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 3rd ITMA Asia, 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.
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.
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.
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.
June 19, 2007
