As Canada's Minister of Industry, I am very pleased to offer my congratulations and best wishes to all participants in Techtextil - Symposium North America 2006 being held in the “Crown Jewel of the South”: Atlanta, Georgia.

This renowned forum for high-performance textile manufacturers and professionals will examine and discuss a broad range of topics - from market trends to the latest technologies. The symposium and accompanying trade show will bring together more than 300 exhibitors and 5,000 attendees from around the globe. The Canadian delegation is delighted to be among them.

Canada is here to showcase the expertise and know-how of our companies, along with our innovative products and latest technologies. We are also actively seeking to develop strong partnerships among industries, associations and governments.

The Centre for Textile Technologies is leading our mission, with the participation of the Textiles Human Resources Council, and representatives from the Canadian and Quebec governments. Most importantly, the mission features 15 Canadian textile manufacturing
companies - industry leaders in textile innovations. While in Atlanta, these companies look forward to developing new commercial relationships, and valuable, mutually beneficial, and long-term partnerships.

Industry Canada is proud to support this mission through the Canadian Apparel and Textile Industries Program (CATIP). This program is a joint private/public sector initiative to help Canadian textile companies design and implement global strategies to develop new markets and partnerships. Techtextil offers the ideal venue to pursue these goals, and to offer our expertise and next-generation products to a key group of qualified buyers.

I am delighted to support the efforts of all the delegates and visitors to Techtextil - Symposium North America 2006. I wish each of you a very successful mission.

Maxime Bernier
Minister of Industry