The sixth combined ITMA ASIA + CITME exhibition will be held from October 15-19, 2018 at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre (NECC) in Shanghai, China. The Research and Innovation Pavilion will debut, aiming to promote more academia and industry collaborations in the Chinese textile industry.

Over 1,700 local and international textile machinery makers from 28 economies have applied to exhibit at the sixth combined show, snapping up all of the available 170,000sqm of exhibition space to showcase state-of-the-art machinery, as well as products that boost automation and energy-saving features.

Among them, Chinese manufacturers take the largest area, followed by Germany, Italy, Japan and Switzerland.

In terms of the categories of products exhibited, spinning machinery forms the largest sector. This is followed by finishing and dyeing, knitting, weaving and nonwovens.

According to the organizer, the enthusiastic response for the exhibition is the result of China’s ongoing strategic push for innovation to enhance the global competitiveness of Chinese textile and other industry sectors under the government’s 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016 – 2020). As China’s textile industry continues its transformation, the demand for advanced machinery and technology is on the rise.

Furthermore, rising labor costs and the need to stay competitive in a challenging business environment have spawned the demand for intelligent manufacturing. Using advance information and communication technology allows effective integration of the entire textile and garment production processes. Such seamless integration will enable manufacturers to be more responsive to customers’ specific requirements.

Newly opened Research and Innovation Pavilion

Due to the overwhelming response, in addition to the six exhibition halls, the organizer also utilizes the North Hall to feature knitting, braiding and weaving machinery zones, along with a newly opened functional area - Research and Innovation Pavilion.

The special Research and Innovation Pavilion is established in order to promote cross-border exchange between the industry and institution. Exhibitors are allowed to co-locate with their partner institutes within the pavilion.

In addition, the organizer has set up a grant for eligible exhibitors to enjoy a reduced package price. This grant is provided by CEMATEX and the Consortium to help subsidize participation cost up to 50%.

The combined show is owned by CEMATEX and its Chinese partners - the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT (CCPIT-Tex), China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA) and China Exhibition Centre Group Corporation (CIEC). It is organized by Beijing Textile Machinery International Exhibition Co Ltd and co-organized by ITMA Services.  The Japan Textile Machinery Association (JTMA) is a special partner of the show.

Since 2008, the combined show has been scheduled to take place every two years. The last edition of show in 2016 was held at the NECC for the first time. It welcomed the participation of 1,673 exhibitors from 28 economies and registered a visitorship of over 100,000 from 102 countries and regions.