The first combined textile machinery show, ITMA ASIA + CITME 2008 opens today at Shanghai New International Expo Centre. With the joint strength of the two established brands ITMA ASIA and CITME, the combined show is by far Asia’s most important textile machinery show in terms of exhibiting space and technology.

ITMA ASIA + CITME 2008, jointly owned by CEMATEX (the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers), the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT (CCPIT-Tex), China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA) and China Exhibition Centre Group Corporation (CIEC), is organised by Beijing Textile Machinery International Exhibition Co Ltd and co-organised by MP International Pte Ltd.

A total of 1,368 exhibitors from over 30 countries and regions are exhibiting at the show, taking up all the 126,500 square metres gross in the 11 halls of the SNIEC Exhibition Centre. The net exhibiting space exceeds 73,000 square metres. Among European countries, Germany takes the largest space at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2008, totalling around 10,000 square metres net, followed by Italy with more than 7,200 square metres net, and Switzerland with over 5,000 square metres net. The show’s partner country, Japan, occupies over 3,000 square metres net. Exhibitors from the host nation, China, cover more than 33,000 square metres net.

In terms of major product categories on view, the yarn production and processing (spinning and winding) sector occupies the largest stand space area, with a total of around 30,000 square metres net. Dyeing, finishing and printing machinery cover more than 18,000 square metres net, with weaving machines and knitting and hosiery machines each taking up around 11,000 square metres net.

The owners and organisers are expecting to welcome over 100,000 visitors from all over the world during the five-day show.

ITMA ASIA + CITME 2008 has received unprecedented support from the world’s major textile machinery associations. These include: American Textile Machinery Association (ATMA), China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA), CEMATEX, the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers - which comprises ACIMIT (Italy), AMTEX (Spain), BTMA (UK), GTM (Netherlands), Swissmem (Switzerland), Symatex (Belgium), TMAS (Sweden), UCMTF (France) and VDMA (Germany) - Japan Textile Machinery Association (JTMA), Korea Textile Machinery Association (KOTMA), Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI), Turkish Textile Machinery Association (TEMSAD).

The show follows the traditional ITMA rules whereby only manufacturers of textile machinery and accessories are qualified to take part in the combined show, and exhibitors must display original equipment on their stand. This ensures that the visitors are offered a truly global perspective on technical innovations across the entire processing sequence, from fibre to finished fabric.

China International Textile Machinery Exhibition (CITME), the leading textile machinery show in China, was launched in 1988 and has to date been held every two years in Beijing, PRC, the 10th edition being held there in October 2006. The first ITMA show was held in 1951 and CEMATEX launched its ITMA ASIA show in 2001, followed by a second show in partnership with JTMA (Japan Textile Machinery Association) in 2005, both of these being held in Singapore. In April 2006, CEMATEX, CTMA, CCPIT-Tex and CIEC signed an agreement to hold a combined textile machinery show in 2008. “ITMA ASIA + CITME 2008” which opens today, is this first combined exhibition.