Who are we ?

As from the beginning, the main aim of the U.F.T.M. consisted in defending the general interests of the Carpet Industry (pile carpets and rugs) and more generally any kind of Textile Floor Covering.Thanks to its members, the U.F.T.M. represents 80 % of the national production of rugs, pile carpets tufted in rolls (width) and tiles and woven traditional pile carpets.The U.F.T.M. represents the trade business on a national and international level with regard to economic, technical, fiscal, commercial (business fairs), etc... issues.

Activities :

Meetings with exchange of information
News reports every three months
Mailings
Statistical information
C.R.E.T.-laboratory activities
European classification
ITR-Homologation with UPEC-classification
A national and international representation of the business sector

 Meetings with exchange of information  

The U.F.T.M. is responsable for the organisation of general information meetings for its members (on average one information meeting every three months) and the annual general meeting, and some committees meetings : Business - Woven - Rug - Building.

 News reports every three months  

Every three months the U.F.T.M. issues a news report dealing with social, economic and fiscal questions and illustrated by means of press reviews (extracts, newspaper cuttings) and statistical figures from the market of textile floor coverings. In this news report you will also find general information with regard to collective issues on E.E.C.- and worldlevel, as for instance the technical normalisation problems.

 
 Mailings 

Spread to the distribution sector on average twice a year.

, Click here.

 Statistical information :  

The following information is periodically provided to the U.F.T.M.-members
 

• The monthly statistics as regards the French production.
• The monthly global statistics as regards the French import and export of (pile) carpets and rugs (customs transit).

Each year there is a general study of the market. This analysis of more or less one hundred pages deals with :

• the global French production
• the total amount of imports and exports according to origin and destination.
• the French consumption classified depending on type of production technique.
• the evolutions with regard to the average prices

Click here for an annual analysis of the French market of textile floor coverings.

 C.R.E.T.-laboratory activities  

In January 1999 the C.R.E.T.-laboratories received their COFRAC-accreditation on the ground of the 31-1 programme. The laboratories of research and analyses, of chemistry and physics are open to anyone. The laboratory column gives you a detailed presentation of the C.R.E.T.

For more informations, click here.

 E.C.A. European classification  

The system of reciprocal acknowledgement and recognition of tests and controls carried out by the different E.C.A.-laboratories is reserved for the members the E.C.A. that is to say only for those French companies which are also U.F.T.M.-members.

 Homologation I.T.R. / UPEC
(for tufted and woven pile carpets in rolls (width) destined for the building sector)  

The U.F.T.M. has six representatives at its disposal at the ITR/UPEC Homologation-Committee and one representative at the C.R.E.T. The U.F.T.M. membres profit by a reduction of 15% on the administrative costs of the I.T.R.

 A national and international representation of the business sector 

The U.F.T.M. is actively represented at different national, European and international authorities or organisations :

• U.I.T. Nord : Union des Industries Textiles (Trade Association of Textile Industries)
• C.C.L.F.A. : Comité Central de la Laine et des Fibres Associées (Central Committee of Wool and Associated Fibres)
• E.C.A. : European Carpet Association.
• EURATEX : Organisation européenne de l'Habillement et du textile (European Organisation of Clothing and Textile)
• G.U.T. : Association des Moquettes Ecologiques (Trade Association of Ecological Pile Carpets)
• I.T.R. : Institut Technique des Revêtements de sols (Technical Institute of Floor Coverings)
• I.T.F. : Institut Textile de France (French Textile Institute)
• A.F.N.O.R. : Association Française de Normalisation (French Association of Normalisation)
• C.E.N. : Comité Européen de Normalisation (European Committee of Normalisation)
• I.S.O. : International Standard Organisation.

Furthermore, the U.F.T.M. has close business relations with the following organisation :

• C.S.T.B. : Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment (Technical and Scientific Centre of the Building Sector)