18.03.2009 -
For the official opening of its Berlin office, the textil+mode Industry Association welcomed around 150 specially-invited guests from business, politics and society to its Reinhardtstraße address.
Peter Schwartze, President of the textil+mode industry Association, gave the opening speech at the event, first thanking the sceptics from the Association's own ranks. In recent years, these members had questioned plans to move to the capital, before then allowing themselves to be persuaded of the benefits of Berlin as a location.
Guest speakers Rainer Brüderle, FDP Federal Vice-Chair and Deputy Chief Whip, and Werner Schnappauf, Chief Executive and Managing Director of the Steering Committee of the Federation of German Industries, welcomed the Association to its new home. Max R. Hungerbühler and Claude Miserey – presidents of the Swiss Textile Federation and the French Apparel Association, respectively – also underlined the significance of the new head office's location in the heart of Germany's capital city for lobbyist work.
During the lunch that followed, guests marvelled at a highly unusual cabaret act, with fire magician Frank Nocon and his partner Micole showcasing the amazing resilience of textiles. And, suspended under a cloth canopy, the internationally-acclaimed Cirque Soleil artiste Viola Zoppe demonstrated the strength and robustness of textile materials during her breath-taking acrobatic scarf act.
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