Orders for Italian machinery at ITMA-Asia exceed expectations

08 Jul '10

3 min read

Orders collected by Italian textile machinery manufacturers exceed expectations at ITMA Asia + CITME, the leading textile machinery trade fair in Asia, held from 22 to 26 June in Shanghai. Signs of a recovery under way in the primary markets for Italian companies.

“The second edition of ITMA Asia + CITME, which came to close just last week in Shanghai, confirmed the recovery under way in the world's primary textile manufacturing markets,” states Sandro Salmoiraghi, President of Acimit (Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers). “Our exports to Asia for the first three months of the year grew 41% compared to 2009. In China, sales of Italian machinery recorded a 110% increase, and 78% in India. The orders collected at the trade fair by many of our manufacturers,” continues Salmoiraghi, “clearly confirm that we're on our way to a recovery, with respect to previous levels for 2009.”

The breakdown by Countries of origin of the roughly 100,000 visitors for the event's five days are a confirmation that the Chinese textile industry is not the only one driving this recovery. In fact, the trade fair was attended by large numbers of business operators from India, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Korea and Pakistan. At the previous edition, foreign visitors represented only 10% of total visitors, whereas the 2010 event recorded a 20% share of foreign operators.

A total of 115 Italian machinery manufacturers were on hand to display their latest products, making Italy the third most represented Country at the fair, occupying 4000 square meters of exhibition space, right behind the Chinese (31,000 sq. m.) and German exhibitors (5000 sq. m.). Italy's four National Sector Groups proved an especially successful initiative, planned in partnership with the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade and the Ministry for Economic Development, with 67 Italian presenting their offerings within a Made in Italy format.

“The Chinese market is moving rapidly and pays attention to the major themes presented at the trade fair,” emphasizes Salmoiraghi. “During meetings occurred in these days with some Chinese textile authorities, I was able to ascertain just how much China's textile industry is now increasingly targeting issues such as sustainability, reducing its carbon footprint, and the reutilization of textile waste products. Of course, these issues are also at the forefront of our own programs at Acimit.”

To this end, at the ACIMIT press conference held during the event, the Association presented its 'eco-sustainability' project. As Salmoiraghi explains, “This project aims to achieve a green eco tag on which a manufacturer can assert the energy/environmental properties of each machine produced. Awaiting the full realization of this project, visitors at ITMA Asia + CITME in the meantime were able to verify the extent to which Italian machinery builders have made inroads on this front, with the stands of 38 Italian machinery manufacturers displaying the Sustainable Technologies logo.”

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