ITMA Asia 2005, the 2nd Asian International Exhibition of Textile Machinery, is returning to Singapore this October with a larger exhibition space.

Held from October 17 to 21 at the expanded Singapore Expo, the upcoming ITMA Asia is expected to be the first event to fully occupy the entire 100,000 square metres of exhibition space of the venue, 40,000 square metres more than the original before the expansion.

Application for booths began in January last year, and the local organiser, Meeting Planners International Pte Ltd (MPI), has described the response as "overwhelming". By June, a total of 753 exhibitors'' registrations from 33 economies were received. Exhibits include latest textile machinery, related products and services, including 135 Italian and 47 Swiss companies.

Furthermore, the show has for the first time obtained support from the Japan Textile Machinery Association (JTMA). It has also been listed as part of the Singapore Fashion Week, which aims to promote Singapore''s position as a textile and fashion hub.

Over 1,000 exhibitors expected

The organiser has confidence that this year more than 1,000 companies from all over the world will participate, and about 50,000 visits will be recorded, in the five-day event.

The show owner, European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers (CEMATEX), attributed the positive progress to the strong interest in Asia. With the quota system coming to the end at the beginning of this year, demand for textile machinery in Asia will continue to increase.

ITMA Asia, owned by the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers (CEMATEX), is the Asian version of ITMA, which is held only in Europe and enjoys the reputation of being the "Olympics" of all textile machinery shows.

Souce:www.2456.com