Milan - Major Italian suppliers to the knitting and hosiery industry, including Santoni, Lonati, BTSR and LGL will return to ITMA Asia + CITME next month.
In total, 66 Italian textile machinery manufacturers will participate at the exhibition, which will take place in Shanghai at the National Exhibition and Convention Center from June 12 to 16, 2021.
Of these, 21 manufacturers will be presenting their technology offerings within National Sector Groups organized by ACIMIT, the Italian Association of Textile Machinery Manufacturers, and the Italian Trade Agency.
With an occupied area of about 3,200 square meters, Italy is one of the main exhibiting countries attending the event, as has been the case in the previous editions. ITMA Asia+ CITME is billed therefore, as a first step towards normality for many companies in the sector, after more than a year in which exhibition activity has been suspended.
Asia represents the main destination for Italian textile machinery manufacturers. In 2020 38 per cent of Italian textile machines exports went to Asia. Moreover, China is a key market for Italian companies: the first in Asia and the second worldwide behind only Turkey.
In 2020, Italian machinery exports to China accounted for 14 per cent of Italian exports in the sector (over €190 million) with other key destinations in the area including Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
"The outlook for the Asian market remains positive, despite the fact that demand for machinery slowed considerably during 2020 due to the pandemic," said ACIMIT President Alessandro Zucchi. "China, before many other countries, has resumed its path of economic growth. In the textile sector, investments have never stopped. In the Chinese market, therefore, there is no lack of opportunities and I believe that ITMA Asia + CITME will confirm expectations of a recovery in demand."
Zucchi also noted that the coronavirus pandemic was still impacting the full overseas mobility of the companies’ staff, both commercial and technical, which was limiting greater participation in this edition of ITMA Asia + CITME. "Waiting for a return to a situation of normality with a more numerous collective attendance at the trade fairs, I am convinced that the Italian manufacturers exhibiting in Shanghai will be able to testify to the high level of innovation achieved by the Made in Italy offer, proposing some technological innovations, especially in terms of sustainability and digitalization of the textile production process," he explained.
Mr. Massimiliano Tremiterra, Trade Commissioner of Italian Trade Agency Shanghai Office, highlighted that Italian textile technology can contribute greatly in terms of innovation and development of the flourishing Chinese textile industry. Italian firms have numerous customers in Eastern China where the main three Provinces for the textile and garment industry - Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Fujian, along with the Guangdong and Shandong provinces account for around 80 per cent of the industry’s production capability.
"The Italian textile machinery industry focus on sustainability and innovation, in line with the keystones of the Chinese 14th five-years plan and the Made in China 2025 plan," Zucchi said. "This is also the reason why China has become an even more important market for Italian exports. It is the right time for the two countries to start a new round of trade and speed up the joint construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road."
