THE Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), which participated in the recently concluded five-day ITMA-2005 exhibition in Singapore, has generated business enquiries worth $1.7 million, and on-the-spot orders valued at $4,00,000. The fair is organised by CEMATEX, a UK-based company, every two years.

Talking to Business Line here on the outcome of the council's participation in arguably the world's biggest trade fair for textile machinery and accessories, Mr Rakesh Shah, Chairman, EEPC, said the items for which buyers had evinced keen interest were boilers, soft flow dyeing machines, spinning and weaving machines, fabric inspection machine, and fabric batching machine.

The ITMA, according to the EEPC Chairman, has a history stretching back five decades, and is considered to be the world's leading textile machinery event, not because it encompasses every single process of textile manufacture, but mainly owing to the strong reputation it has built-up for innovation and quality.

Mr Shah said more than 50,000 trade visitors from different countries visited the exhibition. Citing the special efforts made by the council's office in Singapore, he said product-specific visitors were invited from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, and so on .

Appreciating the active support rendered by the office of the Indian High Commission in Singapore, he said the ITMA Fair, from October 17 to 21, had come in the wake of the successful Indee-Mexico 2005 organised by the council recently. The co-organiser of the fair is Meeting Planners International, Singapore.

Speaking from Singapore, Mr D. D. Roy, EEPC's senior official, said the next ITMA Asia Fair is scheduled to be held in Germany in 2007 followed by a likely repeat in Singapore in 2009.

He said more than 800 exhibitors from around the world took part in the exhibition, and some 103 Indian firms, said to be the third largest contingent, had participated in the event.

The EEPC was represented by Almac, Vadodara, Basant Wire Industries (P) Ltd, Jaipur, Ex-Alloys Engineering Pvt Ltd, Pune, Gabbar Engineering Co, Ahmedabad, Tech Mech Engineers, Ahmedabad and Thermax Ltd, Pune.

Thehindubusinessline.com