Sudwesttextil

What Sudwesttextil does

Südwesttextil is the registered employers' and trade association (eingetragener Verein) for the textile and clothing industry in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, headquartered in Stuttgart and founded in 1946. It represents approximately 220 member companies that collectively generate around €7 billion in revenue and employ roughly 24,000 people, including well-known brands such as HUGO BOSS, OLYMP, and VAUDE. The association is a member of the national Gesamtverband textil+mode and holds a seat on the European-level Euratex board.

The association delivers four core service lines: collective-bargaining and labor-law representation (Flächentarifvertrag), legal and policy advocacy at state and federal level, vocational training and continuing education, and sector networking through events such as the Jahrestagung and ARENA. Its core training assets include TEXOVERSUM (a school of textile design donated in 2021 by 26 member companies) and the texhub academy. In 2025 it launched TEXHUB.WORLD, a digital B2B matchmaking platform for the textile industry that won a DPOK award in 2026. In January 2026, the association formed Südwesttextil Service GmbH to commercially operate training, consulting, and education services alongside the non-profit.

The business model is membership-dues driven, with dues calculated as a percentage of each member company's gross payroll (Entgeltsumme) and scaled by company size; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Revenue is non-commercial in nature given the e.V. legal form, with the new Service GmbH intended to broaden the addressable market beyond dues-paying members. Day-to-day operations are led by a small team of 11–50 employees under CEO Edina Brenner and Präsident Bodo Th. Bölzle, who was elected at the 2025 Jahrestagung. In 2026 the association marked its 80th anniversary with a renewed Vorstand.

Name

Sudwesttextil

Legal name

Südwesttextil e. V.

Website

https://suedwesttextil.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Südwesttextil is the registered trade and employers' association for the textile and clothing industry in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, serving approximately 220 member companies with collective-bargaining, legal advocacy, training, and sector-networking services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stuttgart

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: Südwesttextil generates revenue through annual membership dues paid by member companies. Membership fees are calculated based on company revenue and total payroll (Entgeltsumme) from the previous fiscal year. The association provides comprehensive services including advocacy, legal consultation, training (TEXOVERSUM), and networking as part of the membership package.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels14 records

Core offering

Südwesttextil e.V. is the economic and employers' association (Wirtschafts- und Arbeitgeberverband) for the textile and clothing industry in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1946, it represents approximately 220 member companies with combined revenue of 7 billion EUR and 24,000 employees. The association delivers a portfolio of member services including legal counsel on labor law and collective bargaining, industry advocacy at EU/federal/state levels, vocational training through TEXOVERSUM and texhub academy, statistical market intelligence via the KonTex report, industry networking events, and digital communication through the TEXHUB.WORLD platform.

Product overview

Südwesttextil is a trade and employer association (Wirtschafts- und Arbeitgeberverband) for the textile and clothing industry in Baden-Württemberg, representing approximately 220 member companies with 7 billion euros in revenue and 24,000 employees. Rather than offering a unified product platform, the association provides a portfolio of services including industry publications (Südwesttextil Magazin), digital platforms (TEXHUB.WORLD), training and education facilities (TEXOVERSUM, texhub academy, GATEX), statistical services (KonTex), and workforce development initiatives (Go Textile!). The services are designed to support member companies with industry representation, labor law consulting, training, and networking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TEXOVERSUM: European lighthouse for textile education and innovation located at Hochschule Reutlingen campus
• TEXHUB.WORLD
• texhub academy
• Go Textile!
• Textil für Morgen

Products and services

• Südwesttextil Magazin Industry magazine published multiple times per year covering politics, sustainability, innovation, and industry trends for textile and clothing companies in Baden-Württemberg.
• TEXHUB.WORLD An interactive digital platform launched in 2025 that gamifies textile industry communication, making textile diversity playfully accessible. Won the German Prize for Online Communication (DPOK) in the Digital Experience category and placed second in Innovation of the Year.
• TEXOVERSUM A European lighthouse for textile education and innovation located at Hochschule Reutlingen campus, including 3,000 square meters of workshops, laboratories, a textile collection, think-tank areas, and classrooms, with a carbon and glass fiber facade made in Baden-Württemberg.
• texhub academy Professional development offerings under Südwesttextil Service GmbH that continue the legacy of GATEX, providing inter-company training and continuing education for the textile industry.
• Inhouse-Seminare Customized in-house training seminars covering labor law topics including dismissal law, fixed-term employment, co-determination of works councils, part-time work, parental leave, and introduction to works council work for textile industry HR and management.
• KonTex Konjunkturbericht Conjuncture report for the textile and clothing industry in Baden-Württemberg, providing market data, current economic indicators, raw material prices, and textile labor market statistics.
• Go Textile! Industry-wide recruitment campaign under the motto 'Run your future' providing a 360-degree view of training opportunities in the textile and clothing industry and supporting member companies in workforce attraction.

Quantifiable outcome

• TEXHUB.WORLD achieved over 350,000 page views and 225 million impressions within one year of launch

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• AFBW – Allianz Faserbasierte Werkstoffe Baden-Württemberg e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFBW is a cross-industry technology network bringing together the entire value chain of fiber-based materials, from providers and customers to research institutions. Südwesttextil co-initiated the AFBW and collaborates on textile innovation and research initiatives.
• Hochschule Reutlingen (TEXOVERSUM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSüdwesttextil partnered with Hochschule Reutlingen to establish TEXOVERSUM, a European lighthouse for textile education and innovation. The facility includes 3,000 square meters for workshops, laboratories, and teaching spaces.
• Gesamtverband textil+modecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational-level textile and clothing industry association representing German industry interests at the federal level.
• Unternehmer Baden-Württemberg (UBW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-level employer association representing business interests in Baden-Württemberg.
• Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände (BDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal employers' association providing policy coordination and advocacy support.
• DITF Deutsche Institute für Textil+FaserforschungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading textile research institute in Germany, collaborating on textile innovation and R&D projects.
• EuratexcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Apparel and Textile Confederation representing European textile industry interests at EU level.
• IG Metall Baden-WürttembergcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrade union social partner for collective bargaining negotiations in the textile industry.
• Hochschule Albstadt-SigmaringensecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership for digitalization support of textile technology study programs.
• Bildungswerk der baden-württembergischen WirtschaftsecondaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEducation and training institution for vocational training support.
• Südwesttextil Service GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerService company formed to bundle training, consulting, and qualification activities starting January 2026.
• Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbHsecondaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLegal counsel partnership for economic law information and updates.
• GATEX (Überbetriebliche Aus- und Weiterbildung)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInter-company training institution for textile industry vocational training since the 1980s, integrated into texhub academy.
• Place2tex PlatformsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatform for protective textiles and mouth-nose masks initiated by Südwesttextil and AFBW during the pandemic.
• Kunsthalle TübingenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural institution partnership for TEXOVERSUM student fashion exhibition in collaboration with ALEX KATZ exhibition.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Industrieverband Steine + Erden Baden-Württemberg: A Baden-Württemberg state-level industry association for the building materials sector. Operates with the same regional employer-association model as Südwesttextil but in an unrelated vertical, making it comparable as a peer-format organization.
• Verband der Chemischen Industrie Baden-Württemberg (VCI BW): The Baden-Württemberg chapter of the German chemical industry association. Comparable as a regional employer-association peer in adjacent industry (chemicals supply into textiles), serving overlapping members in technical textiles and fiber chemistry.

Direct peers

• Euratex: The European Apparel and Textile Confederation representing EU-level industry interests. Südwesttextil coordinates with Euratex for EU advocacy, making Euratex the natural supranational counterpart with overlapping membership and policy functions.
• Gesamtverband textil+mode: The national German textile and clothing industry association. Südwesttextil is a member of textil+mode, and the two share the same employer-association function across the German textile value chain — directly comparable in mission, services, and constituency.
• AFBW – Allianz Faserbasierte Werkstoffe Baden-Württemberg: A cross-industry fiber-based materials network in Baden-Württemberg co-initiated by Südwesttextil. AFBW shares overlapping members, geographic scope, and innovation/research focus in fiber-based materials, making it a closely aligned regional industry network peer.
• GermanFashion Modeverband Deutschland: The German fashion industry association representing apparel brands and retailers. Comparable in function as an industry-specific employer/membership body, though focused downstream on fashion brands rather than textile manufacturing.

Broad incumbents

• Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände (BDA): The federal-level umbrella for German employer associations. BDA is the apex organization of which Südwesttextil is a member, performing comparable collective-bargaining and policy coordination at a national scale.
• Unternehmer Baden-Württemberg (UBW): The state-level employer association for Baden-Württemberg across industries. UBW shares the same regional employer-association function but covers all sectors rather than specializing in textiles — directly comparable governance model and advocacy mission at broader scope.
• Industrie- und Handelskammer Region Stuttgart: The regional chamber of commerce for Stuttgart covering all industries. Provides overlapping services to Südwesttextil member companies such as legal guidance, training, and policy advocacy, but as a generalist rather than textile-specialist organization.

Emerging players

• FESI – Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry: European federation representing sporting goods brands, several of whom (e.g., VAUDE, Adidas) overlap with Südwesttextil's textile constituency. Comparable as a sectoral industry association at the European level with overlapping member companies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Suedwesttextil
• Facebookfacebook.com/Suedwesttextil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/suedwesttextil
• Instagraminstagram.com/suedwesttextil
• Pinterestpinterest.de/suedwesttextil
• Xx.com/suedwesttextil

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 records

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 Sudwesttextil