FIMAST, the B2B event for the hosiery and socks manufacturing supply chains, organized by Italian Exhibition Group, will take place from 19-22 October 2021 at the Brixia Forum in Brescia. The rescheduled event returns to the heart of the two Italian districts of Brescia for textile machinery and complementary technologies, and of Mantua for yarns and hosiery factories. In order to also reconnect the international community online, the new FIMAST CONNECT virtual platform will be available as early as April.

“For the restart of the sector, the fifth edition of the international biennial event - from 2019 in the IEG exhibition portfolio of events - will gather yarns, production technologies, machinery and finished products, services and accessories in the Brescia exhibition centre,” organisers said in a statement this morning. “It will be the first opportunity for Italian and international operators, after the forced stop due to the pandemic, to reconnect with the market to develop the business and discuss the future, finally live and in presence, with all the protagonists of innovation and most significant market trends. On stage, therefore, new products such as ‘seamless’ that caters to the technical sports sector, the knitted shoe, a footwear born from the encounter between shoe factories and hosiery factories, or solutions for the healthcare sector,” IEG said.

“In a rapidly evolving scenario, the format will combine the physical presence of Italian and foreign exhibitors and buyers at the event, with FIMAST CONNECT, an advanced business matching platform to facilitate the interaction with international operators unable to reach Italy for any mobility restrictions still in place. Starting from the month of April, the new tool developed by IEG will provide exhibitors not only with an easy solution to organize the agenda of business meetings both in person and remotely, but also with an online showcase to present their news on international markets through numerous features. In fact, companies will be able to organize webinars, presentations and training meetings,” the organisation continued.

“FIMAST will also give space to professional updating thanks to the partnership with the Centro Servizi Calza (CSC) and the Associazione Distretto Calza e Intimal (A.DI.CI.) which will investigate the industrial and economic scenarios of textile machinery.”

According to the latest data available, IEG says, the national production which has a strong tradition in the Italian manufacturing system, in 2018, it reached 2.5 billion euros in value, thanks to around 330 companies and 10,000 workers employed in the Mantua district alone (Castelgoffredo).

According to the organisation, a good 83% of the machinery produced in Italy is exported to around 130 countries: ranging from spinning machines to those for dyeing, through maintenance and, of course, hosiery. In 2019, the export value of hosiery was 480 million euros (CERSI elaboration on ITC data).

FIMAST, the international tradeshow dedicated to the entire hosiery industry is a biennial B2B event now in its fifth edition. It will be held in the Brixia Forum Expo Center in Brescia (Italy). Opening hours: from Tuesday 19 October 2021 to Thursday 21 October 2021 from 9am to 6pm; Friday October 22d, 2021 from 9am to 2 pm. Unique in Italy for the sector, it offers the latest world news on textile machines for hosiery and socks manufacturing. Thanks to the presence of large hosiery factories, it opens scenarios for the major yarn producers in the key districts of this sector in Italy: in Brescia, the headquarters of the main machinery district for this type of article, and in Mantua for the finished product.

FIMAST Website