ITMA ASIA + CITME 2010 has received very strong support from textile machinery makers as the world economy continues its recovery momentum, organizers said today. With seven months still to go before the second combined show, over 95% of the exhibition space has already been sold.

To-date, applications grossing over 95,000M² have been received from over 1,000 exhibitors. Chinese manufacturers make up the biggest country group, booking almost 50% of the space, with European and Japanese manufacturers taking more than 35%.

In terms of sectors, spinning forms the largest, constituting around 30% of the exhibit space, followed by finishing (25%), knitting, garment making and textile processing (20%) and weaving (15%).

The enthusiastic response for the second combined exhibition comes at a time when business sentiments are becoming more optimistic, especially in the Asian markets, organizers say. The United Nations has predicted that the world economy will bounce back in 2010 with a global growth rate of 2.4%. It has also highlighted that economic growth in 2010 will be strongest in developing countries, particularly in China and India, which are expected to grow at 8.8% and 6.5% respectively.

Mr Edward Roberts, President of CEMATEX, the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers, said: "Both China and India are major textile manufacturing centres and their positive economic growth is extremely good news for the industry.

"We are delighted with the response to our exhibition. It proves that there is great need for an industry-leading platform in Asia where established textile machinery manufacturers can promote their products and services and network with their customers."

Mr Gao Yong, President of CTMA (China Textile Machinery Association), agreed: "The combined show is an excellent platform to reach Asian buyers. Even though economic conditions may be difficult at the moment, textile makers recognise that it is even more critical for them to invest in better technological solutions and to upgrade their facilities.”

"In fact, the Chinese textile industry has shown resilience despite the financial crisis, due to its policy to accelerate the pace of adoption of technology, increase worker productivity, and implement quality management standards."

According to the China National Textile & Apparel Council, China has made an investment of 241.8 billion yuan in the textile industry, between January and December 2009. This is an increase of 7.9 per cent over the same period last year. New projects registered by the textile industry totalled 6395, up 21.7% from that of the January to October 2008 period.

Organizers say that with applications for space still streaming in for the combined show, there is now very little left in the nine halls, which offer a total of 100,000 M² of exhibition space, and the show is expected to be sold out before the end of 2009.

ITMA ASIA + CITME will be held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre from 22 to 26 June 2010.

The show is owned by CEMATEX and its Chinese partners - the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT (CCPIT-Tex), China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA) and China Exhibition Centre Group Corporation (CIEC). It is organised by Beijing Textile Machinery International Exhibition Co Ltd and co-organised by MP International Pte Ltd.  The Japan Textile Machinery Association (JTMA) is a special partner of the combined show.

Those interested in exhibiting or visiting ITMA ASIA + CITME can obtain more information from www.itmaasia.com or www.citme.com.cn

The last combined show in 2008 drew 1368 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions and more than 80,000 trade visitors from 96 countries and regions.