I wanted to call the attention of your readers to AITEX Textile Research Institute, a private non-profit association which was set up in 1985. 

Based in Alcoy (Alicante) Spain, it has more than 1,000 member companies and more than 2,000 client companies. We aim to provide tools, infrastructure and resources to them, in order to become more competitive in international markets through the quality certification of its products, the development of R & D projects, training, and generally, all sort of tasks, which provide added value to them. 

The Institute is the most outstanding Spanish textile research organization and, internationally speaking, is ranked among the top textile research centers. About 30% of AITEX income is from international sources. AITEX has its own offices in eight countries, including USA.

It has a unique R&D infrastructure concerning textile industries, with 30 laboratories and the highest-level equipment to test textile products, including, Fire Reaction Lab, Thermo-tex, MYST camera, Electric Arc, and other top facilities; besides 27 experimental plants, dedicated to research and develop new products with advanced features.

Concerning home textiles, AITEX offers companies a comprehensive certification laboratory service  to ensure the quality of their products in international markets. For example, in regard to the evaluation of the fire reaction of home-textile products, AITEX offers a wide range of tests according to the requirements of the international and U.S. legislation. 

However, AITEX activity is not just restricted to FR testing. The Institute offers certification and R&D services to every kind of textile-based products (clothing, technical textiles, etc..), including all kind of  companies of the textile industry value chain, thanks to the availability of the most advanced equipment, highly specialized research staff and a determined commitment to companies in order to solve their needs.

   —Vicente Blanes Julia, General Manager

Vicente Blanes Julia: General Manager, Aitex, the textile testing laboratory in Alicante