ITMA ASIA + CITME 2020 ended on a successful note, attracting a strong local turnout. After a delay of 8 months, the seventh combined exhibition welcomed visitorship of about 65,000 over 5 days.
Riding on positive business sentiments, following the post-epidemic economic recovery in China, exhibitors were thrilled to be able to have face-to-face contact with local buyers from the world’s largest textile manufacturing hub. In addition, they were excited to receive overseas visitors who were able to travel to Shanghai.
Yang Zengxing, General Manager of Karl Mayer (China) enthused, “Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, there were fewer overseas visitors, however, we were very satisfied with our participation in ITMA ASIA + CITME. The visitors who came to our stand were mainly decision-makers, and they were extremely interested in our exhibits and held focused discussions with us. As such, we are expecting numerous projects in the near future.”
Alessio Zunta, Business Manager, MS Printing Solutions, agreed: “We are very glad to have participated in this ITMA ASIA + CITME edition. Finally, we were able to meet our old and new customers in-person again, as well as to launch our latest printing machine which received very positive feedback at the exhibition. I am happy to see that the local market in China has almost fully recovered and we look forward to next year’s combined show.”
The combined exhibition brought together 1,237 exhibitors from 20 countries and regions. In an exhibitor survey conducted onsite with over 1,000 exhibitors, over 60 per cent of the respondents revealed that they were happy with the quality of visitors; 30 per cent reported that they concluded business deals, of which over 60 per cent estimated sales ranging from RMB300,000 to over RMB3 million within the next six months.
Attributing to the success of their participation to the vibrant demand for more automated and productivity enhancement solutions in China, Satoru Takakuwa, Manager, Sales and Marketing Department, Textile Machinery, TSUDAKOMA Corp. commented: “Despite the pandemic, we had more customers visiting our stand than expected. In China, the demand for more efficient production and labour-saving technologies are growing because costs are increasing every year. We’re glad to be able to respond to the demand.”
Another satisfied exhibitor is Lorenzo Maffioli, Managing Director, Itema Weaving Machinery China. He explained: “Being located in a pivotal market such as China, ITMA Asia + CITME has always been an important platform for our company. The 2020 edition was a special one as it represented the first international exhibition since the pandemic started.”
He added: “Despite the Covid-19 restrictions, we are very satisfied by the outcome of the exhibition as we welcomed a good number of qualified visitors at our booth. We were also very impressed by the efforts of the organisers to guarantee a safe environment for both exhibitors and guests and to manage the event in a very efficient way.”
The show owners, CEMATEX, together with its Chinese partners – the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT (CCPIT-Tex), China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA) and China International Exhibition Centre Group Corporation (CIEC) were also very pleased with the outcome of the combined exhibition, praising participants for their cooperation and support that helped ensure a smooth, successful face-to-face exhibition.
Wang Shutian, honorary president of China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA), said: “The transformation and upgrading of China’s industry has entered a stage of substantial development, and textile enterprises are investing in high-end manufacturing technologies and sustainable solutions. From the results of ITMA ASIA + CITME 2020, we can see that the combined exhibition remains the most effective business platform in China for the industry.”
Ernesto Maurer, president of CEMATEX, added: “We owe our success to the support of our exhibitors, visitors and partners. Following this coronavirus setback, the textile industry is excited to move forward. Due to a remarkable recovery in local demand, there is a need to expand production capacity quickly. Besides, textile manufacturers have resumed plans to invest in new machinery to stay competitive. We hope to welcome more Asian buyers to the next show as many were not able to make it to this edition due to travel restrictions.”
