2005-10-28

 

The second edition of ITMA Asia was held from 17 to 21 October 2005. ITMA Asia is the main textile machinery Trade Fair in Asia. Every four years, this Trade Fair attracts, to Singapore, a high number of world manufacturers from the sector and the quality is second to none. During the week, ACIMIT, the Association which represents about 200 Italian textile machinery producer companies, organised, in collaboration with ICE, the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, a press conference involving about 50 international journalists.

 

 

During the press conference, Paolo Banfi, the Chairman of ACIMIT, emphasised the importance of the Trade Fair for the entire sector and this is also backed up by the significant number of Italian exhibitors (about 150, one of the biggest foreign delegations). “ITMA, both the European version and the Asian one, is a great opportunity for technology suppliers and textile operators to meet. ITMA Asia 2005 has repeated the success of the first edition, in terms of both exhibitors and visitors. This confirms - Banfi continued – that the decision by Cematex (the European Textile Machinery Association, who organised the event) to hold an ITMA Trade Fair in Asia was a great decision”.

 

Banfi recalled the figures which make Asia the most important destination market for Italian textile machinery: over 800 million Euro is the value of Italian machinery sold in Asian countries, accounting for 40% of Italian exports in the sector. Asia is home to some of the most important markets: China in which, in 2004, Italian companies had overall turnover of 311 million Euro, India and Pakistan.

 

 

 

“The importance of the Asian markets - stressed Banfi – will be consolidated in the future, thanks to the growing demand for higher quality applied to the technology used”. Upgrading of the current technological levels is already underway in markets like India and Pakistan. But there are equally important signs coming from Bangladesh, Taiwan and Vietnam, countries in which, in the first six months of 2005, Italian sales increased compared to the same period in 2004.

 

 

 

Asked to make some forecasts for the future of the sector, the Chairman of ACIMIT noted how the current climate among textile operators in many countries is still generally negative. The low level of optimism, which derives from the current negative economic situation, has also had an effect on a possible recovery in investments, especially within the textile industries in countries in the West. The forecasts for the current year are also influenced by this climate of uncertainty. “We are, however, still moderately confident - Banfi concluded – especially when we see the signs of recovery coming from an ever increasing number of Italian companies”. Equally comforting are the indications coming from ITMA Asia, where the Italian exhibitors, albeit with clear differences between the various segments, say they are happy with the high number of contacts made in Singapore. Among the visitors to ITMA Asia 2005, the majority come from India, Indonesia and Thailand, but for our exhibitors, there was also a significant flow of visitors from Korea, Malaysia and Bangladesh.

 

Despite the negative economic situation which has had a serious effect in recent years on the worldwide textile machinery industry, Italian producers are still a reference point for textile companies who, all over the world, wish to invest in new products and in new processes. The Italian textile machinery industry, in fact, has maintained its share of world exports in the sector unaltered for some years (about 14%), offering itself as a partner which can provide tailor made solutions for the specific requirements of the several niches which are proliferating within the textile industry.