The world’s largest textile and garment technology exhibition has gathered together a record 1,717 exhibitors from 45 countries to this year’s event in Barcelona. The full house meant another 250 companies had to be turned away.
“The exhibition would have been larger if we had not turned away applicants due to a lack of space,” said Charles Beauduin, chairman of ITMA Services, organiser of ITMA 2019. “Unfortunately, we could not accommodate a wait-list of about 250 applicants who booked some 8,200 square metres.”
Fritz P. Mayer, president of the organisers the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers (CEMATEX), said: “The global economy is still facing challenges, accentuated by trade tensions and disruption. However, textile being the world’s oldest manufacturing industry has demonstrated its resilience over the years.
“This is also the spirit of our exhibitors who continually innovate and launch new technologies and solutions. We are glad that ITMA has been providing a reputable platform for textile machinery manufacturers to market their innovations. This has enabled us to record the largest number of exhibitors in ITMA’s history.”
The exhibits are showcased over 114,500 square metres of net exhibit space, a 9 per cent increase over the previous edition in 2015. The exhibition occupies all nine halls of the Gran Via venue, including the space under the linkway. To allow more companies to participate, many exhibitors were allocated lesser stand space than what they had originally applied for.
ITMA released a series of videos with daily highlights from the show.
Beauduin said: “ITMA has also evolved into a more international exhibition with a rich diversity of technology offerings from both East and West. Almost half of the total number of exhibitors are from non CEMATEX countries. This augurs well for the development of ITMA into a definitive textile and garment platform for the industry.”
Reflecting the international composition of the participants, the largest number of exhibitors are from Italy (364 exhibitors), China (276 exhibitors), Germany (222 exhibitors), India (169 exhibitors) and Turkey (164 exhibitors).
CEMATEX countries continue to occupy the largest exhibit space, taking up 65% of the total net exhibit space.
The theme of ITMA 2019 is ‘Innovating the World of Textiles’. To support the innovation drive, CEMATEX has introduced the ITMA Innovation Lab. A new umbrella branding of a series of activities, the Lab includes the Research and Innovation Pavilion, ITMA Speakers Platform, ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award and Innovation Video Showcase. Speakers from the industry have been invited to share their perspectives and experiences at the Speakers Platform which will be held from 21 to 25 June.
ITMA 2019 is being held 20-26 June in Barcelona.
