The Italian textile machinery industry is getting ready for the ITMA ASIA + CITME exhibition which will be held in Shanghai from 12-16 June where its focus will be on technologically sustainable solutions.

ITMA ASIA + CITME is the international textile machinery trade show which is held every two years in China and once again the Italian exhibitors contingent will be one of the largest. In fact, there will be 117 Italian textile machinery manufacturers showcasing their latest technologies at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

Italian products in Shanghai will be characterised by the comprehensiveness of the range and by the attention placed on the efficiency and sustainability of the technology presented. According to the machine builders association ACIMIT, visitors from all over Asia will be able to see the high technological level of ‘Made in Italy’ from spinning to weaving and from knitwear to finishing.

“China is our top market in the world," stressed Sandro Salmoiraghi, President of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers.

"In 2011, we sold €450 million worth of textile machinery to Chinese companies, 25% of our export business.”

ACIMIT says that despite the difficult economic situation of recent years, the Chinese textile and clothing sector has continued to invest in Western technology and especially in Italian technology - with annual growth of 6% over the last 5 years, Italy is the third largest supplier to the Chinese market.

“The demand from Chinese companies is increasingly more sophisticated," Salmoiraghi continued.

"In China, our customers need a qualitative upgrade in the machinery they use. Efficiency, cost reduction and environmental sustainability are issues which come up time and again in negotiations for machinery sales in China.”

Green label

The ACIMIT ‘Sustainable Technologies’ project, first presented at ITMA Barcelona last September, moves in this direction. The green label, placed on the machinery made by companies participating in the project, aims to represent transparency.

“The label contains some fundamental information on efficiency and environmental sustainability - such as, for example, the machinery's carbon footprint,” ACIMIT says.

At the ACIMIT press conference, which will be held during the next ITMA ASIA + CITME, the Association will introduce a further development of the project, which is the certification of the green label.

“At a time when sustainability is often used solely for marketing purposes, ACIMIT, by certifying its green label, gives even more substance to a project in which over 30 Italian companies have already subscribed and are wholeheartedly participating”.

ACIMIT represents an industrial sector comprising around 300 companies (employing close to 12,400 people) and producing machinery to an overall value of approximately Euros 2.7 billio, with exports amounting to 80% of total sales.

According to ACIMIT, the quality of Italian textile technology is evidenced by the high number of countries in which Italian machinery is sold - around 130 countries worldwide.