Rethinking industry – shaping the future!

T7 is a joint project of the Research Institute for Textiles and Clothing at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, the Institute for Textile Technology (ITA) at RWTH Aachen University, the Association of the Northwest German Textile and Clothing Industry and the Association of the Rhenish Textile and Clothing Industry, with the Textile Academy NRW, EWMG and WFMG for the city of Mönchengladbach.

Initial situation in the textile and clothing industry

In Germany, the textile and clothing industry is still an important industrial sector. Approximately 415,000 people are employed within 1,400 companies. € 32 billion in sales volume are generated. The research and development activities of the industry are significantly influenced by 16 textile research institutes, applied colleges and universities throughout the country.

Approximately 2,000 students are currently studying at the Department of Textiles and Clothing at Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences. This makes the university in Mönchengladbach one of the leading training institutions for young academics in Europe in this sector. Aachen is home to the Institute for Textile Technology at RWTH Aachen University. It isanother focal point for top textile research within the region.

The history of the textile and clothing industry in the preceding decades was characterized above all by a variety of structural upheavals. This can be exemplified by the city of Mönchengladbach. Its growth into a major city at the beginning of industrialization is just as closely linked to the textile industry as upheavals in urban development and the associated crises since the 1960s. Nevertheless, The economy structure of Mönchengladbach is still characterized by numerous textile machine manufacturers, producers of technical textiles and clothing manufacturers.

The next structural upheavals for the industry have long been on the horizon. Immense challenges for the industry are caused by the extended digitalization with the topics of artificial intelligence, robotization or cyber security as well as the ecologization of production towards zero emissions.

Textile factory 7.0 – opportunity for new, future-proof textile production

The large-scale project Textile Factory 7.0 is intended to address the – already described –megatrends and to develop a competitive industrial production of the future using the textile and fashion industry as an example. The overriding goals are:

• the creation of new jobs across all qualification levels on a sustainable basis and
• the further development of technology and concepts – sustainable production methods and use of resources, circular economy or consistent digitalization in the direction of AI – for the industry.

How can these goals be achieved? The T7 partners are shaping the future of textile production at the Mönchengladbach site in manageable phases.

The T7 Technology and Development Center

The first step will be to establish a textile technology and development centre in Mönchengladbach (2025–2029). Here, engineering and design services can be accessed in conjunction with an attractive range of machinery and equipment from companies keen to develop their products. The project is expected to start on 1 October 2025.

T7 Park – zero-emission and digitized industrial park

The second T7 development phase (2029-2033) aims to develop a futuristic industrial park. Here, the textile and apparel industry will develop and produce products under zero-emission conditions and CO2 neutrality. Within the park, innovative production facilities as well as other branches of textile companies are to be located. Also, sustainable textile start-ups are also to find a place here. The T7 Park is to be developed in the Mönchengladbach urban area. The feasibility of the project on a selected site is being investigated in a preliminary study.