History of INTEXTER

Professor Daniel Blanxart i Pedrals inaugurated the “Laboratory of Textile Testing and Research” during the 1939–40 academic year in a provisional facility with very rudimentary equipment, located in the Textile Engineering Section of the Higher School of Industries of Terrassa. In 1941, it was renamed the “Laboratory for Research on Textile Fibers and Broom Fibers.”

On the occasion of the “International Conference on Textile Technology,” the “Exhibition of Textile Testing Equipment” was inaugurated on September 28, 1954, and from then on, what began to be called the “Laboratory for Industrial Cooperation and Textile Research” was considered established. At that time, the Laboratory’s funding came only from research projects subsidized by the “Juan de la Cierva Board” of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) for Mr. Cegarra and Mr. López-Amo, later supplemented by grants from the Ministry of National Education, the Barcelona Provincial Council, and the Terrassa City Council.

By Ministerial Order of June 10, 1964 (published in the Official State Gazette on August 3), the Institute for Textile Research and Industrial Cooperation was officially created, and its regulations were approved. The Institute remained attached to the Higher School of Industries of Terrassa (Textile Industries Engineering Section). Its funding came from the Directorate General of Technical Education, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Terrassa City Council, the Barcelona Chamber of Industry and Commerce, several dye companies, and the School’s Board of Trustees.

On October 16, 1964, construction of the new and current building was awarded for 15 million pesetas. The new building was completed in October 1967, but due to the lack of installations, the move was delayed until January 1970, when work began on the first two floors.

From 1966 onward, the Institute joined the textile standardization work developed by the Technical Working Committee 40, Textiles of IRANOR, and later became the headquarters of the Subcommittee on Color Fastness and Measurement, which included representatives from dye manufacturers, technical organizations, and business associations in European and international forums.

The Institute’s Governing Board, established by the Ministerial Order creating the Institute, was formed in 1967 and began its functions on March 15, 1968, when it proposed the necessary changes to grant the Institute organizational and administrative independence from the School.

On June 6, 1968, the Higher Polytechnic Institute of Barcelona was created, grouping the Higher Technical Schools of Industrial Engineering of Barcelona and Terrassa, the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Barcelona, and the Institute for Textile Research and Industrial Cooperation (INTEXTER).

The Polytechnic University of Barcelona (UPB) was created by Decree on November 13, 1971, when the Ministry of Education and Science approved the departmental structure of the Higher Polytechnic Institute of Barcelona, integrating the aforementioned schools, INTEXTER, university colleges, and other research institutes. The same Decree also approved the provisional statutes of the UPB.

The Institute (INTEXTER) was officially inaugurated on October 9, 1971.

In November 1973, the Institute’s Governing Board studied amendments to its regulations to adapt them to the UPB Statutes.

The staff was included in the UPB payroll, which also granted three research positions and three collaborator positions. Previously, the UPB had provided three administrative assistant positions and, since its creation, had covered the building’s maintenance costs.

The 1970s marked the period when the research staff was consolidated through the incorporation of graduates who developed their doctoral theses within the Institute.

With the entry into force of the University Reform Law (LRU) of 1983, the Institute became a University Institute and was renamed the Institute for Textile Research and Industrial Cooperation of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (INTEXTER-UPC).

As a result of the new law, significant legislative and administrative changes occurred within INTEXTER. As a result, the Institute's Regulations were modified to adapt to both the new Law and the new UPC Regulations.

The INTEXTER Regulations currently in force were approved by resolution no. 53/2015 of the UPC Governing Council.