Italy’s textile machinery manufacturers are preparing for an intense year, culminating in the ITMA international textile machinery exhibition in November, which returns to Milan after a 20 year absence.  Compared to the previous edition, Italian exhibitors have increased their overall exhibition surface area by 46%, according to the trade body ACIMIT (The Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers).

Year long race

For Italy’s textile machinery sector, 2015 will primarily revolve around ITMA, the industry’s global trade fair. From November 12 - 19, Milan will host the 17th edition of ITMA and for Italian textile machinery manufacturers, this has meant a year-long race to get themselves ready for the event that is held in Europe every four years.

Over 380 Italian exhibitors are registered to be present at ITMA in Milan, a 19% increase compared to those participating four years ago in Barcelona, where the last edition of ITMA was held. ACIMIT members include some of the world’s leading producers knitting and hosiery machines such as the Lonati Group and Santoni Group.

Leading country

Even greater is the surface area of exhibition space already booked for the show (+46%). As ACIMIT President Raffaella Carabelli confirms: “These figures don’t just place Italy as the leader among the countries exhibiting at the trade fair; above all, they testify to the vitality of our industry and the belief in all of us that Italy’s textile sector is enjoying a period of good health.”

While machinery manufacturers have focused on technology innovations to showcase at what has always been considered the preeminent international event for the industry, ACIMIT (the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers), thanks to the support provided by the Ministry of Economic Development and the Italian Trade Agency, has implemented a whole range of activities aimed at promoting Italy’s textile machinery sector and its participation at ITMA 2015.

Among the various initiatives planned are the incoming missions of foreign delegations which will bring to Italy during the course of 2015 close to 200 textile operators hailing from around a dozen countries (including Bangladesh, Iran, Egypt and Pakistan), in order to present to them the best of what Italian textile technology has to offer.

Awards

Thanks to the ITMA 2015 Awards, about ten students from foreign universities (Ethiopia, India, Russia and Vietnam) will get the opportunity to visit the ITMA pavilions and discover the innovations proposed by Italian textile machinery sector. All of this will be complimented by an intense press communications campaign and two media events, in June and during the event itself, with the involvement of various notable players in the Italian textile sector.

“The importance of the event has been seized by the Deputy Minister Carlo Calenda,” states Carabelli, “recognizing the significance of the textile machinery industry, a sector that exports over 80% of its production to more than 130 countries, representing Italian excellence worldwide. The support offered by the Ministry and by the Italian Trade Agency makes us proud, allowing us to confidently present the combination of tradition and innovation that has always distinguished our textile sector and made us a global leader, to all of the industry operators who will flowing into Milan in November 2015.”

“Export represents for the Italian textile machinery industry a well-established vocation, almost an innate characteristic” says Roberto Luongo, General Director of Italian Trade Agency, “and for this reason we usually support ACIMIT and the companies of the sector. We are aware that ITMA 2015 is for all Italian companies, operating in the sector, a great opportunity. So a special project to support the presence of Italian companies at the show has been prepared with the support of the Ministry of Economic Development”.

www.acimit.it