Despite the fact that the coronavirus pandemic continues to have an impact on international business travel, the Belgian textile machinery technology industry is gearing up for what is expected to be the first major Asian showcase towards the post-pandemic relaunch of the economy.
Preparations for the seventh edition of ITMA ASIA + CITME are going as planned!
ITMA ASIA + CITME 2020 will take place from 12 to 16 June 2021 at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre (NECC) in Shanghai. It will be held over 6 halls with a gross exhibition space of 170,000 square metres. Among the major Belgian exhibitors are Picanol, Vandewiele, BMSvision, Bonas and Hammer-IMS.
Luc Tack, CEO of Picanol and President of Symatex commented: “The trade show represents an important platform to help us connect with the Asian buyers at a time when the global economy is improving. ITMA ASIA + CITME is, without doubt, the most important trade show for the textile industry in Asia.
As China is one of the most important markets for textile machines, it gives us the ideal opportunity to be closer to our customers. And we can only realize this objective by being present in the very heart of this market. Missing the show in June is simply not an option for the Symatex members, and we are extremely confident that our presence will have a positive impact in terms of realizing our ambitious commercial goals for 2021!”
Stijn Pauwels, Secretary General of Symatex agrees: “Our Belgian companies are eager to resume their international marketing and sales efforts. The positive economic growth is excellent news for the industry, recovery will take some time but we fully embrace opportunities like ITMA ASIA + CITME 2020 to accelerate the commercial relaunch. Our Belgian exhibitors are certainly gearing up for a strong showcase in Shanghai!”
Answering the Asian industrial needs
As offering the most performing technology is the key to customer success, the Belgian machinery industry is strongly R&D driven, and is one of the nation’s biggest investor in R&D. It invests 8% of its added value in R&D and employs over 11% of the total Belgian manufacturing industry research head count.
The industry accelerated its research efforts on energy efficiency in the last decade and achieved an average energy consumption reduction for its products of 18%. The long term strategy directs the Belgian machinery industry towards continuous strategic and open innovation to accelerate its product development pace and to provide its customers with cutting edge technology. Symatex, managed by Agoria (the Belgian federation of the technology industry), is active in both the economic and technical areas to support its members. The ITMA ASIA + CITME 2020 visitors will have the privileged opportunity to find out about the latest innovations.
