The third ApilMatec, the International Exhibition of Technical Applications of Textile Materials, it set to take place from 23rd to 26th May 2006.  ApliMatec is designed to display the very latest technology in fibres, textile materials, composites and their applications in all areas of manufacturing. 
  
ApliMatec is an exhibition that features innovation as a highly honed competitive tool.  It also showcases the results of the textile industry?s work in the fields of Research & Development and the application of these findings in all areas of manufacturing.

ApliMatec aims to provide opportunities for the traditional  textile industry too, by promoting new applications for textile materials.

Textile products have come to be used far more widely than simply for manufacturing garments and home textiles.  R & D in both materials and processes has brought about the development of high resistance, light, flexible products with new features that offer considerable added value.

These new textiles are being used in agriculture and fishing, the automotive and aeronautics industries, construction, transport, medicine, sports, architecture, public works, the environment, personal protection and clothing.

The new textile fibres and their manufacturing processes have opened up new applications that were unthinkable until very recently.  Technical textiles now provide a competitive edge for the traditional textile industry in a globalised marketplace.

The importance of technical textiles is evident in the rate at which their production has increased in the leading industrialised countries.  In Spain alone 21% of all textiles produced last year were for technical applications, and their value was estimated at 2,700 million euros.

ApliMatec is divided into two main sections: Matex covers raw materials, semi-processed materials and composites, along with machinery and processes.  It is in this section that visitors will see the most cutting edge uses of the most innovative textiles ? products that will surprise you with the usage advantages they offer in terms of durability, resistance to the elements, flexibility and more.

Last year ApliMatec welcomed more than 3500 trade visitors, 46% of whom were from abroad.

Held in alternate years, the exhibition will also be hosting the IIIrd ApliMatec Congress, which will consist of eight forums for discussion of the hottest issues in R & D in the textile industry.  Some of the major subjects to be covered at the Congress are trends in research, the needs of the industries using high-tech textile materials, the exigencies of an increasingly demanding market and the relationships between innovation, universities and business.

The competition for the IIIrd ApliMatec Awards is now open too.  The Awards recognise the contributions made by individuals, research teams and businesses to the development of new textiles and their technical applications.

Exhibition sections:

• Knitting machines, sewing machines
• Over lock machines
• Printing machines
• Looms
• CAD/CAM systems
• Automation systems
• Spare parts
• Packaging machines
• Ready wear industries equipment
• Computer applications and generally all the needed equipment in the textile industry and shoe industry
• Raw materials: Textiles, yarns and secondary materials ( buttons, zips...etc.)