing, added: “Rebranding ‘Dornbirn’ is the key. The ‘Dornbirn conference’ is associated with innovation because the fiber industry is globalized, even for technical textiles.
“Dornbirn is a network generator. Problems – and their solutions – are becoming more complex. There is no longer a single fiber to answer customers’ needs, as demonstrated by the use of blends and additives.
“The audience is changing with a lot of different questions, therefore we should not only concentrate on manmade fibers (what does ‘manmade’ mean anyway?). And we will see more presentations on biopolymers in future.”
The Dornbirn organizers remain open to the possibility of holding satellite events in other global venues, particularly in the Far East under the “Dornbirn” or “Circular Environment” umbrella.
• A full report on the 56th Dornbirn Man-Made Fibers Congress will be published in the December edition of International Fiber Journal.
For more information contact:
Austrian Fibers Institute
Tel: +43-1-319-2909
Fax: +43-1-3192-90931
E-mail: office@austrian-mfi.at
Website: www.dornbirn-mfc.com
