According to the VDMA, German exhibitors at ITMA drew very positive conclusions from September's ITMA 2011 in Barcelona.

83% of exhibiting VDMA members assessed their overall experience of the fair as good to very good. 91% said the quality of visitors was good to excellent and a survey of the German exhibitors, 134 of whom responded, showed that more than two thirds of the participants had already closed deals before the end of the show.

"ITMA 2011 has exceeded the expectations of the VDMA member companies, regarding the number of visitors, the quality of the leads as well as the orders received. The ITMA fair in Barcelona proved to be an excellent opportunity to highlight the pioneering position of German technology and to demonstrate the exceptional innovative strengths of the VDMA members", emphasises Fritz P. Mayer, Chairman of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association and CEO of Karl Mayer Group.

The VDMA says the survey reveals the standing of ITMA as the world's leading textile machinery hub impressively. 56% of the participants stated that ITMA has very big to big advantages compared to other trade fairs on the same theme. Based on the experiences of the fair in Barcelona, 92% of the responding exhibitors stated that they will exhibit at the next ITMA 2015 in Milan.

While ITMA Barcelona is now history, the preparations for the next big show ITMA ASIA, taking place from 12 to 16 June 2012 in Shanghai, have started. By mid October, 93 companies from Germany already registered for the leading Asian exhibition and increased their space applications significantly by 20% compared to ITMA ASIA 2010.

The VDMA expects the German participation at ITMA ASIA 2012 will definitely be higher in terms of square metres and number of companies. In the 2010 show 103 German companies participated.