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Products made from technical textiles are now an indispensable part of our everyday lives. We see them in road construction, marvel at them as futuristic roof constructions on football stadia, wear them playing sport or protect ourselves with them during hazardous activities. The fields of application are many and diverse and span all manner of industries.
One sector of industry that has proven to be particularly strong in recent years is the automobile industry. In 2005, for example, car seatbelts worth US$ 2.8 billion and car seats worth US$ 1.4 billion were exported (source: United Nations Statistics Division). For suppliers of processing technology who often have their origins in the classic clothing and leather technology sector, this offers an increase in the delivery of machinery to these new markets. Since the international import and export statistics do not cover markets or industries, but simply machine groups, various products made from technical textiles are reviewed here as being representative of processing technology for technical textiles.
The processing of technical textiles industry is extremely heterogeneous. The areas of application for products made from technical textiles ranges from the automobile industry and medical technology to the construction industry and the filter sector.
Each sector has its own characteristics and properties with regard to manufacture and production locations. For this reason, it is important to take account of as many sectors as possible. For the industry portrait for the processing of technical textiles 2006, 11 sectors were selected from the nomenclature of the United Nations Statistics Division:
| Statistical goods no. |
Description |
| 5911 | Textile products and articles, for technical uses, specified in Note 7 to this Chapter1 |
| 6303 | Curtains (including drapes) and interior blinds; curtain or bed valances |
| 6305 | Sacks and bags, of a kind used for the packing of goods |
| 6306 | Tarpaulins, awnings and sun blinds; tents; sails for boats, sailboards or landcraft; camping goods |
| 630720 | Life-jackets & life-belts |
| 870821 | Safety seat belts of the motor vehicles of 87.01-87.052 |
| 880110 | Gliders & hang gliders |
| 880190 | Balloons & dirigibles; other non-powered aircraft |
| 940110 | Seats of a kind used for aircraft |
| 940120 | Seats of a kind used for motor vehicles |
| 940430 | Sleeping bags |
There is no statistical goods number for airbags, which means that this important technical textiles product must remain unaccounted for in our review.
The countries of the European Union are among the main suppliers of high-quality products made from technical textiles, such as aircraft and car seats and safety belts. In 2005, exports of aircraft seats rose compared to the previous year by 19 per cent to US$ 344 million. Exports of safety belts rose by 11 per cent to US$ 235 million and exports of textile products and goods for technical use rose by two per cent to US$ 680 million. Exports of car seats, however, fell in 2005 compared to the previous year by 26 per cent to US$ 190 million.
The exports of tarpaulins and tents, curtains and drapes and life vests and life belts exhibited positive development in 2005. On the other hand, there were considerable drops in the export of sacks and bags for packaging, which are now mostly made in China. The volume of exports for sacks and bags from the EU 25 countries worldwide fell in 2005 by 18 per cent to US$ 55 million. The export of balloons fell in 2005 by 46 per cent to an export volume of Euro 6 million. The volume of exports in 2004, however, stood at an unusually high level, probably as the result of a one-off major order.
The largest proportion of exports from the EU to the USA was accounted for by aircraft seats. Annual exports have risen by around 17 per cent since 2003. In 2005, the volume of exports of aircraft seats stood at US$ 171 million. Equally positive, albeit not quite so dramatic, was the development of product group 5911 – textile products and articles for technical use. Exports continued to increase from US$ 71 million in 2001 to US$ 90 million in 2005.
The exports of car seats fell between 2004 and 2005 by just under 29% to US$ 20 million. In contrast to these trends, exports of safety belts for automobiles had almost doubled and in 2005 stood at US$ 37 million (US$ 22 million in 2004).
The declining exports of sacks and bags for packaging are also evident when looking at the US market. The European Union is certainly not a low-cost production location for these products and is poorly equipped in the price battle against Asia. Exports in 2005 fell by more than half in 2005 to US$ 6 million.
The volume of exports from the USA recovered in some areas in 2005. The drop in exports of car seatbelts continued in 2005, but fell only by just under four per cent to US$ 287 million. This appears to indicate that the severe drop in exports in 2004 compared to the previous year (minus 26 per cent) has been stemmed. Exports of textile products for technical uses have also shrunk by around 13 per cent to US$ 277 million.
On the other hand, exports of aircraft seats have risen by 59 per cent to a volume of US$ 191 million. Exports of vehicle seats have also risen, by just under 22 per cent to US$ 123 million. Tarpaulins and tents have risen by just under 30 per cent to US$ 87 million, while sacks and bags for packaging have increased by 21 per cent to US$ 63 million.
Although on a comparatively smaller scale but nevertheless with high growth rates, exports of curtains and drapes have risen since 2003. The volume of exports for these goods rose by around 25 per cent per year to US$ 54 million in 2005. Exports of life vests and belts also appear positive in 2005. The volume of exports for this group of goods rose by 46 per cent to Euro 19 million.
China is one of the major buyers of machinery, and not just machinery made in Germany. The products that China makes on German and other machinery is exported worldwide – and the volume of those exports is rising strongly. Compared to the volume of exports from the European Union or the USA, the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong have been able to increase their export figures massively, particularly in the context of mass-produced goods and product groups that do not have to conform to ultra-strict quality requirements. The opening-up of the People’s Republic of China for the western market since the start of the 21st century is also reflected clearly in the graphics.
Curtains and drapes worth US$ 1.2 billion were exported in 2005. In 2002, this figure was just US$ 373 million. In 2005, tarpaulins and tents worth US$ 929 million were exported. This represents a doubling of this figure since 2002 (US$ 457 million). And the exports of sacks and bags for goods packaging have more than doubled since 2002. The volume of exports in this sector rose by a total of 138 per cent from US$ 284 million to US% 677 million.
Of note were also sleeping bags, which accounted for an export volume of US$ 265 million in 2005. All of the other selected goods (textile products, life vests and belts, car seats and safety belts) do not play a particularly significant role in the overall perspective.
(Source: United Nations Statistics Division)
Over the last four years, German has made a name for itself on the global stage as a supplier country for the following products in particular:
(Source: United Nations Statistics Division)
Air balloons (880190) were exported in the four years specified above by the USA (US$ 27 million), Germany (US$ 16 million) and Japan (US$ 15 million). Air balloons were exported from the United Kingdom to a value of just under US$ 10 million, while Spain shipped its air balloons worldwide to a value of US$ 8 million. All in all, air balloons worth US$ 112 million were exported worldwide, of which US$ 24 million were exported in 2005 alone. Germany’s volume of exports stood at US$ 3 million in 2005.
In the tarpaulins, awnings and sunblinds, tents and sails sector (6306), goods worth US$ 2.7 billion were exported from China, while Germany exported goods worth US$ 463 million (this figure was US$ 153 million in 2005). The USA comes next with an export volume of US$ 247 million, Poland with US$ 234 million and France with US$ 231 million. All in all, tarpaulins and marquees worth US$ 6.4 billion were exported worldwide (US$ 2 billion in 2005 alone).
In the field of home textiles, i.e. curtains and drapes (6303), China was the strongest exporter in the period under review, with an export volume of US$ 3.1 billion. Between 2002 and 2005, Turkey exported goods worth US$ 724 million, followed by Germany (US$ 457 million), Pakistan (US$ 391 million) and Mexico (US$ 308 million). All in all, the volume of curtains and drapes exported worldwide between 2002 and 2005 came to a value of US$ 8.2 billion. In 2005, the volume of exports stood at US$ 2.6 billion. Of this figure, Germany supplied goods worth US$ 140 million.
Safety seatbelts for motor vehicles (870821) were mainly exported from Mexico between 2002 and 2005 (US$ 2.7 billion). The second-strongest exporter was the USA (US$ 1.4 billion), followed by Poland (US$ 1 billion), Germany (US$ 552 million) and the Czech Republic (US$ 494 million). The total volume of vehicle seatbelts exported worldwide was worth US$ 10.6 billion. Some US$ 2.8 billion worth of goods were exported in 2005 alone.
Sacks and bags for packaging (6305) were exported worldwide between 2002 and 2005 with a total value of US$ 6.4 billion (US$ 1.9 billion in 2005). The number 1 supplier country was China, with an export volume of US$ 1.8 billion, followed by Turkey (US$ 952 million), Mexico (US$ 448 million), India (US$ 272 million) and Germany (US$ 217 million).
China and Hong Kong are the main global suppliers of sleeping bags (940430). The People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong together exported sleeping bags worth US$ 817 million between 2002 and 2005. In the same period, Belgium recorded a volume of exports worth US$ 58 million, Slovakia US$ 24.6 million and Germany US$ 23.8 million. All in all, sleeping bags worth US$ 1.1 billion were exported worldwide between 2002 and 2005, of which US$ 321 million were exported in 2005.
Aircraft seats (940110) worth US$ 2.5 billion were exported worldwide in the period under review. In 2005 alone, the volume of exports stood at US$ 774 million. The leading supplier country was France, with an export volume of US$ 664 million, followed by the USA with US$ 521 million, the United Kingdom with US$ 510 million, Italy with US$ 294 million and Germany with US$ 253 million.
The leading supplier country for life jackets and life belts (630720) during the period 2002 to 2005 was China, which had an export volume of US$ 107 million. France exported goods worth US$ 69 million, the USA US$ 63 million, Mexico US$ 60 million and Israel US$ 51 million. In total, between 2002 and 2005, life vests, life jackets and life belts worth US$ 739 million were exported worldwide. Of these, goods worth US$ 241 million were exported worldwide in 2005.