VDMA Textile Machinery has re-elected Dr Janpeter Horn as chairman for the 2026-2030 term, confirming continuity at the top of Europe's largest textile machinery trade body even as the sector's 2026 turnover forecast has been revised to -14% nominal.

The vote took place on September 30 at the association's general assembly in Hanover, one year ahead of ITMA 2027. Horn is Managing Director of A. Herzog Maschinenfabrik in Oldenburg. Regina Brückner, managing partner of Brückner Trockentechnik in Leonberg, and Verena Thies, managing partner of Thies Textilmaschinen in Coesfeld, return as deputy chairs.

What is the industry context behind the vote?

The assembly ran under the theme "The world is moving forward – where is Europe?" VDMA flagged two structural pressures on the European capital-equipment tier:

• Rising competition from Asian machinery builders.
• Persistent weakness in European mill investment, which has dragged order intake and turnover for several years.

The -14% nominal turnover revision for 2026 marks the headline number of that pressure. Order intake, by contrast, shows signs of stabilising, according to the association.

What did the re-elected chairman say?

Horn framed the cycle as one of structural change rather than cyclical retreat.

"The discussions and workshops at our General Assembly clearly demonstrated that our industry is in the midst of profound change," he said. "The challenges are considerable, yet we possess the innovative strength, the expertise and the technological leadership to actively shape these changes."

He tied the new board's mandate to three priorities: fuller lifecycle support for machinery customers, monetisation of artificial-intelligence tooling, and a coordinated ITMA 2027 showcase in Hanover.

Dr Harald Weber, Managing Director of VDMA Textile Machinery, set a similar tone on personnel: "The board's wealth of experience, high level of technical expertise and broad positioning reflect the diversity and innovative strength of our sector."

Who sits on the 12-strong board?

The full executive board for the 2026-2030 cycle comprises:

• Dr Janpeter Horn, A. Herzog Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, Oldenburg (Chair).
• Regina Brückner, Brückner Trockentechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Leonberg (Deputy Chair).
• Verena Thies, Thies GmbH & Co. KG, Coesfeld (Deputy Chair).
• Riccarda Dilo, Oskar Dilo Maschinenfabrik KG, Eberbach.
• Peter D. Dornier, Lindauer Dornier GmbH, Lindau.
• Volker Gingter, A. Monforts Textilmaschinen, Mönchengladbach.
• Andreas Lukas, Andritz Küsters GmbH, Krefeld.
• Dr Jörg Morgner, Temafa Maschinenfabrik GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach.
• Benjamin Reiners, Reiners + Fürst GmbH & Co. KG, Mönchengladbach.
• Markus Settegast, Groz-Beckert KG, Albstadt.
• Alexander Stampfer, Trützschler Group SE, Mönchengladbach.
• Georg Stausberg, Barmag GmbH & Co. KG, Remscheid.

The roster covers the full textile-machinery value chain: spinning preparation (Trützschler, Temafa), weaving and knitting (Dornier, Dilo), dyeing and finishing (Monforts, Brückner, Thies), nonwovens and needling (Andritz Küsters, Dilo), and downstream processing (Reiners + Fürst, Barmag).

What does this force on sourcing and compliance teams?

The -14% nominal turnover print signals that European mills are still deferring capex. For sourcing teams that have been re-shoring, nearshore-ing, or rebuilding vertical capacity inside Europe, the read-across is direct: Tier 2 hardware demand is not yet recovering, which extends lead-time pressure on existing lines rather than triggering new orders.

Asian competition flagged by VDMA is not a generic threat but a substitution risk in spinning prep, weaving, and finishing — categories where Chinese and Indian builders have closed capability gaps. Buyers specifying European machinery will increasingly need to document a justification beyond unit cost, typically tied to lifecycle service, AI-enabled process control, or compliance with EU supply-chain due-diligence rules.

On the compliance side, the board's stated focus on AI and lifecycle support lines up with incoming EU rules on machinery data, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) digital product passport, and emerging right-to-repair language. Mills and brand sourcing teams are likely to see European machinery suppliers pitch bundled compliance services — data logging, spare-parts guarantees, energy benchmarking — as the differentiator against lower-priced Asian equipment.

ITMA 2027 in Hanover now serves as the focal point for that pitch.