Online registrations stream in as international promotional campaign gears up. Organisers of the first-ever combined ITMA ASIA + CITME textile machinery show are aiming for a multinational event – with large numbers of trade buyers from the key textile-producing nations across the whole of Asia among the expected 100,000 visitors.

The exhibition, to be held in Shanghai from July 27 to 31 this year, will attract a massive audience from China itself, as delegates from the world’s most powerful textile manufacturing country seize the opportunity to view latest machinery and technology from more than 1,000 exhibitors.

There are already signs of strong interest from visitors throughout the Asian region, as online pre-registrations and group bookings from international textile organisations start to stream in. To attract even more buyers to the show an intensive promotional campaign to spread the ITMA ASIA + CITME message to many key countries has already started.

“We are confident that we will see a very significant level of visitors from all the major Asian countries,” says Maria Avery, Secretary General of CEMATEX, “and we are keen to develop this aspect of the exhibition to maximise the benefits of the new combined-show concept for both exhibitors and visitors.”

CEMATEX, the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers, is joint owner of ITMA ASIA + CITME 2008 together with a Chinese consortium made up of CCPIT (Sub-council of Textile Industry, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade), CTMA (China Textile Machinery Association), and CIEC (China International Exhibition Centre Group Corporation).

ITMA ASIA + CITME 2008 will fill all the halls of the Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre (SNIEC) - more than 126,500 square metres -- and with all stand space now sold out, it will be the biggest textile machinery exhibition ever to be staged in China. It will, like the previous ITMA ASIA and CITME shows, cover the full range of textile machinery and accessories, from fibre to finishing.

The pan-Asia appeal of the exhibition will build on the success of the two previous ITMA ASIA events, in Singapore in 2001 and 2005, as well as the CITME shows, the most recent of which, in 2006, attracted an estimated 10% of its 35,000 visitors from outside the People’s Republic of China.

CIEC reports that the online registration facility for the show was opened at the beginning of December, and among the very first to take advantage were delegates from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Thailand, as well as from further afield in the Americas, Africa and Europe.

Says a CIEC spokesperson Anne Zheng “The multinational visitor profile illustrates the already wide-ranging acknowledgement of the value of the ITMA ASIA + CITME 2008 concept. It is also important to note that pre-registered visitors will enjoy 40% discount off the normal ticket price.”

Visitor promotion gears up

The early months of 2008 also see the start of a series of promotional activities by the show organiser, beginning with a roadshow which takes in eight cities in India: Coimbatore, Erode, Tirupur, Madurai, Mumbai, Surat, Ahmedabad and Ludhiana. This will be followed by marketing campaigns at textile shows in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia and Vietnam. Supporting press conferences are planned at the Indonesian event, in Bandung, and in Ho Chi Minh City for the Vietnamese show, both during April.

Several textile representative bodies from the major Asian countries have already notified the organisers that they will bring sizeable delegations to ITMA ASIA + CITME 2008. Among these are: Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, Vietnam Textile and Apparel Administration Board of the Ministry of Trade of Vietnam and the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association. Groups from other countries, such as Thailand and Korea, are expected to join that list shortly.

Says Anne Zheng: “Over the next couple of months these groups will start to finalise their visitors' registration, visa application and accommodation arrangements, and we will then have a clearer idea of precise numbers, but we are extremely pleased with this initial high level of commitment. We expect that India and Indonesia will provide the biggest groups of visitors.”

Visitor promotion in China will start in late February, after Chinese New Year, and will target individuals and trade organisations, as well as campaigns at local textile shows. Important Chinese groups bringing in large delegations include China Cotton Textile Association, China Wool Textile Association, China Bast & Leaf Fibres Textiles Association, China Chemical Fibre Association, China Dyeing and Printing Association, China Knitting Industrial Association and China Nonwovens Industrial Textile Association.

ITMA ASIA + CITME 2008 is the only Asian exhibition to have full backing from CEMATEX and CTMA. JTMA (Japan Textile Machinery Association) is a special partner of the event, which is also supported by all the world’s leading textile machinery associations. The combined show now forms part of a global programme of textile machinery events that includes the four-yearly ITMA in Europe, which is owned by CEMATEX.