The Italian technology played a major role presenting innovative and sustainable solutions at ITMA Asia + CITME 2018. Around 130 Italian companies exhibited their latest technologies at the show. Of these, 63 manufacturers showcased their technology offerings within the National Sector Groups organized by ACIMIT, the Italian Association of Textile Machinery Manufacturers, and the ICE-Agency. The total exhibition surface area occupied by Italian businesses amounted to roughly 6,300 square meters, placing Italy among the main exhibiting nations at the event.
Asia, and China in particular, represent the primary foreign markets for Italian machinery manufacturers in the sector. Over the first half of 2018, fully 46% of Italian exports of textile machinery was destined for Asia, compared to 37% for European countries, and 12% to the Americas. The Chinese market is the main destination for Italian exports, with a 16% share of the total. Over the first six months of the current year, the value of exports amounted to 156 million euros (-8% compared to the first half of 2017). Other major export destinations for Italian machinery manufacturers in Asia include India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
“Prospects for the Chinese market remain positive, in spite of the fact that the demand for foreign machinery from local textile manufacturers for this first half of the year has been rather slow,” confirmed ACIMIT President Alessandro Zucchi. “The trust our machinery manufacturers have placed in China is abundantly apparent in the large number of Italian exhibitors present in Shanghai. Italy is among the most highly ranked foreign Countries in terms of the number of exhibiting companies.”
Demand for machinery in China is focused primarily on technologies capable of combining savings in production costs with environmental sustainability. China’s textile industry is just as sensitive to innovative solutions that can respond to the market’s changing demands; i.e., fast time-to-market and just-in-time production. “I believe that in order to enhance competitiveness at an international level, textile manufacturers in China, just as in other countries, must target the digitalization of production processes, aiming for sustainability in the technological solutions they adopt,” added Zucchi.
Italy, with its high-tech and eco-friendly manufacturers, is one of the most important players in the textile machinery industry. Italian high-quality machines will foster the China textile industry quality and will provide environmental conservation, according to Massimiliano Tremiterra, Italian Trade Commissioner in Shanghai. China is implementing policies for the reduction of carbon emissions with new measures for low carbon economy, low energy consumption, low pollution, one of the future choices in the economic development. For that reason, we think Italian textile machines eco-friendly technology, should be appropriate with Chinese policies. In Eastern China, there are the top three Provinces for textile and garment industry: Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Fujian, that along with the Provinces Guangdong and Shandong reach around 80% of the industry’s production capability. Italy remains one of the leading suppliers of textile machinery in China: for cleaning, dyeing and finishing machines, knitting, stitch-bond, lace and auxiliary machinery.
ACIMIT represents an industrial sector that comprises roughly 300 manufacturers turning out machinery for an overall worth of around 2.9 billion euros, including laundry machines, of which 84% are exported. Creativity, sustainable technology, reliability and quality are the hallmarks that have made Italian textile machinery popular worldwide.
Italian Trade Agency (ITA) is the Italian Government agency which promotes the internationalization of local companies, in line with the strategies of the Ministry for Economic Development. ITA operates worldwide from a large network of trade promotion offices linked to Italian embassies and consulates, working closely with local authorities and businesses. ITA provides information, support, and consultancy to Italian companies on foreign markets, promoting and fostering export and co-operation in all areas – capital goods, consumer goods and services – with the ultimate aim of enhancing and boosting their presence on international markets.
ITA has been in China for more than 50 years now, with four offices respectively in Beijing, Shanghai, Canton and Hong Kong, organizing hundreds of promotional activities every year to enhance trade relationships between China and Italy.