InnoTrans extends its success

10 INTERIORS
www.innotrans.com
gROWTH SEgMENTS PUbLIc TRANSPORT AND INTERIORS
International Design Forum:
focus on materials and appearance
The International Design Forum was
held for the fi rst time at this year’s
InnoTrans. Devoted to the design of vehicles
and their interiors, as well as
the utilisation of innovative and sustainable
materials, the Forum met with
a very positive reception from trade
fair visitors. The International Design
Forum was a highlight in the equally
new Public Transport and Interiors Hall
Forum (PTI Hall Forum).
With the PTI Hall Forum, InnoTrans
further extended the two growth segments
Public Transport and Interiors,
and in addition brought together under
one roof the themes of procurement
and design that are of importance
to the Public Transport segment. In the
context of the International Design
Forum, a high-calibre panel discussion
on the topic of “Public Transport,
Mobile Interiors and Design” was held
on 19th September.
Discussion of trends
and competition
At this event, trends in interior and
train design were discussed by industry
specialists. Paul Priestman, Director
of the multi-disciplinary agency
Priestmangoode, spoke about competition
among transport modes. He
pointed out that public transport was
competing with aviation and road
transport, where ever-higher quality
materials were being used for the
interiors. Simone de Waart, founder
LANTAL TEXTILES
Tailor-made train interior
Lantal Textiles AG specialises in allin-one
solutions for train, tram, bus and
aircraft interiors. The product portfolio
of the Swiss company encompasses
carpeting as well as velvet pile and fl at
woven seat fabrics, as well as fabrics
for headrest covers. Amongst others,
the fi rm presented two carpet innovations
at InnoTrans.
For the fi rst time, Lantal showed its
looped carpet. Looped carpets are distinguished
by having uncut pile loops.
This model can be individually tailored
to customer requirements; the manufacturer
says that this carpet is extremely
hard wearing. „That makes this
carpet quality ideal for rolling stock
on high traffi c density routes,“ said
Hanspeter Baumgartner, Head of Development
and Innovation at Lantal. In
addition, looped carpets are easy to
clean, because their tightly closed surface
prevents deep penetration by dust.
A further innovation is a hundred per
The International Design Forum was devoted to the design of vehicles
and their interiors.
Trying out different types and qualities of train seating.
cent wool quality carpet. This combines
the advantages of wool on the
surface with a looped construction.
The result, the company says, is outstanding
walking comfort. Lantal offers
not only semi-fi nished goods such as
carpets, but also engineering services,
pre-cut and ready-to-install products,
as well as design and lab test services.
According to Lantal, fl oor mapping,
preparation of blueprints, trial installation
and fi ne-tuning are single-source
services that reduce the customer‘s
process times and costs.
Additionally, Lantal can propose a solution
that shortens turnaround times
when a railcar‘s carpeting must be replaced.
A self-adhesive coating can
be applied to the conventional carpet
and works according to the “Post-it”
principle: the carpet is quickly laid without
the customary double-sided tape
and at the end of its service life can be
removed again without leaving any
traces of adhesive.
Photos: Messe Berlin
The “Post-it” principle: Lantal’s
self-adhesive coating makes carpet
replacement easier. Photo: Lantal
and creative director of the Material
Sense network, emphasised how important
materials are for designers‘
creative process. At the same time,
account always had to be taken of
technical requirements and cultural
differences.
Passengers should
feel comfortable and secure
The Chief Innovation Offi cer at Bombardier
Transportation, Martin Ertl,
said that it was important for public
transport users to feel comfortable
and secure when travelling, and at
the same time should be able to derive
added value from the use of public
transport – for example, by using
mobile communication services. Of the
same opinion was the head of CI/CD at
DB Mobility Logistics, Karsten Henze,
who said that design should be looked
at as part of the system and not in isolation.
Axel Enthoven, founder and CEO
of Enthoven Associates & Yellow Window,
stressed the importance of highquality
materials. For example, he said,
using leather upholstery in Brussels‘
public transport vehicles came at little
extra cost, but resulted in less damage
due to vandalism, as users had more
respect for the material. In future, design
and mobility will be ever more
closely interlinked – this was the main
conclusion of the panel discussion in
front of an enthusiastic audience. The
Forum was organised by the International
Design Centre Berlin.
DUPONT
Successful
InnoTrans debut
This year, science company Du-
Pont presented its rail industry solutions
on its own interactive stand
at the InnoTrans trade fair for the
fi rst time. As well as presenting numerous
products and materials for
enhanced sustainability and safety,
lower life cycle costs, as well as for
maintenance and design, the company
also demonstrated the importance
of in-depth cooperation in the
industry.
Together with three corporate partners,
DuPont Rail Solutions fostered
active discussions and brainstorming
with experts and partners
from the rail industry. Trade fair visitors
gave an enthusiastic reception
to joint interactive product presentations,
technical presentations and
expert discussions, supporting an
active international dialogue about
+++ NEWS +++
LSG Sky Chefs:
New on-board service
presented
Participating in InnoTrans for the
first time this year was LSG Sky
Chefs, the world‘s biggest provider
of airline catering. The company
used the trade fair as an international
marketing platform to
inform the public about the expansion
of its business into the railway
sector. „We are convinced that the
train services industry holds out a
lot of potential for LSG Sky Chefs”,
said Walter Gehl, Chairman and
CEO of Lufthansa Service Holding
AG. „With our many years of experience
and outstanding culinary expertise,
we can enrich the on-board
experience of train passengers with
new products and services.“ Background:
The Travel Catering & Comfort
Services area is integrated in the
Interiors segment at InnoTrans. With
over 250 exhibitors and covering a
24 per cent bigger space than at
InnoTrans 2010, the Interiors trade
fair segment has meanwhile become
a leading fair in its own right. For the
first time this year, exhibitors displayed
their new products and ser-
vices in three fully occupied halls.
Tray Set
Photos: LSG Sky Chefs
necessary and ground-breaking developments
for a successful global
rail industry in the future.
„Taking part in InnoTrans was a major
challenge for us, because we had
no experience on which to base it,“
said Peter von den Kerkhoff, EMEA
Rail Industry Leader at DuPont. „But
thanks to the close cooperation with
our partners, we were able to present
the various advantages of Du-
Pont materials, for example for antigraffi
ti, lightweight construction and
maintenance solutions in a very realistic
way.“
In the Interiors segment, DuPont presented
different products and materials
for a wide range of applications:
for example, in its Nomex Honeycomb
material, the company has an
extremely rigid composite that can
contribute to signifi cant weight savings
in modern trains.