Heimtextil stable with meager indoor sun protection offerings

Most notably ClimatScreen

Heimtextil  remains an important trade fair for discovering trends and technical developments in the field of interior textiles. In the indoor sun protection segment, there was little evidence of this, as the offerings were somewhat meager. 

The numbers promised a lot. As many as 3,025 exhibitors were present at the Heimtextil fair held in Frankfurt from Tuesday, January 8 to Friday, January 11, and they attracted a total of 67,500 visitors. The offerings ranged from curtain and upholstery fabrics, bed and bath textiles to machines for stuffing pillows and from comforter covers to large digital printers that were printing fabrics and wallpaper on the exhibition floor. 

Within Heimtextil's enormous range of products, there were also a few things that could be classified under the indoor sun protection segment (usually called window decoration at Heimtextil, by the way). This time, this segment was integrated for the first time with suppliers of (in particular) curtain fabrics and that turned out to be a good move, according to several exhibitors. The integration of indoor sun protection within a larger whole had become necessary, because over the years this segment within Heimtextil had declined sharply to at most thirty participants. 

The new roller blind Solix from MHZ. 

Broadening assortment
This whole development, by the way, is not to say that the product of interior blinds was poorly represented. Several exhibitors who became big with the sale of curtains and net curtains expanded their range years ago to include roller and folding blinds, Venetian blinds and especially pleated blinds, an important product in Germany. For example, JAB, a high-end fabric brand, showed plissés that have extra wavy pleats between the tight folds. Plissés with parts made transparent were also on display here. 

Solix roller blind
MHZ is a specialist in blinds, though. Among other things, the company showed an expansion of its Design collection, roller blinds with twenty different designs, eight different fabric qualities and 213 solid colors. New is Solix, a roller blind that is used as a kind of screen on the outside. It can also be made in combination with a screen. Furthermore, the collection of horizontal blinds at MHZ has been renewed and the pleated collection has been further expanded. New at MHZ is the PowerView, a control to control the products. It is a product of Luxaflex®.^®. 

Fabric made from recycled PET bottles
Luxaflex®^® was present at the fair, but only showed products for the German market. The emphasis here was on motor control and ways to present products nicely in the store. On the one hand, the focus here was on automatic control using the PowerView, on the other hand on voice control of smart speakers from Amazon (Alexa) or Google (Google Home). Luxaflex® also spent^® special attention to sustainability, which included reference to fabrics made from recycled PET bottles. 

Luxaflex®. 

Attention to sustainability
Sustainability was one of the themes at Heimtextil and more and more manufacturers are profiling themselves with it. This can relate to production, for example by using less energy or raw materials or by using (partially) recycled materials. Other exhibitors profile themselves with products made of natural materials, such as cotton, wool, wood, linen and jute, or emphasize the fact that their products are made in a ‘responsible’ way, for example by guaranteeing that there is no child labor and/or that workers (usually in Third World countries) are not exploited, but are paid a ‘fair’ wage. The latter is less of an issue with producers of indoor blinds, as the production of this type of product is to a reasonable extent factory-based. 

Plastic from the sea
MHZ uses Greenscreen Sea-Tex for some blinds.^TM, a fabric half of which consists of recycled plastic from the sea. Erfal also has fabrics made from recycled PET bottles. Erfal used the fair to introduce a new catalog of ‘regular’ pleated blinds and a new catalog of honeycomb pleated blinds. The remote control eACCU is now also available for pleated blinds. It was previously available for roller blinds and duo blinds. 

Plissé fabrics from Erfal. 

Greenscreen Sea-Tex^TM.

Motor control
Brel Motors was also present again at Heimtextil. Although Brel certainly does not stand out at the fairs in which they participate because of the size of their stand, the company from Doetinchem always manages to find new customers, says co-owner Erik Budding. At the stand at Heimtextil, an up-and-down pleated plissé caught the eye. Special feature: the plissé goes up and down simultaneously with only one motor. You can't see that from a distance, but not many companies can deliver something like that yet. 

Kadeco also paid attention to motorization at Heimtextil. With its own Motion system, the various products offered by the company can be controlled. Kadeco supplies various systems with different applications for this purpose and expects to launch them on the market in the third quarter of this year. Other news at Kadeco: sleek metal bottom slats for roller blinds and a renewed collection of pleated blinds. 

Inspiring collaboration: Honneycell Collection
From a shared passion for design, color and fabrics, Coulisse and Lienesch have put together the new, inspiring Honeycell collection, which was presented at Honeycell's own stand during Heimtextil 2019. “This is a unique collection of honeycomb fabrics distinguished by an extensive choice of applicable fabrics, ranging from functional plains to exclusive weaves and stylish prints,” says Eline Verveld on behalf of Honeycell. “The collection offers different levels of transparency, different cell sizes and both full- and duo-tone fabrics.” 

“Because of their unique cell structure, Honeycell fabrics have excellent insulating and sound-damping properties,” continues Eline Verveld. “They keep the heat out in the summer and the cold out in the winter. This reduces the need for heating in winter and air conditioning in summer. That property of the Honneycell honeycomb fabrics contributes to a healthier indoor climate and lower energy costs all year round.” 

ClimatScreen
Perhaps the most important news came from Forest, which supplies curtain track systems and matching motors worldwide, especially for the business market, such as hotels and offices. The Deventer-based company is working hard to promote the ClimatScreen, a product of SunFolie Techniek, a longstanding company acquired in 2018. ClimatScreen is a film that technically works like a screen, is applied to the inside of the window and has a high reflection and insulation value. When lowered, ClimatScreen looks like a pleated, but it rolls up like a screen. The folds are applied for stability, as is the ‘hammering’ of the film. The ClimatScreen is presented as a daylight-filtering system with a high insulation value, making it not only usable as sun protection, but can also contribute to a pleasant indoor climate. 

ClimatScreen.

New business
Although the share of indoor blinds at the fair was very small, Talent 4 Blinds (T4B) took advantage of the fair to present itself to a large audience for the first time. Talent 4 Blinds is from Serbia and was at the fair with horizontal blinds in wood and aluminum. According to the site, its product range also includes roller and folding blinds, vertical blinds, panel blinds and shutters. The company boasts 35 years of experience and has been acquired by Patrick Vervisch, owner of Belgium-based Copa Home, which specializes in custom window decoration. Copa Home is particularly strong in folding and (XXL) roller blinds.  

Roller blind from Talent 4 Blinds.

Text: Aribert Guiking