Hot topics & themes to attract more visitors

ShanghaiTex is one of the biggest textile machinery trade shows in China. This year, ShanghaiTex 2017 focuses on the revolutionary theme like sports textile technology, smart factory, etc. to attract more related machinery makers this year. "In addition, high growth applications such as knitting in lifestyle, sport chic, fashion, customised home, smart textiles, and sustainable denim solutions are also the hot topics to highlight the theme of ShanghaiTex 2017 and attract more visitors to the show,” says Parry Chung, General Manager – Sales & Marketing, Adsale Exhibition Services Limited, the organiser of ShanghaiTex 2017, during an interaction with the ITJ. Excerpts…

What is the final count of exhibitors? What is the total space and how are the halls distributed and segmented at ShanghaiTex 2017? How does this compare with the last edition?

ShanghaiTex is one of the biggest textile machinery trade shows in China. In ShanghaiTex 2017, there will be more than 1,200 exhibitors gathered under one roof for this grand event, which occupies 1,03,500 sq m exhibiting area. ShanghaiTex is divided into five theme zones (with nine halls) according to the nature of exhibits such as knitting and hosiery machinery zone, printing/dyeing and finishing machinery zone, spinning and technical textile machinery zone, spare parts and accessories zone, weaving machinery zone, etc.

This year, ShanghaiTex 2017 focuses on the revolutionary theme like sports textile technology, smart factory etc. to attract more related machinery makers this year. In addition, high growth applications such as knitting in lifestyle, sport chic, fashion, customised home, smart textiles, and sustainable denim solutions are also the hot topics to highlight the theme of ShanghaiTex 2017 and attract more visitors to the show.

What are the expectations as far as visitors are concerned? Give us some details of the roadshows done in various countries and also the promotion carried out to attract visitors?

This year, we have strengthened our cooperation with target industry associations, and have invited professional buyers to visit the show, including delegations from Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, etc. In China, we continue to utilise our strong network with domestic associations in some main textile provinces, and target to invite 60 associations in knitting, apparel, home textile, yarn, etc. fields to visit the show. In addition to industry associations, we also worked with media partners to reach potential visitors. And this year, we have tried to work with overseas media to arrange some local professional visitors to visit ShanghaiTex 2017, enriching the show buyers in different channels. Presently, Bangladesh Textile Today has confirmed to organise a reader group to the show.

Furthermore, we also focus on the cooperation with some international brands this year. We aim to invite large overseas OEM manufacturers and conduct business matching session for them during the show.

In addition to invitation to H&M, C&A, NIKE, Anta, Decathlon, Li-Ning, etc., one of our partners, Marks & Spencer, will hold a buyer’s forum on-site, to introduce the latest development of their Plan A 2025 strategy, and discuss the latest green solutions with other top-notch industry players.

What is new about ShanghaiTex 2017 compared to earlier events? What is its special attraction for the companies and visitors? Some details on the foreign participation at ShanghaiTex as exhibitors.

At ShanghaiTex 2017, a “Smart Factory & C2M Experience Zone” will be set up to demonstrate the latest technologies of 3D body scanning, mass customisation and e-platform. A 3D fitting bus will be showcased at the zone. We welcome all the visitors come to the zone at Hall E1 to experience this smart and innovative technology under the customisation trend.

This year there will be group pavilions from Germany, Italy and Taiwan, which will add extra attractions to the show. Many world renowned exhibitors already confirmed to exhibit at ShanghaiTex 2017, including Santoni, LGL, Groz-Beckert, BTSR, Kern-Liebers, Epson, Fujifilm, Dts, Oerlikon, etc. We have also conducted interview with some industry leading enterprises which will be released soon, interested visitors can check our website www.ShanghaiTex.cn and visit our social media platforms regularly to watch the videos and learn more about what advanced machinery and technology will be showcased at ShanghaiTex 2017.

What are the other concurrent events planned along with the exhibition? Give some details.

Textile industry is undergoing a revolution in technology and production. Aiming at assisting industrial enterprises to capture the enormous business opportunities brought by industry transformation, ShanghaiTex 2017 orchestrates a series of on-site seminars with experts and scholars:

Smart Factory & C2M Experience Zone (At Hall E1)

• Textile Industry 4.0 Forum
  While Industry 4.0 has become a global trend, many big brands have infiltrated the industry 4.0 philosophy into supplier requirements. Sensibly, for textile manufacturers, realising 4.0 has become a necessity to achieve profitable growth by enhancing their adaptability to get orders, in addition to productivity optimisation. The forum will gather international experts to discuss the latest smart solutions for textile industry, assisting enterprises to find their own pace to industry 4.0.
• 3D Fitting Bus
  In cooperation with Kutesmart, a 3D fitting bus will be showcased in the zone to provide visitors an experience of smart and innovative technology under the customisation trend.

The Sports Arena (At Hall W1)

Focusing on textile technology on sports market, Concurrent Event “Sports Arena” at Hall W1 will look into three hot topics: sports bra, wearable technology, shoe technology.

Around the three themes, professional forums, competitions, thematic showcase and performance will be held at hall W1, we welcome professional buyers, exhibitors, brands, designers and all textile enthusiasts to explore the new look of textile and join us to expand your network and business opportunities!

• The Sports Bra-ology Forum + Focus Group Discussion: Many lingerie brands have launched their sports bra line under the "Sporty Athleisure” trend in recent years. While sports bra is still facing many challenges on comfort, supporting, shoulder strap design and function, Sports Arena will invite lingerie professionals to advise and host a focus group discussion on today’s sports bra wearing experience.
• Smart Textile Innovation Forum: Wearable technology has become an important momentum for the next wave of sports textiles. Research showed that the annual global turnover of smart textiles will be nearly 5 billion dollars by 2020. Many textile manufacturers and sports brands have started to develop smart wear, underwear, gloves and shoes etc. The forum will explore the latest developments in smart textiles and inspire the industry with innovative ideas on sporting goods market.
• Wearable Technology X Textile Design Competition: Award ceremony: ShanghaiTex 2017 invites all tertiary students and young designers to design a piece of smart textile product that can improve the life of the people and participate in the Wearable Technology X Textile Design Competition. The top five teams will be invited to present their projects and discuss with panel judeges.
• The Evolution of Sports Shoe Tech Forum: Running shoes have always been regarded as vital equipment for runners; The success of a pair of running shoes lies in the materials, design and technology in different parts of a shoe. Sports Arena will gather professionals from shoe uppers, sole, 3D printing to explore the latest development and trend of sports shoes.

Denim Mastermind Seminar (At Hall E1)

Denim production involves with large water consumption and wastewater discharge from denim dyeing and finishing, so it’s getting more important for denim manufacturers to introduce new technologies, equipment and auxiliaries to achieve this green transformation. This seminar will cover the latest sustainable denim design, manufacturing technology and application.

Buyer’s Forum: MARKS & SPENCER – Plan A 2025 (At Hall E1)

In 2017, Marks & Spencer has collaborated with ShanghaiTex 2017 to conduct a trendsetting forum – "Marks & Spencer – Plan A 2025". Pre-registrants of the event could stay tuned with the latest development of Plan A and discuss the latest green solutions with other top-notch industry players.

Readers from The Indian Textile Journal can enjoy free admission to these exciting events at: www.shanghaitex.cn/STX17/Event/lang-eng/Event.aspx

What is the status of the Chinese textile machinery industry, especially after the East having quit some low-tech areas?

The textile industry is one of the important traditional pillar industries in China. In recent years, as the China’s economy slowed, together with the fast-rising labor costs and pressure of the national environmental policy, the textile industry has entered transformation period. With "Made in China 2025" initiative to comprehensively upgrade Chinese industry and promotion of “Industry 4.0” philosophy from Germany, we see many textile machinery makers today are keeping up with the pace to the realisation of automation, greener and smarter production.

This year, we are proud to launch an “Exhibitor Interview Campaign”, in which our organising committees have visited and interviewed 11 premium exhibitors from Knitting, Spinning, Weaving, Digital Printing, Printing, Dyeing & Finishing sectors, including Santoni, Truetzschler, CHTC, Chemtax, Fong’s, Cixing, DTS consultant of Mouvent, Ergosoft and DDT, etc. The interview will be edited into videos and played on a big screen at the entrance during the show, so please make sure you won’t miss these fabulous videos while visiting ShanghaiTex 2017 this November.

After interview with management group and visiting their production base of these textile industry leaders in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Beijing, Fuzhou, Shenzhen etc., we witness that these pioneers are actually undergoing the upgrade and migration from labor-intensive towards more value adding tech-intensive development.

Essentially, we also see “application” became indispensable for many machinery players today. That is why the industry is paying a lot more attention and effort to open up new applications and utilisations of textile technology. Knitted shoe upper technology replacing traditional shoe production and smart garments produced by conductive yarns have been some remarkable examples of the application trend today.

We are really proud that these machinery leaders are playing an important role to bring more innovative products and drive the industry growth. As an industry pioneer and grand showcase of the world’s most innovative textile machinery, ShanghaiTex focuses more on automated textile technology application in different areas, and always presents the latest development of new textile technology applications such as fashion & apparel, sporting goods, automotive and industrial textiles, digital textiles, footwear, smart textiles, medical care, health protection and many other sectors. We welcome visitors to join our concurrent event, including seminars, competition, catwalk and showcase to spark new ideas and opportunities with us.

How about the participation of other Asian countries in ShanghaiTex? Will ShanghaiTex continue as the mainstay of showcase for the Asian textile industry?

ShanghaiTex has always been an industry event for Asian textile practitioners, especially from Pakistan, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Turkey, Japan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Israel, etc. These countries and regions always have more visitors and pre-registrations of each edition of the show.

This year, our Asian exhibitors also grows a lot, coming from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, India, Israel etc. And with the rapid growth of Asian textile industry, as well as the market demand for cost-effective machinery/equipment, ShanghaiTex will continue to be the mainstay of showcase for Asian textile industry which industry players should not be missed.