About 110 Italian exhibitors who are member-companies of ACIMIT will be occupying an overall exhibition space of 4,750 sq. metres at ITMA Asia. A total of 57 Italian companies are presenting their products as part of the National Sector Group organized by ACIMIT and ICE, the Italian trade agency. The four Italian clusters are situated in the spinning (Hall W5), non-wovens (Hall W3), weaving (Hall E1) and finishing machinery halls (Hall E7). The total area occupied by the Italian National Sector Group will roughly be 1,400 sq. metres.
“The high number of Italian exhibitors in Shanghai,” comments Raffaella Carabelli, ACIMIT President, “shows that our companies are confident of the growth of Asian markets, and China in particular. Compared to two years ago, the exhibition space booked by Italian manufacturers has grown 2%.”
Asia constitutes a constant benchmark for Italy’s textile machinery industry, absorbing 44 per cent of sales abroad. The main destinations for Italian companies are China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
The Chinese market by itself accounts for 20 per cent of Italian machinery sold abroad, for a value of 327 million euros in 2013. It is the primary destination for Italian exports.
“For many years,” continues Carabelli, “our machinery manufacturers have had a stable presence in China. Knowledge of the market is essential to satisfy new local textile demand. Today, in particular, Italian machinery producers are capable of offering sustainable technology that is attentive to water and energy consumption, while simultaneously respecting the environment, as evidenced by the strong commitment to the Sustainable Technologies project by our associated manufacturers. In today’s marketplace, for Chinese textile manufacturers to have an innovative and sustainable technology partner, such as the Italian textile machinery sector, represents an essential competitive-edge.”
ACIMIT represents around 300 companies employing roughly 11,000 people and producing machinery for an overall value of 2.3 billion euros, with exports amounting to 84 per cent of total sales. Creativity, sustainable technology, reliability and quality are the characteristics which have made Italy a global leader in the manufacturing of textile machinery.