German institutes for textile and fiber research
German Institute for Textile and Fiber Research (DITF) in Denkendorf is the name of what it claims to be the largest textile research center in Europe and, according to its own account, is the only textile research facility worldwide to cover the entire production and value chain for textiles.
The institutes of the DITF work on projects mainly from chemistry , materials science and materials technology for textiles.
The DITF was founded in 1921 as the “German Research Institute for the Textile Industry” in Reutlingen and employs around 300 people on 25,000 square meters in three institutes and facilities:
- Institute for Textile and Process Engineering Denkendorf (ITV)
- Institute for Textile Chemistry and Chemical Fibers Denkendorf (ITCF)
- Center for Management Research (DITF-MR)
In addition to the three research institutions, there is also “ITV Denkendorf Product Service GmbH”, a 100% subsidiary that operates technology transfer.
The DITF is a foundation under public law ; the foundation is subject to the supervision of the Ministry of Economics and Finance Baden-Württemberg. With a research volume of 21 million euros annually, around 40 percent come from contract research for industrial companies, 60 percent are public funds.
Michael R. Buchmeiser (director of the ITCF), Götz Gresser (director of the ITV) and Peter Steiger (director of finance and controlling) currently make up the board.
In addition to the executive board, there is a board of trustees as a supervisory body and scientific advisory boards for topic-specific advice.