AEI Tèxtils participated in a mission in the US from May 8th to 12th, together with its European partners from Texglobal project.
A total of 17 European companies from the textile sector participated in the mission, three of members of the cluster: Velutex, Pont Aurell y Armengol and Texfire. Five representatives of the European clusters who are part of the project consortium also attended the mission.
The mission took place in Raleigh (NC) and Atlanta with the goal of exploring the textile ecosystem of the area and attending Techtextil North America exhibition in Atlanta.
On the first day, the Texglobal delegation visited the Wilson College of Textiles, located at North Caroline State University, beside Raleigh. The delegation was impressed with the quality and extensive facilities and textile equipment available at the University, aimed for either educational, research, or private companies’ collaborations. On the second day, the delegation was on a one-day trip to the Manufacturing Solutions Center located in Conover (NC).
On the third day, the delegation flew from Raleigh to Atlanta, where in the afternoon attended a guided tour at Techtextil North America exhibition. After the tour, the companies had the opportunity to visit the exhibition and schedule meetings with American companies. On the fourth day, companies continued exploring the exhibition and having one-to-one meetings. In the evening, the delegation had a networking event with other American companies hosted by NC State University. After the event, the delegation enjoyed a dinner to share views and experiences of the mission.
On the fifth and last day, an early morning visit to Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) was carried out, hosted by professors at the School of Materials Science and Engineering.
Internationalization is key area of the cluster strategy addressing two major objectives: increasing the competitiveness of its members with facilitated access to third-country markets and the increased visibility of the members at the international level thanks to the cluster participation in key events, both in Europe and internationally.
Collaborations undertaken in the Texglobal project support these activities to reinforce the links with American stakeholders and open new potential collaborations.
The next internationalization activities of AEI Tèxtils include a mission to Canada in November 2023 and participation with a booth at ITMA, the international textile and garment technology exhibition, from June 8 to 14 in Milan.
Internationalization projects run by AEI Tèxtils aim to support textile SMEs in identifying and exploiting growth opportunities worldwide through activities such as partnering missions, matchmaking events, cross-partnership webinars, circular economy business models, digitalization driver and cross-cultural approaches, and lessons in building industrial resilience.
