Ateval, the Valencian Community Textile Industry Entrepreneurs Association, welcomed the unveiling of a strategic plan for late 2022 at its Ontinyent headquarters. The plan focuses on strengthening the sector’s competitiveness and resilience as it meets future challenges. Backed by the Generalitat Valenciana General Directorate of Industry, the initiatives are offered to affiliated companies free of charge with prior registration. An interactive calendar on competitiveness, innovation, internationalization, corporate social responsibility and business ethics highlighted all activities slated for the last quarter of the year.
The conference, opened by Rafael Lurbe, head of Ateval Innovation, was conducted in person and online. Leaders of each project presented the actions under their charge, outlining practical steps and expected outcomes.
Key projects approved include:
Smart Design for Eco-Design: exploring sustainable techniques for textile production in collaboration with the Textile Technology Institute and Aitex. Eduardo Fages of the Institute explained that the initiative will evaluate eco-design options across product lifecycles and provide tools to enable greener manufacturing in textile companies.
Alternative Project: a study to identify ways to recover textile waste beyond mechanical shredding, in partnership with Aitex. Eduardo Fages noted the focus on new reuse processes and potential applications for recovered materials.
Textilthon: a hackathon-style event introduced by Rafael Lacasa of Fi Group to engage young talent, foster industry visibility, and generate innovative solutions. The event is planned for November 26 in the Gomis de Ontinyent venue.
Digital Transformation Actions: a program to accelerate Industry 4.0 adoption and the use of enabling technologies across Ateval subsidiaries. Guillermo Giménez of Auren Consultores emphasized building well-connected, data-driven operations to improve decision making. The project centers on a diagnostic phase and two hands-on workshops during October.
Technological Energy Institute — Training Series: “Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in the Textile Sector,” conducted with ITE and presented by Razvan and Laura Martí. The aim is to expand company knowledge, diagnose current energy performance, and identify improvement opportunities across ten modules.
Environmental Diagnosis of Textile Companies: targeted data collection from participating firms through Acetex to provide a sector-wide energy and environmental snapshot. Luis González of ACTECO explained that in light of evolving global markets and stricter waste laws, understanding these shifts is essential for strategic planning.
SDG Prioritization in the Textile Industry: an initiative by Innova Group to offer a sector-wide overview and guide companies on where to focus resources. Ernesto Beltrán of Grupo Innova highlighted the role of culture in creating value, raising awareness, and educating professionals.
Social Auditing: an effort by Fomentex and Grupo Innova to address growing demand. Three workshops were organized to train professionals in social auditing practices.
Market Research on Furnishings and Decoration in Morocco: presented by Laura Santos of Ateval, outlining market dynamics and opportunities for textile businesses in North Africa.
As Rafael Lurbe explained, these initiatives invite reflection and set a clear lines of work to meet new challenges and opportunities in the textile sector.
Alongside the action plan, Ateval director Salomé Beneyto announced the association’s full program for the final four months of the year. The schedule aligns Ateval’s textile-entrepreneur ecosystem with other institutions to boost competitiveness, innovation, internationalization and CSR among member companies.
The agenda was designed in an interactive format to simplify access to information and registration, helping companies map activities against their internal calendars. The plan is issued quarterly, with monthly reminders. Salomé Beneyto noted that the format is intentionally visual to improve communication with members.
Speaking at the close, Ateval president Pepe Serna affirmed that the organization had been mindful of the sector’s needs while shaping the plan. He emphasized the goal of equipping companies to face upcoming challenges by expanding practical, applicable knowledge. Serna encouraged members to share concerns or ideas to inform future actions and ensure ongoing relevance.