Statutes

• AITEX - Asociacion de Investigacion de la Industria Textil - A Non-Profit Making Association-VAT No. ES-G03182870 which Head Office is situated in Alcoy- Plaza Emilio Sala 1, 03801- Alcoy (Alicante) Spain represented by Mr Javier Francés Vilaplana - General Manager
• BTTG - British Textile Technology Group - A Company Limited by Guarantee - No. 155873 which Head Office is situated in Leeds - Wira House, West Park Ring Road, Leeds LS16 6QL (United Kingdom) represented by Mr A J King - Chief Executige
• C.S.I.R Textile - which Head Office is situated in Port Elisabeth P.O Box 1124 - 6000 Porth Elisabeth (South Africa) represented by Mr Hunter
• CENTEXBEL - Scientific and Technical Center for the Belgian Textile Industry - Center De Groote which Head Office is situated in Brussels - Montoyer street 24 1000 Brussels (Belgium) represented by Dr Luc Platteau - General Director
• CENTROCOT - which Head Office is situated in Busto Arsizio (VA) Piazza Sant'Anna 2 21052 Busto Arsizio (Italie) represented by Mrs Grazia Cerini
• CITEVE - Centro Technologico das Industrias e do Vestuario - Association Privée, Non - Profit which Head Office is situated in Rua Fernando Mesquita - 2785 Quinta da Maia 4760 - 034 V.N Famalicao (Portugal) represented by Mr. Antonio Braz dos Santos Costa - Directeur Général
• CLOTEFI-ETAKEI - Clothing Textile and Fibre Technological Development S.A. - which Head Office is situated in Athens- 4, El. Venizelou str. 17676 Athens-- Greece. represented by Mr Andreas Kalantzis - General Director
• DTI CT - Danish Technological Institute - Clothing and Textile - independent, not for profit institution approved by the Danish authorities which Head Office is situated in Taastrup - Gregersensvej DK - 2630 TAASTRUP (Denmark) represented by Mr Bjorn Lykke Jensen - Director
• DWI AACHEN - which Head Office is situated in Aachen - Veltmanplatz 8 52062 Aachen (Allemagne) represented by Dr Lehmann
• EMPA - The Swiss Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research - Aswiss Governmental Institute - Functional Textiles Department which Head Office is situated in St. Gallen, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5 CH - 9016 St. Gallen (Switzerland) represented by Mr. H.R.Schmid
• Hohenstein Institutes - Forschungsinstitut Hohenstein GmbH & Co. KG - Reg. No. HRA 392 -Bes. Bekleidungsphysiologisches Institut Hohenstein e. V. - Reg. No.107 which Head Office is situated at Schloss Hohenstein, 74357 Boennigheim, (Germany) both represented by Dr. Stefan Mecheels - Director and General Manager

• IFP - SICOM AB - A Company Limited by Guarantee - which Head Office is situated in Mölndal Argongatan 30, P.O. Box 104, 431 22 Mölndal (Sweden) represented by Dr Thomas Aström - Chief Executive
• ITV - DENKENDORF - Institut für Textil und Verfahrenstechni - which Head Office is situated in Denkendorf, Körschtalstrasse 26, D - 73110 Denkendorf represented by Pr Planck - General Manager
• INTEXTER - Institut d'Investigacio Textil i Cooperacio Industrial - which Head Office is situated in Terassa - 15 Calle Colon 08222 Terrassa (Spain) represented by Prof. Liberto Coll-Tortosa - Director
• I.F.T.H - Institut Français du Textile et de l'Habillement - which Head Office is situated in Lyon -Avenue Guy de Collongue BP 60 69132 Ecully Cedex (France) represented by Mr D .Chamussy - General Director
• INNOVATEXT - Textile Engineering and Testing Institute Co. - A Joint - stock Corporation by Legal Registration - No. 01-10-042356 which Head Office is situated in Budapest Gyömroi ùt 86 (Hungary) represented by Dr.P. Pataki - Director General
• KITECH - Korea Institute of Industrial Technology - which Head Office is situated in Chonan - 35-3 Hong ChonRi, IbJang Myun, ChonAnSi (Korea) represented by Mr Lee - President
• OTI - Österreichisches Textil - Forschungsinstitut - which Head Office is situated in Wien - Spengergasse 20, 1050 Wien (Austria) represented by. Dr. Erich Zippel - Chief Executive
• TEXILIA - which Head Office is situated in Biella - Corso G. Pella - 13051 Biella (Italy) represented by Ing. Roberto Vannucci - Director
• TNO - Textile Department - which Head Office is situated in Enschede - P.O Box 337 7500 AH Enschede (The Netherlands) represented by Mr. Anton Luiken - Head of Textile Department
• VTT Chemical Technology, Textile Group - A research group of the Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT which Head Office is situated in Espoo - Vuorimiehentie 5, 02044 VTT (Finland) represented by Dr. Harriet Meinander - Leading Research Scientist

constitute by those present an Association, conforming to the law dated
1st July 1901 and establish these statutes

Article 1 - Formation

It is formed by the undersigned as a non-profit making Association governed by the law dated 1st July 1901.

Article 2 - Name

The Association takes the following name :
TEXTRANET
(Textile Transfer Network)

Article 3 - Objectives

• to provide technical and commercial benefit by participation for all of its members
• to promote the exchange of information between its members
• to facilitate the establishment of trans-national projects, with particular emphasis on those receiving European funding
• to develop and maintain co-operative links with professional and textile associations, particularly those having a pan-European activity
• to provide a forum for the promotion of technical progress within the European textile industry

Article 4 - Head Office

The Head Office of the Association is established at Paris 13eme - 14, rue des Reculettes.
It can be transferred to anywhere chosen by the General Assembly.

Article 5 - Duration

The Association is constituted for an unlimited duration.

Article 6 - Membership

The Association is composed of the following classifications of members, all of whom are legal bodies. The total number of members is unlimited, with a minimum requirement for three Full Members:

Full Members - Textile Research and Technology Organisations deriving the majority of their income from commercial operations who are registered within the EU or EFTA or Euromed.

Associate Members - Textile Research and Technology Organisations deriving the majority of their income from commercial operations who are registered outside the EU or EFTA or Euromed. They have access to information agreed by the General Assembly.

Transitional Members - Organisations who have served a minimum of two years as an Associate Member and whose countries are in the active process of becoming a member of the EU or EFTA or Euromed.

Membership of Textranet is not a right for any Organisation and can only be granted by the existing Full Members. Those Organisations seeking membership must do so in writing presenting their case to be allowed into membership at least one month prior to the next meeting of the General Assembly. Applications that are received later than this threshold will be considered at the meeting that follows the next one.
The application will be circulated amongst all of the Full Members after which it is voted upon by ballot at the General Assembly. In order to be accepted into membership an organisation must receive favourable votes from at least two-thirds of those members entitled to vote at the meeting. Proxy votes for this purpose are accepted.
Organisations cannot be co-opted into membership by any authority.
Each full member has one vote at meetings of the General Assembly. Other categories of membership are entitled to speak but not vote at these meetings.
All Full members are expected to play an active part in the Association and in particular to attend General Assemblies. Any Full or Transitional member who continuously fails to attend four General Assembly meetings will automatically have their membership reviewed by the voting members of the Association.

Article 7 - Resignations and Dismissal

Membership is lost by:

1. Resignation - this is only acceptable after the payment of any outstanding fees.
2. Removal from membership for a serious breach of the statutes including non-payment of subscriptions. This is decided by the General Assembly.
3. Closure of activity

Article 8 - Subscriptions and Resources

1. All members pay annual subscriptions the levels of which are determined by the General Assembly.
2. The resources of the Association consist of all incomes that are reasonably generated for the work that it does for its members or third parties. This includes membership income, research support and grants amongst other items.

Article 9 - Confidentiality and Exclusivity

Normal commercial standards of confidentiality of information are expected to apply at all times. In many circumstances the members of the Association are competitors as well as partners. This principle is clearly understood. There is a responsibility for all member organisations to protect their own information appropriately, and the Association cannot adopt this role on their behalf.

Article 10 - Executive Council

The Association is managed by an honorary Executive Council composed of up to six members drawn from the Full Member organisations. The Executive is composed as follows:

1. President
2. Vice-President
3. Treasurer
4. Secretary
5. Two others

The President is specifically elected as such by the General Assembly. The other members of the Executive are elected simply to that body; their roles subsequently being decided by all of the members of the executive.

The President is elected for a period of three years by a majority vote of those entitled to vote at the General Assembly. The President may be re-elected for a maximum of a further two terms after which he cannot stand for the office again.

President:
The President is responsible for the operation of the Textranet Association for the duration of his mandate. With the assistance of the other members of the Executive Council he convenes all meetings, establishes all agendas of such meetings, and is responsible for the preparation and distribution of minutes of the meetings. He is responsible for the content of all communications between the Association and the EC as well as other representative bodies.

Other Executive Officers
The other members of the Executive Council are elected for a period of three years and may be re-elected at the end of this period. The posts that are filled may include:

• The Vice-President, who ensures the continuing operation of the Association in the absence or indisposition of the President.
• The Treasurer, who is responsible for all of the financial management of the Association. He makes all of the payments and receives all of the income under the supervision of the President. He keeps the regular financial accounts of the Association and is required to report on these to each General Assembly.
• The Secretary, who assists the President in all administrative and representative work.

The Executive Council can co-opt up to two additional members in order to fulfil specific requirements. Such co-opted members will have their status formally confirmed annually and this will be reported to the General Assembly.

The Executive Council meets from time to time as determined by the members and organised by the President. There should be at least two meetings in each calendar year.

Any decision of substance taken by the Executive Council must be ratified by the General Assembly before it can be implemented.

The maximum age for all of the members of the Executive Council including the President is 70 years. On attaining this age the individual concerned must stand down at the next General Assembly notwithstanding any period of service that remains. All positions within the Association are honorary unless specifically determined otherwise at an Extraordinary General Assembly.

Article 11 - Ordinary General Assembly

The Ordinary General Assembly is composed of full members only. The Assembly meets at least once each year.
At least thirty days before the date of the Assembly the President will convene the members of the Association. The agenda for the Assembly will be indicated on the calling notice for the meeting.
The Assembly is presided over by the President with the assistance of the Vice-President and Secretary. A report upon the current status of the Association including the financial position is be given at each Ordinary General Assembly.
For any issues requiring a vote each full member has one vote. All other categories of membership are entitled to speak at such meetings but have no voting rights.

Article 12 - Extraordinary General Assembly

If the need arises, or at the request of a simple majority of members, the President will convene an Extraordinary General Assembly, following the procedures stated in Article 11.
Three weeks notice of such a meeting must be given together with the issues that the Assembly will deal with. Provided that all other requirements are fulfilled the deliberations, conclusions and decisions of the Assembly are considered as valid whatever number of voting members are represented.
The Extraordinary General Assembly can modify the Statutes of the Association in any way that is recognised as beneficial to the Association, and can decide on the dissolution of the Association on the wishes of at least two-thirds of the members who are represented at the meeting.

Article 13 - Activities of the Association

The formal activities of the Association are determined from time to time by a consensus of members at General Assemblies. No activities need be determined as permanent and all activities can be discontinued wherever this is seen to be appropriate.
Where the General Assembly decides it is appropriate they will establish specific work study groups and their activities will be mandated accordingly.

Article 14 - Rules of Procedure

A rule of procedure can be established by the Executive Council who then submit it to the General Assembly for approval.
This contingency is intended to deal with any specific points not anticipated by the Statutes especially those concerned with the internal administration of the Association.
The decisions taken by the Association should not conflict with the laws and regulations of the countries of the full members of the Association nor with the commitments of the members to other national and international organisations.
All official documents are written in French and English.

Article 15 - Dissolution

In the case of the dissolution of the Association pronounced by a decision of at least two thirds of the full members of the Association present or represented at an Extraordinary General Meeting, one or more liquidators are appointed for this purpose and the assets, if necessary, are disposed of according to Article 9 of the law of 1901.

Article 16 - Formalities

The President or his representative agent is charged to fulfil all of the formalities of declarations and publications prescribed by the legislation in force. All powers are given to the bearer of these mandates for the purposes of effecting these formalities.

Made in 8 originals, 5 reserved to the members, one for the Association archives and two sent for legal deposit.