Inno textiles life began as ​Durban Laminators Pty (Ltd) in 1965, founded by Ernst Ulrich Wilhelm. ​The company was originally a small laminator for the shoe industry before robust growth allowed it to extend its manufacturing base to include Stenters (1975) and eventually non-woven needle punch lines (1984). ​Throughout this growth phase the company remained focused on the shoe industry, until its decline in South Africa in the mid to late 90’s. This forced the company to diversify into thermally bonded non-woven products for the bedding industry, which managed to offset most of the decline experienced in the shoe industry.

​It was in 2003 that Inno Textiles first forayed into the original equipment supply to the automotive industry as a 2 nd tier supplier. Along with this came the stringent quality standards demanded by the automotive industry resulting in Inno Textiles acquiring its ISO9001 2000 certification in 2006. In conjunction with this the company also built itself a dedicated laboratory to conduct the extensive product testing and development that is required. Today the company is a respected supplier in all its chosen markets, with its products finding their way into most leading shoe and car manufacturers. It also supplies extensively into the
aftermarket automotive and boating industries as well as to several industrial filter manufacturers. This diversified customer base gives the company a broad experience base, as well as ensuring market stability in an ever changing world.

In 2000, Oliver Wilhelm joined the company after having gained extensive international industrial experience with Unilever.​ Fresh blood brought new ideas and vigour to the company resulting in further diversification of the product range to include aftermarket automotive, first supply automotive, carpeting and filtration. This heralded a new growth phase for the company and Inno Textiles was born. The new company was founded to better enable it to recreate itself as a modern, world class manufacturer of quality, value added, industrial non-woven’s, and to broaden its focus to cover all markets relevant to the company’s expertise. Inno Textiles began
trading in 2002 and has since experienced steady and robust growth by investing heavily in new equipment
and personnel, as well as modernising existing equipment.