D – The Expo 4.0, the trade fair alliance between TecStyle Visions (textile embellishing and promotion) and wetec (advertising technology, digital printing, light advertising and digital signage) opened its doors at the Stuttgart Exhibition Centre from February 13-15, 2025 under the motto “Print. Produce. Promote”. 237 exhibitors from 21 countries presented their products on exhibition space spanning over 26,000 m², spread over three halls.
The TecStyle Visions section was very lively: The “leading European trade show for textile embellishing and promotion” already attracted countless visitors on the opening day, so that the stands enjoyed a high frequency of visitors from the very start. Whereas the GiveADays also made up part of the trade fair alliance at the last edition of the Expo 4.0 held at the beginning of 2023, this year the events organised by the German Promotional Products Association (GWW), Trend and Newsweek, were held parallel to the Expo 4.0.
This change had no impact on the attendance figure: With according to the organisers 12,000 visitors from 46 countries, a similar amount of guests informed themselves about the novelties in the textile and advertising technology sector as at the previous edition. According to the organisers, three quarters of the visitors are significantly involved in buying and procurement decisions, which confirmed the Expo 4.0’s position on the trade fair scene. It was thus not surprising that queues quickly formed at the large stands.
In addition to established brands like Beechfield, which celebrated its 30th anniversary on the German market, Daiber or L-Shop-Team, several newcomers such as Jack & Jones or The Outdoors Company were also on board. “We are completely new to the corporate fashion market and our styles went down very well here. If you want to promote something new, trade shows are a must,” stated John Junk-Eriksen from Jack & Jones.
In the case of almost all of the exhibitors, it became apparent that corporate wear has to be more and more modern and suitable for everyday use. Unusual colours and hip cuts were on display at many stands. The themes work and promotion wear were also strongly represented at the TecStyle Visions again. Here, practical modern cuts are also booming. What’s more, accessories play an equally important role as the textiles. Correspondingly many exhibitors of caps, bags or – an absolute trend accessory – socks were present at the exhibition grounds.
In the adjacent trade fair sections on the other hand, everything revolved around individual design. The focus of wetec – advertising technology, digital printing, light advertising and digital signage – also attracted a large audience to the well-filled exhibition halls. The special zone “Work and Do”, where the visitors were given the opportunity to try out various techniques themselves under the direction of professionals and acquaint themselves with the work processes or pose technical questions proved to be a true crowd-puller.
The diversified supporting programme of the Expo 4.0 additionally included a fashion show with the motto “Visions of Tomorrow”. Professional dancers enabled the visitors to view the new collections and brands in action. Beyond this, the lecture programme offered exciting information on the themes textile embellishing and printing technologies over the course of the three days, but also examples of best practice and insider tips on current industry developments. All events of the supporting programme captivated the visitors, who subsequently held lively discussions about the topics or informed themselves about new fabrics and possibilities.
An overall positive mood prevailed at the Expo 4.0. This was also confirmed by Roland Bleinroth, Managing Director of the Stuttgart Exhibition Centre: “In spite of the difficult market situation, the Expo 4.0 remains to be an important platform for the advertising and textile industry.” Hence, the next edition of the Expo 4.0 is already planned. The trade show duo comprising of TecStyle Visions and wetec is scheduled to take place from February 3-5, 2027.
// Sophia Arnold
Photos: Sophia Arnold, Helen Lorenz, Michael Scherer, © WA Media
