For us, textile surfaces are much more than just decoration – textiles shape how modern mobility feels. They create an emotional bond and make brand identity tangible. At the same time, we see textiles as the sustainable material of the future.
As a manufacturer of technical textiles, we have been combining functional perfection with unique design for over 100 years. This know-how was incorporated into the development of sustainable knitted surfaces for the interior of the current MINI vehicle generation. The characteristic color effect and the graphics give the interior an unmistakably high-quality look.
A key innovation factor lies in the flat knitting technology used: it enables the direct integration of design and functional features in one process and reduces downstream processing steps. The use of recycled polyester also makes an important contribution to reducing CO2 emissions and underlines the sustainable nature of the development. The use of high-tech yarns ensures optimized functionality and provides us with new, constructive possibilities in the development of textile solutions.
We received the SPE Automotive Award 2025 for this development. The 23rd Society of Plastics Engineers awards ceremony took place on October 6, 2025 and is considered one of the most important awards in the plastics industry. We are particularly proud to have won the overall Grand Award in the Body Interior category for “Dashboard, door trim elements and armrest made of textile material”. We realized this development together with our project partners BMW, EMS-Chemie, Inteva Products and Karl Mayer Stoll Textilmaschinenfabrik. This award impressively underlines the potential of textile and sustainable interior concepts. We would like to thank all our project partners and look forward to many more textile innovations from STRÄHLE+HESS.
