Business

Italian Companies Register An Impressive Presence AT ITMA ASIA+CITME 2016 Shanghai

The Italian presence at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2016 showcased products by 60 companies led by the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT) and the Italian trade agency ICE, it has been officially announced.

The four Italian clusters were present at spinning and winding (Hall 1), nonwovens (Hall 2), digital printing (Hall 5) and finishing machinery (Hall 6) segments, the release stated.

“The high number of Italian exhibitors at Shanghai shows that our companies are confident about a further growth of Asian markets, and China in particular. Compared to the last edition of ITMA Asia, the space booked by Italian exhibitors has grown by 13%,” ACIMIT President Raffaella Carabelli said.

The high number of Italian exhibitors testified a positive outlook on the future of Asian markets, and Chinese one in particular. Asia, on the whole, is a constant benchmark for Italian textile machinery manufacturers, absorbing 45% of their sales abroad, the release stated.

The Chinese market is the primary destination for Italian exports. In the first half of 2016, the value of Italian machinery exported to China totaled 152 million euros (+11% over the previous year), around 17% of Italian total exports. The other main destinations of the area for Italian companies are India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

The demand for machinery in Asia focuses mainly on machines capable of combining savings in production costs with respect to environmental issues.

“Less than a year from ITMA Milan, Italian machinery manufacturers were present at Shanghai with further new proposals, aimed at providing rigorous production standards while cutting costs for energy, water, chemical products and other raw materials,” Carabelli said.

Around 40 Italian machinery manufacturers also signed up with ACIMIT’s ‘sustainable technologies’ project, committing themselves to supplying increasingly sustainable machinery, both from an economic and environmental standpoint. The project is an initiative supported by the Ministry of Economic Development and by the ICE-Italian Trade Agency, the release stated.