Posted July 29, 2014

 

CEMATEX, the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers, has launched an award program as part of its ongoing efforts to encourage and recognize outstanding industry members and post-graduate students for their contributions to the sustainable development of the global textile and garment industry.

 

“Sustainability, as we all know, is a major concern for global businesses involved in the textile and garment making chain,” said Charles Beauduin, president of CEMATEX. “Hence, we have adopted the theme ‘Master the Art of Sustainable Innovation’ for ITMA 2015. We are pleased to launch the ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award to make ITMA the meeting place where captains of the industry converge to source technologies and share their expertise in the area of sustainable innovation.”

 

The ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award comprises three categories, two of which are open to post-graduate students:

• Industry Excellence Award

• R&E Excellence Award – Masters

• R&E Excellence Award – Doctorate

 

Industry Excellence Award

The award recognizes textile and garment manufacturers who have leveraged technological innovations to advance business sustainability that benefit people, planet and profit. It aims to promote sustainability excellence in textile and garment production through active collaboration between technology providers and industry users.

 

The panel of judges includes

• Beauduin;

• Prof. Dominique Adolphe, president of the Association of Universities for Textiles (AUTEX);

• Josué Gomes da Silva, president of International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF);

• John Mowbray, executive director of MCL Global and chief editor of Ecotextile News; and

• Serge Piolat, president-elect of the European Apparel and Textile Confederation (EURATEX).

 

Research & Education Excellence Award

The Research & Education Excellence Award – Masters and Doctorate – recognizes outstanding achievements in textile and garment related post-graduate research. It highlights excellence in relevant research fields with the aim of furthering the development of cutting-edge technologies which will power future innovations in the industry.

 

The judges are:

• Dr. Jeroen Vits, secretary general of the Belgian Textile Machinery Association (SYMATEX);

• Prof. Vladan Koncar, head of Research ENSAIT & director of GEMTEX Laboratory (GEMTEX & ENSAIT);

• Prof. Thomas Gries, eirector of the Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen University;

• Dr. Takeshi Kikutani, professor for the Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials at the Graduate School of Science and Engineering of Tokyo Institute of Technology; and

• Prof. Behnam Pourdeyhimi, eirector, The Nonwovens Institute at North Carolina State University.

 

The winner of the ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award will receive a cash prize of 10,000 euros and a prestigious trophy, among other rewards. Cash prizes of 4,000 euros and 5,000 euros will be awarded to the winners in the Masters and Doctorate categories, respectively.

 

Nominees of the Industry Excellence Award ITMA 2015 must be nominated by exhibitors. Institutions participating in the ITMA 2015 Research and Education pavilion are eligible to nominate their post-graduate students for the Research & Education Excellence Award

 

Entries can be submitted online at www.itma.com from 1 September 2014 to 1 March 2015.