In the district of Hyllie in Malmö, Sweden, which just a week before had hosted Eurovision, the next big event was the Swedish TSA (Sveriges Tvätteriförbund) annual conference on 16 May at the city’s Quality Hotel View, writes Swedish TSA’s CEO Daniel Kärrholt.
Association chairman Michael Sandin opened proceedings at the Swedish TSA’s annual conference before handing over to municipal council chairman Carina Nilsson, Malmö city, which has a rapidly growing population about 48% of which is under 35 years of age. She also presented the eighth Swedish TSA Sustainability Award – this time to innovative creators Caroline von Post and Susanne Beskow. Through design and upcycling, the pair work hard to develop the circular business model in our industry proving that great sustainability gains occur when recycled textiles replace virgin raw materials.
The prize sum is a total of SEK 10,000 with the winners donating the amount between the Rainbow Fund, which fights for the same basic freedoms and rights regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, and to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which works for the survival of elephants.
Per Tryding, vice president of the South Swedish Chamber of Industry and Commerce, was then welcomed on stage, explaining to delegates how, on 1 January 2026, together with a number of other chambers of commerce it intends to take over around 30 industry indexes, including the Textile Services Index, from Statistics Sweden, which after decades as a producer has decided to discontinue its role. Tryding described the process which is now at the letter of intent stage with the goal of arriving at firm agreements later this summer.
Mads Andresen at Inwatec/Jensen is probably the industry’s most innovative person and no one is in as much demand as he when it comes to talking about the technology of the future. gave us an interesting insight into all the exciting things going on.
A regular at Swedish TSA events and conferences is the association’s energy expert Christer Bäcker who set out the different relations between supply and demand and their different impacts on the world’s energy markets.
The next talk was about energy savings given by Mike Edwards and Byron Windt, Aquatherm International, followed by a presentation on reusable textiles in surgical healthcare. Uwe Ostendorf, Chainge Group and Creazioni Futura highlighted a clear case where reusable textiles are superior to disposable options.
What would an annual meeting be without a presentation from a listed company? Anna Heide, Fastighets AB Trianon told delegates how a large part of their base consists of properties in million program areas and that working with social sustainability has become a large part of the company’s business and everyday life. By being an active and committed player in the local area, Trianon contributes to long-term and sustainable urban development.
Johannes Schmid-Wiedersheim from Messe Frankfurt organiser of Texcare International informed us about the industry’s most important exhibition, which after eight long years, is finally taking place on 6-9 November in Frankfurt. Swedish TSA, together with Messe Frankfurt, has put together a package for all members interested in attending.
Linda Myhrman head of education at Samhallskolan which provides training for the industry has the task of securing the organisation’s transition to Samhall’s overall strategy with a focus on employee development. She talked about how to work to make educational plans and content available to the broad target group.
PFAS – ‘forever’ chemicals – is a real challenge not only for our industry but for the whole of society. Jeffrey Lewis, ECT2, gave a detailed account of different treatment strategies and techniques.
Rounding off the day’s official programme Kalle-Ville Lampi, Maxi-Press, spoke from the vantage point of a globally active, growing producer of spare and service parts for the textile service industry.
After the association’s annual meeting, chaired by Michael Sandin, Swedish TSA’s long-time former chairman Olle Kristensson, who served from January 2010 to May 2016, was recognised as an honorary member.
Perhaps the heartiest and most powerful applause of the day went to Peter Streijffert, the association’s golf champion, when he invited to the Textile Service Association Golf Tournament 2024 on 19–20 September at Ekerum Resort Öland.