Increasing population figures worldwide as well as dynamic economic growth, especially in developing and newly industrialising countries, are the main reasons for the rapidly increasing need for textiles and related materials. Increases in demand of more than four percent by 2015 are currently estimated. This is good news for the producers of textile machines represented at ITMA 2007. They can expect well-filled order books in the long term.

A high degree of economic growth is currently mainly observed in countries and regions with large populations such as China, India and Southeast Asia. The per capita consumption of textile fibres is between three and nine kilograms annually there, while it is substantially higher in the USA and Western Europe at 35 and 20 kilograms respectively. This great difference in connection with the increasing wealth and fashion consciousness in newly industrialising and developing countries is opening up impressive growth potential for the textile industry. In industrial countries, on the other hand, the reasons for the textile demand can be found mainly in the high-tech sector. Technical textiles are increasingly replacing established materials such as metal or plastic in the building materials industry, automobile construction, environmental technology and the aerospace industry.

In the current decade, global fibre consumption for the various textile applications has increased by an average of four percent annually and was at 64.8 million tons in 2005. If this growth trend continues, fibre consumption will already surpass the value of 80 million tons in 2010.

The focal point of fibre production is in Asia, which has 78 percent of the spindles installed worldwide. China is the uncontested leader in the world market there. Other significant production sites are India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Vietnam. The production of textiles has been declining in Western Europe and the USA for years, especially for clothing and household textiles. The increasing production for industrial and technical applications compensates somewhat for that. For example, especially technical textiles with the highest demands on quality are produced in Europe. Machines for producing technical textiles in the halls of spinning to making-up will be seen at ITMA 2007.

The cited developments are good news for the manufacturers of textile machines, because they increase the demand for high-performance machines and systems. Substantial need for replacements and modernisation, especially in newly industrialising and developing countries, strengthen this trend additionally. Consequently, an increase in the global demand for textile machines can be expected of at least four percent annually until the year 2010. The global market volume will increase from a current 23.5 billion US dollars to almost 30 billion US dollars. Europe will defend its leading position as machine manufacturer, but its market share will probably decrease. Increases can be expected for textile machine manufacturers operating in Asia – especially China – who will also increasingly offer their products worldwide.

This development is also reflected in the registrations for ITMA 2007 received till now. The net exhibition area of Asian companies already surpasses the value of 2003 by 19 percent with more than 11,500 square metres. Especially suppliers from China, India and Japan have booked substantially larger areas than at ITMA 2003 in Birmingham. With an increase of approximately 10 percent, Turkey is the country with the largest representation of exhibitors out of Western Europe. With this, ITMA underlines its aspiration to be the industry’s most comprehensive and global performance show impressively once again.


About ITMA
In the halls of the New Munich Trade Fair Centre, the latest products of the international textile machinery industry will be presented on 13 - 20 September 2007. The European umbrella organisation CEMATEX, which comprises nine European member associations, is the owner of ITMA and has selected the Textile Machinery Association of the VDMA to engage Messe München to hold the event in 2007. This leading international trade fair of the textile machinery industry takes place at intervals of four years at different exhibition locations and attracts around 100,000 visitors and 1,300 exhibitors from all over the world. ITMA 2007 will occupy the entire exhibition area of the New Munich Trade Fair Centre.


About Messe München International (MMI)
Messe München International (MMI, Munich Trade Fairs International Group) is one of the world’s leading trade-fair companies. It organises around 40 trade fairs for capital and consumer goods, and key high-tech industries. Each year over 30,000 exhibitors from more than 100 countries, and over two million visitors from more than 200 countries take part in the events in Munich. In addition, MMI organises trade fairs in Asia, Russia, the Middle East and South America.


For further information, go to: www.itma.com