A strong presence of international visitors and exhibitors, along with the prestigious IDEA13 Achievement Awards, were among the many highlights of the highly successful IDEA13 International Engineered Fabrics Conference and Exposition, held April 22-25, 2013 in Miami Beach, Florida USA.

IDEA13, this year’s version of the triennial event organized by INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, featured 483 exhibiting companies, filling 400,000 gross square feet (37,000 square meters) of the Miami Beach Convention Center. This event drew to Miami Beach close to 7,000 attendees from 72 countries to conduct business with industry members.

“IDEA13 was a record-breaking event and one of the most successful IDEA shows ever. The continued strong participation of international exhibitors and attendees is proof of the show’s importance within the international nonwovens/engineered fabrics community,” says INDA?President Dave Rousse. “IDEA13 was truly a global event.”

In addition to the thousands of attendees and hundreds of exhibitors on the show floor of the Miami Beach Convention Center, many more were doing business at nearby hotels and at over 50 on-site meeting rooms utilized by the leading companies in the industry to facilitate their business discussions.

IDEA13 also saw the continuation of new media formats during the course of the three-day event. The IDEA13 social networking site allowed pre-registered attendees to do business before the start of IDEA. IDEA TV, produced in cooperation with Nonwovens Industry magazine, provided breaking news and interviews during the three days of IDEA13. In addition, IDEA NEWS, the show newspaper, published by World Textile Information Network, highlighted events and companies at IDEA13.

Also, the well-attended conference sessions focused on regional global markets, trends and forecasts and provided attendees with an insightful look into the engineered fabrics markets in North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, China and India. 

A high note at IDEA was the IDEA13 Achievement Awards. The Achievement Awards are sponsored by INDA in partnership with Nonwovens Industry magazine. They were presented to the best new products during the last three years, in the following five categories: Equipment, Raw Materials, Roll Goods, Short-Life End Product and Long-Life End Product.

The five winners were:

IDEA13 Machinery/Equipment Achievement Award:
ITW Dynatec: Surge Adhesive Applicator

IDEA13 Fibers/Raw Materials Achievement Award:
Sandler AG: Bio Textile Bio-wipes Substrate

IDEA13 Roll Goods Achievement Award:
Hollingsworth & Vose: NanoWave Filtration Media

IDEA13 Short-Life Converted Product Achievement Award:
ITW Dymon: Raptor Safe-T Wipe (Substance Activated Fast Evaluation Technology)

IDEA13 Long-Life Converted Product Achievement Award:
Hunter Douglas: DuoTone Honeycomb Window Shade

In addition, the IDEA13 Entrepreneur Achievement Award was presented to Suominen Nonwovens. The recipient of this Award was selected by Nonwovens Industry Magazine. The IDEA13 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Rory Holmes, past President of INDA.

IDEA16 will be held April 11-14, 2016 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. Welcome reception: April 11, 2016; Conference/Exposition: April 12-14, 2016.

About INDA

INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, serves hundreds of member companies in the nonwovens/engineered fabrics industry doing business globally. Since 1968, INDA networking events have helped members connect, innovate and develop their businesses.