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Industry Talk

ACIMIT shares optimistic forecast for Italian textile machinery

At ACIMIT’s General Assembly, participants actively discussed the year 2015, which is expected to bring growth opportunities to the sector.

6th July 2015

Innovation in Textiles
 |  Milan

Industrial, Clothing/​Footwear

Despite ups and downs experienced by the industry in 2014, Italy’s textile machinery sector looks optimistically to the current year, ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, reports.

ITMA, the industry’s most important trade fair, returns to Italy in 2015 after twenty years, providing an opportunity to showcase Italian technology and stimulate new investments of textile sector in Italy and Europe.

“Thanks to the great level of economic and organizational support from the Ministry for Economic Development and Italian Trade Agency, we’re able to promote the presence of Italian businesses at the November trade fair through a wide range of initiatives,” explained Raffaella Carabelli, ACIMIT’s President.

Transitional year

The year end data of 2014, a transitional year for the industry, were presented at the General Assembly of ACIMIT that took place last month. According to ACIMIT, production dropped by 1% compared to 2013, coming in at a value of just over EUR 2.3 billion. After falling the two previous years, exports confirmed the value of the preceding year, at around EUR 1.95 billion.

Italian exports were destined primarily to Asia and Europe. Overall, these two areas absorbed 81% of sales abroad, the association reports. However, whilst Italian textile machinery exports to European markets grew compared to last year, they actually fell in Asia.

Italian textile machinery exports to main Countries - million euro (1st quarter 2015). © ACIMIT

China remains one of the main export markets, although sales of Italian machinery fell by 25% in 2014 compared to the previous year, a result of less robust economic growth than was expected. On the other hand, exports to India, Bangladesh and Vietnam were on the rise, and Italian textile machinery manufacturers also did well in Turkey, the US and Iran.

Positive forecast

At ACIMIT’s General Assembly, participants actively discussed the year 2015. In particular, relying to the macroeconomic factors affecting the industry, Italian textile machinery makers believe that the domestic market expects to see more investments in machinery by textile companies, which will benefit from a weaker euro to boost exports. Abroad, on the other hand, the association expects the recovery of the demand from China, the leading market for Italian exports.

With these forecasts in hand, ITMA 2015, the textile machinery sector’s main trade fair will be a driving force capable of energizing Italian and European investments in the textile industry, the association reports.

Italian textile machinery exports by area (1st quarter 2015). © ACIMIT

“Our manufacturers are very confident about the event next November,” commented Raffaella Carabelli. “As shown by the preliminary figures on the presence of Italian companies at the fair: a total of nearly 430 exhibitors, covering around 31,000 square meters, for an increase in occupied surface area of over 50% compared to the previous edition in Barcelona. Fully 30% of the total exhibition space at ITMA will be taken up by Italian machinery manufacturers.”

Important production sector

“There’s no doubt that within Italy the textile machinery industry is one of the country’s most important production sectors, due to its strong showing on the international markets,” said Roberto Luongo, the General Director of Italian Trade Agency.

“Our textile technologies are considered of a very high qualitative level, which is an element of great pride and satisfaction for us, which urges us to support Italian businesses in an increasingly convinced and determined manner, through an effective, well-established and proven collaboration with the trade association.”

“The ITMA trade fair in Milan represents a unique opportunity for Italy’s textile machinery industry, which is why, with the huge financial support from the Ministry for Economic Development, a well defined project has been set up in partnership with ACIMIT, known as the Special ITMA Milano 2015 Project, with the aim of allowing the numerous Italian machinery manufacturers at the fair to maximize their own individual efforts.”

www.acimit.it

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