Visitors from the Indian sub-continent accounted for 47 per cent of those who visited the VDMA (German Textile Machinery Association) member-booths at ITMA.
VDMA conducted a survey among its 230 members attending the exhibition to elicit their views on ITMA. Revealing the results to ITMA Daily News, the Chairman of the VDMA exhibition and marketing group, Mr. Hermann Selker, said the members thought the show was better than they expected and that there were more people than at ITMA in Munich four years ago.
Mr. Selker, also the Marketing Manager, Trutzschler Spinning, said the members felt the No.1 [visitor] group was from India and there were also many visitors from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Turkey.
Mr. Thomas Waldmann, VDMA Managing Director, added that Morocco, Algeria and South America were well represented in the spinning area.
Barcelona played its part in attracting so many Indian visitors, as the city is well known in India as an attractive destination for businessmen.
Said Mr. Selker: “A key topic of discussion among visitors was energy efficiency. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, in particular, there are problems regarding availability of electricity and the price is high. The VDMA Blue Competence campaign assists us in communicating the efficiency of German textile machinery.”
The year 2011 has been far better than 2010 for German textile machinery manufacturers. “There is a good mood here. Our customers are optimistic for the rest of the year. We think 2012 will be a stable year”, he added.
VDMA also welcomed a 35-strong CITI delegation to ITMA. “This is proof of the dedication of the Indian industry to German-manufactured textile machinery,” said Mr. Waldmann.
Mr. Selker disclosed that Trutzschler has a long tradition of working with India. “We have had a manufacturing plant in India for 25 years. The Indian delegation spent a long time on our booth”, he said.
VDMA now has four offices in India.