Context

• France’s leading region for textiles and garments since 1987, providing 37,500 direct jobs.
• Largest concentration in Europe of companies specialising in technical textiles. The region’s companies account for 12% of European production.
• With annual production of 300,000 tonnes, companies established in the region account for 65% of national production and 70% of revenue in the sector, totalling €2bn.
• Unique concentration in France of companies specializing in silk manufacture, twisting and texturizing
• France’s leading centre for textile finishing.
• Leading centre for textile design, with 90% of production exported.

Objective

• multifunctional textiles for the health sector: development of new high-performance durable textiles for use in hospitals to help fight against hospital-acquired infections, and in hygiene applications for the agri-food industry.
• Barrier-effect flexible materials such as textiles, leather and paper, providing maximum protection in the building and transport sectors.

Ambition and strategy

• reaching a consistent level of activity in the various applications for technical textiles
• facilitating diversification of traditional textiles into functional textiles
• preventing the markets from being flooded with products from developing countries by using technological progress to maintain a competitive edge.

The technological solution envisaged is to develop textiles with multiple functions (in other words adding an increasing number of functions to a product) to provide industry with a range of technological solutions, align technological know-how with market demand and be seen by clients as solution providers.

Players

• Firms: Boldoduc, Porcher, Hexcel, Ferrari, Thasne, Gibaud, Ganzoni, Salomon, CREAT, etc.
• Research centres and laboratories: IFTH R&D centre dedicated to technical and functional textiles, CTTN-IREN, CEA, Compositec, IFTH, and the potential of 60 basic or applied research laboratories working in textiles, composite materials, polymers, materials, chemicals, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, transport.
• Training: Itech (Textile and Chemicals Institute), Insa Lyon, CPE-Lyon , Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Ecole nationale supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne, ENS Lyon, ENSPG-INPG, EM Lyon, Espace textile