AITEX Increases Its Value in the Face of COVID-19

The Textile Industry Research Association (AITEX) appears not to have suffered any negative consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic. They have continued testing and providing technical certifications nonstop from their headquarters in Alcoy, Alicante, which is very close to the predominant Home Textile manufacturing area in Spain.

"Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, AITEX has approved a large number of items, which has continued to increase progressively since then," the Association notes. This increase is due to the fact that—according to the institution— companies "from all sectors" of the textile industry have been driven to "change their behavior" in order to switch over to manufacturing "all sorts of approved products."

So much so that the Association has collaborated with the Ministry of Industry to manufacture an approved mask for healthcare workers. "AITEX provides services to many companies in the different areas of textile application, not only in the healthcare industry, but also in other fields such as textiles/fashion, hygiene, sports and recreation, the automobile industry, and homeware and furnishings, as well as other miscellaneous sectors, such as aviation. All this without losing sight of its existing plan: to develop solutions and technologies that will confront the difficulties that lie ahead.

Specifically, the Association’s main objective is to produce technological knowledge that will generate value in textile companies, allowing them to gain access to new business opportunities. Therefore, projects based on implementing R+D technologies in order to help companies compete in international markets is another major branch of activity promoted by AITEX.

"Times of crisis accelerate change, boost ingenuity, and ultimately catalyze R+D initiatives," the company says. In this sense, AITEX clearly believes that Spanish manufacturers "are prepared to respond to new scenarios that may arise in the future."

They gave examples of many textile companies from various sectors that "have diversified or even completely reorganized their activities" to provide essential products such as masks, gloves or gowns. All done with the help of the Association's certifications. "AITEX has been by your side supporting the business community and will continue to do so in the future," they conclude.

International collaborations

The technology center is in close contact with other homonymous centers in the sector. In fact, AITEX has a network of nine international offices at the service of its associate companies and clients in 50 countries, which has positioned the institution as a leader in Europe.

Among others, the Association has the prestigious ENAC accreditation, a certification recognized in more than 90 countries and which has been used to carry out tests on personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, with this accreditation, tests against infective agents can be carried out on clothing, protective gloves against dangerous chemicals and microorganisms, respiratory protective equipment (RPE), etc.

Additionally, at the international level, AITEX actively participates in the European research system by coordinating and participating in transnational projects. Among them, AITEX is collaborating on international platforms such as TEXTILE ETP (European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and Clothing), EPSI (European Platform for Sport Innovation), BIC (Bio-based Industries Consortium) and EUMAT (European Technology Platform for Advanced Engineering Materials and Technologies).