Forschungskuratorium Textil e. V.

What Forschungskuratorium Textil e. V. does

Forschungskuratorium Textil e.V. (FKT), established in 1951 and headquartered in Berlin at Wallstr. 58/59, is a registered German non-profit association (eingetragener Verein) that coordinates pre-competitive research for the German textile industry. With a 7-person staff, the organization operates as the central advisory and coordination body linking 15 textile research institutes and 2,045 small and medium-sized textile companies engaged in Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung (IGF) programs. Its core function is to advise cooperation partners on funding applications, curate a project database, and serve as the primary public point of contact for textile research and market development questions directed at industry, science, policy makers, and media.

FKT's service portfolio consists of coordination and advisory offerings rather than commercial products: it maintains a Projektdatenbank (project database), curates Forschungsthemen across health, climate/energy, circular economy, mobility, architecture, bio-based materials, digital transformation, and nutrition, manages an institute directory, and publishes the Zukunftsstrategie: Perspektiven 2035 long-term strategy. The organization does not operate a commercial pricing model; revenue (if any is internally generated) flows from member dues, administrative overhead on IGF programs, and event participation. FKT is embedded in the textile+mode association network and channels funding through AiF (Allianz für Industrie und Forschung) backed by approximately 169 million euros from the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWE). In 2023, FKT-supported projects secured 15 million euros in textile IGF funding and 141 research projects were advanced through the Normalverfahren track, making the German textile sector the top performer in IGF application success rates across all industrial sectors.

Name

Forschungskuratorium Textil e. V.

Legal name

Forschungskuratorium Textil e. V.

Website

https://textilforschung.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Forschungskuratorium Textil e.V. (FKT) is the German non-profit coordination body for pre-competitive textile research, advising 15 research institutes and 2,045 SMEs on IGF funding applications and serving as the primary industry, science, and policy point of contact for the sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Textile Research Coordination Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

International Standards, Norms & Technical Regulatory Bodies (BPADAAAJ)

Keywords

• Textile research coordination
• Pre-competitive research
• IGF funding advisory
• Industry research association
• Textile innovation programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Forschungskuratorium Textil e. V. (FKT) is a German non-profit research coordination association that coordinates pre-competitive textile research across 15 textile research institutes and 2,045 small and medium-sized textile companies. It advises cooperation partners on funding applications for Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung (IGF) programs, serves as the central point of contact for textile research and market development information, and curates a project database, research topics, institute directory, and future strategy for the German textile sector.

Product overview

Forschungskuratorium Textil e. V. (FKT) is a non-profit research coordination association for the German textile industry, not a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of coordination and advisory services for pre-competitive industrial research, including a project database (Projektdatenbank), research topic curation (Forschungsthemen), an institute directory (15 textile research institutes), project showcases, and the Zukunftsstrategie: Perspektiven 2035 future strategy. FKT serves as the primary point of contact for textile research and market development, advising industry partners on IGF (Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung) funding applications. The organization does not offer commercial software products or services in the traditional sense.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IGF Funding Application Advisory Services Advisory and coordination service that supports cooperation partners from textile research institutes and textile companies in preparing and submitting funding applications for Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung (IGF) programs funded through the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWE). FKT acts as the primary contact and advisor on these applications.
• Pre-Competitive Research Coordination Central coordination of pre-competitive textile research across the 15 German textile research institutes and 2,045 small and medium-sized textile companies engaged in IGF programs, including facilitation of research project initiation and management of the Normalverfahren research-project portfolio (141 projects supported in 2023).
• Projektdatenbank (Project Database) Online database of IGF textile research projects, accessible to industry representatives, scientists, and members, providing project-level transparency on research outcomes in the German textile sector.
• Forschungsthemen (Research Topics) Curated portfolio of textile research topics addressed by FKT member institutes, covering health, climate and energy, circular economy, mobility, architecture, basic materials, clothing, bio-based materials, digital transformation, and nutrition.
• Zukunftsstrategie: Perspektiven 2035 Future strategy program for the German textile industry published by FKT, outlining long-term perspectives through 2035 for textile research and market development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Germany leads all industrial sectors in IGF funding applications - no other sector submits as many successful funding applications per year
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AiF Allianz für Industrie und Forschung e. V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe AiF is the umbrella association of industry-driven research associations and serves as a key funding and coordination partner for FKT's IGF programs.
• DWI - Leibniz-Institut für Interaktive MaterialiencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institute focused on developing new active and interactive materials through interdisciplinary collaboration.
• DITF - Deutsche Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung DenkendorfcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-division research institute covering management research, textile chemistry, and textile process technology with focus on Industry 4.0 solutions.
• FIBRE - Faserinstitut Bremen e. V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelops high-performance composite materials, fibers, manufacturing technologies, and provides quality assurance and material characterization services.
• FTB - Hochschule Niederrhein (Fachbereich Textil- und Bekleidungstechnik)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity department specializing in textile and clothing technology.
• Kiwa GmbH TBUminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitute that tests, inspects, certifies and researches geotextiles and related products in manufacturing and application.
• TITK - Thüringisches Institut für Textil- und Kunststoff-Forschung e. V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaterials research institute for polymer functional and construction materials.
• TITV - Textilforschungsinstitut Thüringen-Vogtland e. V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitute for specialty textiles and flexible materials, hosting TITV Innovationen events.
• TFI - Forschungsinstitut für Bodensysteme an der RWTH Aachen e. V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitute for research, testing and certification in the field of building and furnishing products in Europe.
• ITM - Institut für Textilmaschinen und textile Hochleistungswerkstofftechnik, TU DresdencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld-leading university research institution and one of the most powerful institutes of the Dresden University of Excellence.
• STFI - Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut e. V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevoted to application-oriented research and development of technical textiles, nonwovens, and testing and certification services.
• wfk - Cleaning Technology Institute e. V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCleaning technology institute with tagline 'Sie denken nach - wir denken vor!' (You think ahead - we think further ahead!)

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• DECHEMA (Gesellschaft für Chemische Technik und Biotechnologie): DECHEMA is a German industry-driven research coordination body for chemical engineering and biotechnology, operating a near-identical AiF-aligned model to FKT. It coordinates research between chemical SMEs, institutes, and federal funders, making it a comparable peer for evaluating how industry research coordination bodies scale and monetize member services.
• Gesamtverband textil+mode: textil+mode is the parent German textile and fashion industry association under which FKT operates, sharing members, governance, and policy advocacy functions. Both serve overlapping industry constituencies (textile SMEs, institutes, policymakers) but textil+mode focuses on broader industry representation while FKT specializes in research coordination.
• Industrieverband Steine + Erden: Similar industry-specific German coordination body that aggregates SMEs and research institutes in the stone/earth/mineral sector, working within the AiF/IGF framework. Comparable to FKT in organizational structure, mandate, and federal funding dependency - useful for benchmarking coordination scale and member economics.
• AiF Allianz für Industrie und Forschung: AiF is the umbrella association of German industry-driven research associations and serves as FKT's direct funding and coordination partner for IGF programs. Both operate the same pre-competitive research coordination model across different industrial sectors, making AiF the closest structural peer and parent-tier counterpart to FKT.
• Forschungsgemeinschaft Stahlanwendung (FOSTA): FOSTA coordinates pre-competitive steel research across German steel SMEs and research institutes under the same AiF/IGF umbrella model that FKT operates in textiles. It is a direct structural peer - same funding mechanism, same advisory mandate, different industrial vertical - making it the most relevant comparable for benchmarking FKT's coordination economics.

Broad incumbents

• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: Fraunhofer is Germany's largest applied research organization, operating 76 institutes across multiple sectors and serving as the default counterpart to many of the research institutes FKT coordinates. While much larger and broader in scope, Fraunhofer competes for the same federal applied-research funding pool and collaborates with the same SME base.
• Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI): BDI is the umbrella association of German industry, representing 40 sector associations and ~100,000 companies including textile players. As the apex industry body that engages directly with BMWE on industrial policy, BDI shapes the funding environment in which FKT operates and is the relevant incumbent peer for political-economy analysis.
• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG): DFG is Germany's largest public research funding organization, channeling billions of euros annually across all academic disciplines. While it operates at a much larger scale and broader remit than FKT, both bodies function as gatekeepers between German researchers and federal/ministry funding pools, making DFG a useful incumbent peer for understanding funding-policy dynamics.
• Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI): VDI is one of Germany's largest technical-scientific associations, providing standards-setting, networking, and policy advocacy across engineering disciplines including textiles. While much broader in scope than FKT, VDI serves overlapping engineering-SME and institute audiences and competes for thought-leadership positioning in German industrial policy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/forschungskuratorium-textil-e-v

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Forschungskuratorium Textil e. V.