Upcoming ITMA ASIA + CITME exhibition draws renewed interest from exhibitors

Over 1,400 exhibitors from 24 countries and regions have applied to take part in the combined exhibition. 

ITMA ASIA + CITME, Asia’s leading business platform for textile machinery, continues to draw interest for its exhibition which has been rescheduled to take place from 19 to 23 November 2023 in Shanghai. To-date, over 1,400 exhibitors from 24 countries and regions have applied to take part in the combined exhibition.

Six exhibition halls of the National Convention and Exhibition Centre grossing over 160,000 square metres have been booked, according to the show owners – CEMATEX and its Chinese partners, the Sub-Council of the Textile Industry, CCPIT (CCPIT-Tex), China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA) and China Exhibition Centre Group Corporation (CIEC).

Exhibitors are also buoyant about prospects as China’s economy is projected to be performing better than expected. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently revised its forecast for China’s GDP growth upwards to 5.2 per cent in 2023 from its previous projection of 4.4 per cent last October.

“The reopening of China’s economy is pivotal for the region as China is a key driver of the expansion. Such positive news has helped textile machinery manufacturers to rebuild their confidence in the China market,” explained Ernesto Maurer, President of CEMATEX, which owns the ITMA and ITMA ASIA exhibitions.

He added, “We salute our exhibitors for keeping faith with us. Not only have they not withdrawn their participation, some have even increased their booth space. We have also received a steady stream of enquiries from new applicants.”

Gu Ping, President of China Textile Machinery Association, further commented, “Compared with the previous combined exhibition, the number of exhibitors in this edition has increased by 15 per cent, with new exhibitors accounting for 30 per cent of the total number of exhibitors. We welcome the presence of these new enterprises as they will add to a more diverse showcase of the technological innovation, and provide new vitality and impetus for the development of the textile industry.”

Many exhibitors have also increased their booth space after China eased its strict COVID rules and reopened its borders earlier this year. Among the exhibitors who have increased their space since the Chinese government’s announcement early this year are Muratec, Saurer, Savio, TMT Machinery and Trützschler.

Harald Schoepp, Managing Director of Trützschler China, said, “We have decided to enlarge our booth space because our outlook for the Chinese market is very positive and we expect more overseas visitors now. We are going to present Trützschler’s latest machinery and solutions for the spinning, nonwoven and man-made fibre industries.”