What a success: With a year to go before the show opens for the first time in China, the ITMA Asia + CITME 2008 exhibition is already sold out. The ITMA Asia + CITME 2008, which will take place in Shanghai, is scheduled to be held from 27-31 July 2008.
The 100,000 square meters (m2) of gross exhibition space at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) for the first combined show has been booked up by textile machinery manufacturers from around the world.
As applications continue to come in, the show owners European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers (CEMATEX), the Sub Council of Textile Industry, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT-TEX), China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA) and China International Exhibition Center Group Corp. (CIEC) have booked additional space at SNIEC.
800 Manufacturers From 20 Countries
ITMA Asia + CITME 2008 is organized by Beijing Textile Machinery International Exhibition Co. Ltd. and by former ITMA Asia organizer MP International Pte. Ltd. At the close of space applications in April 2007, organizers had received bookings from some 800 manufacturers from 20 countries and regions, filling all nine halls. The bulk of applications to date has come from CEMATEX countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Great Britain – and China, each taking about 45 percent of total space. Other applications have been received from manufacturers in Denmark, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.
The Japan Textile Machinery Association (JTMA), a key partner of the ITMA Asia + CITME 2008 show, will bring a strong group of exhibitors to Shanghai. Space booked so far by Japanese exhibitors has already exceeded that of ITMA Asia 2005, and more bookings are likely to come.
Two new halls which are currently under construction will be ready in time for ITMA Asia + CITME 2008. This will bring the gross exhibition area to 120,000 m2 for the combined show’s debut.
Stringent Admission Criteria
The combined show features stringent admission criteria. Only original machinery manufacturers are allowed to take part in the exhibition, no agents, and each exhibitor must show actual products. No information booths are allowed. It will be the first exhibition in China to establish an on-site Intellectual Property Protection Office. This move has been well-received by the exhibitors as it protects their intellectual property rights and enhances the quality of the exhibition.
Meanwhile, extensive promotions are being planned to invite buyers from the region to visit the combined show. Strict controls will also be implemented to ensure that only trade and professional visitors are admitted to the exhibition so as to create an excellent business platform for exhibitors and buyers.
Important Cooperation Between ITMA Asia + CITME
China’s Vice Premier Madam Wu Yi commended the strong cooperation between ITMA Asia and CITME. “The combination of two leading textile machinery exhibitions in the world’s largest textile and apparel industrial center will further facilitate the complementary cooperation between the textile industries in China and Europe, and boost prosperity and progress in a globalised world,” she said.
CEMATEX President A. E. Roberts added, “China is a very important market for our members and they are enthusiastic about the country’s potential. As a result, they are concentrating all their marketing efforts into this milestone show.”
ITMA Asia + CITME 2008 has received support from the world’s major textile machinery associations: the American Textile Machinery Association (ATMA); CTMA; CEMATEX; JTMA; Korea Textile Machinery Association (KOTMA); and Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI). These associations have also pledged that the combined show will be the only exhibition in China that they will fully support in the future.
For more information, go to www.itmaasia.com.
By Jürg Rupp, Executive Editor
