In the coming years, mass production of technical fabrics will come from India, according to Alex Zucchi, president of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers. A total of 70 Italian machinery manufacturers participated in INDEX—the reference trade fair for the nonwovens sector—that was recently held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Referring to the trade event, Zucchi told a delegate from Fibre2Fashion on the sidelines of INDEX that “the signs are positive.” He added that the use of technical fabric is increasing and predicted that “mass production of technical fabrics will come from India.”
Speaking about participation of ACIMIT members in the trade fair, Zucchi said, “INDEX is the leading trade fair for the nonwovens industry. It is therefore particularly important for ACIMIT and the Italian textile machinery industry to be present at the reference exhibition for nonwovens, a sector that has shown strong growth during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The increased demand for nonwovens, especially those intended for the medical sector (surgical masks, but also other personal protective clothing and equipment) has rewarded the Italian technological offer, rich in innovative solutions.”
When asked about participation by ACIMIT members in another big trade event, Zucchi expects for the next ITMA 2023 in Milan a massive presence of exhibitors, especially Italian ones as already happened in the 2015 edition held in Milan. He added that Milan—where the fair is scheduled to be held from June 8-14, 2023—is the global capital of textile machinery, hence Zucchi expects the event to be a bigger success than the one recorded at ITMA 2019 held in Barcelona.
ITMA 2019 featured exhibits from the entire textile and garment making value-chain, including raw materials and fabrics. It drew a record-breaking participation of 1,717 exhibitors from 45 countries and visitorship of over 105,000 from 136 countries.
With the theme ‘Transforming the World of Textiles’, ITMA 2023 will be held at Fiera Milano Rho, Milan highlighting innovations and new approaches to help and serve the global textile and garment manufacturers. The exhibition will be supported by four sub-themes: advanced materials, automation and digital future, innovative technologies, and sustainability and circularity.
