The halls were spacious & visitor-friendly, everything was spick & span, and except for the last two days, crowds continued to pour in huge numbers; ITMA Munich conveyed the impression that it was unique in more than one way, for the exhibitors as well as visitors.

The internationalisation and globalisation of the textile industry was impressively reflected at ITMA 2007 in Munich. This 15^th International Exhibition of Textile Machinery, running from 13 to 20 September, attracted 1,18,000 trade visitors from 149 countries to the New Munich Trade Fair Centre. Forty-five per cent of the visitors came along to the event for the first time. Never before have visitors from so many different countries attended ITMA.

"ITMA is the leading trade fair for textile machinery manufacturers. We have found that at this fair visitor quality is really superb, from all over the world. And we get to talk to some really top people here, who you only rarely get to see. It all went extremely smoothly," commented Heinrich Trützschler, managing director of Trützschler GmbH & Co KG Textilmaschinenfabrik and chairman of the ITMA Committee. Edward Roberts, CEMATEX president and chief executive officer of Vanwyk Systems BV: "For us in CEMATEX ITMA 2007 here in Munich was a very, very positive experience. This year's event was very international, not only in terms of quantity but also quality of visitors."

After Germany, the other countries in the group of top ten as regards visitor numbers were (in this order): Italy, India, Turkey, Brazil, France, Switzerland, Spain, Iran and Belgium. Interest from the countries of Central and South America was particularly strong - for example over 4,500 trade visitors came from Brazil, over 2,000 from Argentina and over 1,500 from Mexico. In total ITMA 2007 attracted around 12,000 visitors from Central and South America.

During the period of the fair, over 95,000 trade visitors from abroad came to the event. This represents over 80 per cent of the total number of visitors. "This superb result for ITMA 2007 is a reflection of the excellent cooperation between CEMATEX, VDMA and Messe München, as an international trade fair organiser with a worldwide sales network," said Johann Philipp Dilo, managing director of DILO Maschinensystem GmbH, Germany.

A survey of all exhibitors conducted by market researchers Gelszus Messe-Marktforschung GmbH provided evidence of the very international scope and high quality of trade visitors. Over 86 per cent of the exhibitors described the international scope as "good" to "excellent"; over 88 per cent gave the same rating to the quality of visitors. "We appreciate the high quality of the visitors and with it the professional and very interesting discussions," said Chris Dewulf, president & chief executive officer PICANOL Group, Belgium.

Another highlight was the 'Research & Education Area', in Hall B2, organised for the first time in the history of ITMA. About 1,365 trade visitors attended the 30 or so lectures held in the 'Speaker's Corner' here. "We very much welcome the initiative to offer an attractive accompanying programme. It is particularly valuable for the up-and-coming young professionals in the textile industry," said Dr Carsten Voigtländer, CEO Oerlikon Textile, Germany. "ITMA was thus not just a 'Place for Innovation', but also a 'Place for Education'."

In total 1,451 companies from 38 countries presented the latest developments and technical innovations for the entire textile chain to visitors and competitors, in a display covering 1,02,000 square metres of exhibition space. This breadth and depth was highly valued overall by the participants - 67 per cent of trade visitors and almost 65 per cent of exhibitors gave ITMA 2007 significantly higher marks this time than at previous events. "For us as the organiser, we are very pleased about this high rating from the participants in ITMA 2007 - they valued our professional organisation, highly modern exhibition centre and our worldwide network," said Eugen Egetenmeir, Deputy Managing Director of Messe München GmbH. Erich Thies, managing partner of Thies GmbH & Co, Germany, adds: "ITMA here in Munich is the best ITMA I have ever experienced."

Comments from exhibitors & visitors

Akduman, Kerim Dursun, General Manager, Proses Makina, Türkey

"We came here to meet people and we got to know many agents. We were also able to focus on our competitors and see the direction development goes in future times."

Bourgois, Danny, Sales Coordinator, Van De Wiele, Belgium

"ITMA proved once again to be the most important exhibition for the textile machinery industry. For us, ITMA 2007 was successful and we are very optimistic for the near future. We are happy about the quality of the visitors, as they were mostly decision makers. The exhibition site here in Munich is very well equipped for organising events like this."

Caccia Dominioni, Ambrogio, President, Reggiani Macchine, Italy

"Munich is a location which is well-known. For me, Munich is the best location in Europe." Corain, Luciano, Presidente, SMIT Spa, Italy "An ITMA in Europe is always an important event. The target of showing innovative and new machinery is reached successfully. ITMA here in Munich is very satisfying for us. We have lots of important executives visiting our booth."

Carpenter Eric, Vice President, Navis Global, USA

"After making a bold marketing move to launch under a new brand name we are being rewarded by positive feedback from the market place. Two new products were launched under our new name "Navis Global". We experienced a very hash traffic level particularly from South Asia."

Dewulf Chris, President & CEO PICANOL Group, Belgium

"ITMA 2007 is the most important market place to show our new product portfolio and all the efforts, being related to our new developments. So far we had been quite successful here at the fair. We appreciate the high quality of the visitors and with it the professional and very interesting discussions. Munich as the venue and organiser of the show was an excellent choice."

Dilmen Murat, Executive Director, Dilmenler Makina Ve Tekstil San Tic AS, Türkey

"We prepared some new technology to show at ITMA and also had success with it. We were also lucky with our booth. It is placed very well. We heard about the Research and Education Area but unfortunately did not have enough time to go there."

Ikeda Yuji, Sales & Marketing Group, Mimaki Europe BV, Netherlands

"ITMA is very important for us as the textile market is developing very much. As a producer you have to take part. We developed two machines with unique technology only for ITMA. The organisation of this ITMA is excellent. Everything is clearly structured. The quality of the visitors is very good."

Karasuno Masaki S, Creative Director, Shima Seiki Ltd, Japan

"ITMA is still a leading trade fair for the textile machinery industry and Munich was a very good place to host this trade fair. The halls are incredibly big and the organisation was very smooth. Munich is a really great city - we had a great time here."

Kelly David, Director, Textiles Human Resources Council, Canada

"ITMA 2007 was extremely well organised and laid out very well. For us, the Research & Education Area was very successful. After our presentation, loads of people came directly to our booth. It would be terrible if they would stop to have a Research & Education Area as education is a real commodity."

Kok Malcolm, Sales Representative, Pai Lung Machinery Mill Co Ltd, Taiwan

"We are very happy because we attracted the audience with our machine shows and we have made successful deals. The visitors came form all over the world and were not only visitors: They knew a lot."

Krause Russ J, Vice-President Sales, Foster Needle Co Inc, USA

"The communication and the way the fair was handled was great. The hall and how to get to the show was very clear, the transportation was very good. Overall there was a good attendance. We are very busy with Europeans and we are very pleased. The way the halls are laid out is very good and convenient."

Manes Roberto, Manager Research & Development, Aleph srl, Italy

"Our main target is to find new dealers especially from Brazil and Spain, but also from France and South Korea. We have already met a lot of companies and as it looks so far there are some very good prospects for Aleph. We are very satisfied with ITMA 2007."

Pellissetti Daniele, Order Administration & Advertising Manager, Savio Macchine Tessili SpA, Italy

"ITMA 2007 was a very useful exhibition for us. We had a large number of visitors, whose quality was extremely good. Additionally, the visitors came from all over the world. In Europe, ITMA is the most important exhibition for us and this trade fair was - as always - a very successful event for us."

Pilotelli Pierpaolo, Manager for Turkey & Brazil, Pilotelli Macchine Tessili, Italy

"The visitors at ITMA 2007 were very international and specific. It was a good platform to establish new contacts. For us, ITMA 2007 was very successful. Moreover, the organisation was really very good."

Robinson Alan W, Textile Systems Sales Manager, Morrison Textile Machinery Co, USA

"First class facility. Messe München takes good care of all details. Accommodation and transportation in Munich are very good to support an event like ITMA."

Suzuki Toru, Manager Sales Dept, Toyota Industries Corporation, Japan

"ITMA is one of the best textile shows, we are very satisfied. The visitors came from all over the world and those visitors are potential customers. Our aim to make contacts is clearly reached. As the main textile market is in Asia, ITMA is a good opportunity to find new customers and show our innovations to the European market. The organisation is fantastic, everything is perfect."

Turner Gary A, Business Development Manager, USA

"ITMA 2007 was a very important show for DuPont™ Artistri™. The quality and knowledge of the ITMA attendees was excellent and we exceeded our expectations for the show. At ITMA 2003 we introduced the DuPont concept of digital textile printing. At ITMA 2007 we were able to demonstrate the advances we have made with our technology. For the textile market ITMA is the most important show DuPont participates in."

Varadaraj Sridhar, Managing Director, Premier Evolvics Pvt Ltd, India

"The organisation of ITMA 2007 was very good, but as ITMA takes place in Germany we did not expect anything else. For exhibitors and visitors it is a perfect service to have the public transport included in the entrance tickets. We are very happy about the numbers of Turkish and South American visitors."

Yong Zhang, Vice Managing Director, Pacific Mechatronic, China

"ITMA 2007 was of great value for us because it offers lots of chances for business. The visitors came from all over the world - it was very international. Additionally, there were many potential buyers. As to Munich, the area here is wonderful and the organisation was absolutely perfect."

ITMA 2011 goes to Barcelona in Spain

The 16th ITMA presentation will be held in Barcelona in 2011. This will be the first time that an ITMA exhibition will be staged in a Spanish city. ITMA will be held at the new state-of-the-art Fira de Barcelona Gran Via venue from 23 to 30 September 2011 inclusive.

One of Europe's most dynamic and attractive cities, Barcelona is a metropolis which is fully equipped to host congresses, conventions and exhibitions of various sizes, supported by an inventory of over 40,000 hotel rooms.

CEMATEX secretary general, Miss Maria Avery said, "Barcelona has hosted a great number of leading international events and congresses. We are confident that its excellent infrastructure and hospitality services will be very well-equipped to handle the vast requirements of the ITMA exhibition.

"The September dates are also likely to be very popular with our exhibitors and visitors as the climate in Barcelona at that time should be perfect."

The general manager of Fira de Barcelona, Mr Agustín Cordón, emphasised: "ITMA's celebration in Barcelona fits perfectly with the interest of our organisation in offering answers to companies current needs, and to provide a logistical and organisational framework to host great international events of strategic interest."

MPI as Organiser

The decision to appoint Singapore-based MP International (MPI) to organise ITMA 2011 was taken at a CEMATEX general assembly held in Maastricht, The Netherlands, in June 2007.

CEMATEX president, Mr A E Roberts explained, "In the past, for each exhibition, we appointed an organiser based in the ITMA host city. However, to take ITMA and ITMA ASIA forward on a long-term basis, we have taken the decision to collaborate with an experienced partner who is totally familiar with ITMA's regulations and equally committed to achieve our objectives."

The appointment is a milestone for MPI as it is the first Singapore-based professional exhibition organiser (PEO) to be appointed to organise the world's biggest textile machinery show.

Mr Roberts added, "We've had two successful collaborations already with MPI when they organised our ITMA ASIA shows in 2001 and 2005. They are also our chosen co-organiser of the first ITMA ASIA + CITME combined show, which will be held in Shanghai in 2008."

"We have been impressed with the professionalism and dedication displayed by the MPI team and the excellent support they render. Hence, it was a logical and popular decision. We welcome MPI as our partner for ITMA 2011."

MPI chairman, Mr James Chia said, "We would like to thank CEMATEX for their vote of confidence. It is a great honour for us to organise ITMA in Europe. Having had the experience of handling two ITMA Asia exhibitions, and the upcoming show in China, we have gained the expertise to add value to ITMA Europe.

"Being part of an international group, MPI will tap into its extensive worldwide network and resources. It will also leverage on the group's vast experience in handling mega projects around the world, including the Olympics events in Europe."

Ms Sylvia Phua, chief executive officer of MPI and project director of ITMA 2011, enthused, "Innovation is the key to success in today's globalised, knowledge-based economy. For many years, ITMA has been a catalyst for change and competitiveness for leading textile makers around the world."

"We will work with CEMATEX to further strengthen the ITMA brand and its relevance to the industry. Part of our plan is to integrate new initiatives that will build on ITMA's current success and firmly entrench the exhibition as THE international business platform for the global textile industry."