IMB lives up to its claim of being the sector's top event - 509 companies from 34 countries took part in the textile processing industry's leading trade fair - Approximately 20,000 trade visitors from 100 nations attended the World of Textile Processing - Nearly all of the world's leading companies in this sector were represented at IMB in Cologne.

After four days, IMB 2009 - World of Textile Processing, ended on Friday, April 24, 2009, and the trade fair's exhibitors and visitors indicated they were entirely satisfied with the event. A total of 509 companies from 34 countries presented themselves - and their talents for innovation - to the international trade visitors at the textile processing industry's leading trade fair. "IMB 2009 thoroughly lived up to its claim of being the sector's top event," concluded Gerald Böse, Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse. "Nearly all the market leaders from Germany and around the world were represented at IMB in Cologne. They generated new momentum for the sector and sent a positive signal at the right time concerning the future development of the industry. That is what makes a sector-leading trade fair stand out from the rest."

Elgar Straub, Managing Director of the VDMA German Garment and Leather Technology Association, the conceptual sponsor of IMB, agreed: "This was what the sector needed: an IMB to demonstrate the sector's innovative power in line with the highest international standards, while serving as the ideal sector meeting place. Also important is for the exhibitors to offer a good spectrum of products and services and to reach the right visitor target groups. IMB 2009 succeeded on both counts."

Of the roughly 20,000 visitorsfrom 100 countries that were registered for IMB 2009, more than 50 percent came from outside Germany. As expected, the number of visitors from abroad was down due to the worrisome economic conditions. The turnout of visitors from European countries (including Germany), however, remained stable and strong. This also was confirmed by Eva Jubitz, Marketing Director of Lectra Deutschland GmbH: “IMB went very well for our company. We were pleasantly surprised that the fair surpassed our expectations. Not only was the turnout of visitors very good, their decisionmaking power also was very impressive. They were mostly from India, Russia and Germany.” Dr. Andreas Seidl, CEO of Human Solutions GmbH, welcomed fewer visitors at his company’s stand, especially from North and South America, but he was nonetheless quite satisfied with IMB: “On every day of the trade fair we made about 30 percent more customer contacts than at IMB 2006. As far as we are concerned, the turnout of trade visitors and their decision-making credentials was a very welcome surprise.”

Exhibitors have high praise for trade visitors’ decision-making status The very high level of decision-making responsibility of the IMB trade visitors was the object of almost unanimous praise by the fair exhibitors. “Although there were fewer visitors than at the 2006 event, the quality of the discussions and the contacts made increased considerably,” summed up Petra Grathwohl, Sales & Marketing Manager Industry of Gütermann SE. Thomas Willing, Managing Director of Avery Dennison Central Europe GmbH, also was very impressed by IMB: “It was simply a super trade fair, a complete success. We welcomed many more trade visitors than in 2006. And they were top decisionmakers.” The high level of decision-making responsibility among the trade visitors was confirmed by the results of an independent visitor survey: The survey respondents said that about 80 percent of visitors are involved in purchasing and procurement decisions, and 33 percent even play decisive roles in the decision-making prcess.

One of the main reasons that IMB is sosuccessful is because it brings together what belongs together: This is where the producers of textile processing machines can directly meet with the “users” of their products — with the managing directors, technical directors, engineers and procurement managers of manufacturing companies from the textile industry processing industry. In short, they meet with the real decision-makers in the industry. For example, 33 percent of visitors work in management positions, 33 percent in production, 25 percent in research and development and 18 percent in procurement.

Klaus Weber, Managing Partner of Intex Software GmbH, was therefore thrilled with the results: “It was an absolutely great trade fair! The economic crisis was the farthest thing from our minds during the four days of IMB. We engaged in talks around the clock, practically all day long. We made some great contacts, and the people who visited our stand indicated that they had come to invest. Visitors used IMB to plan for the post-crisis period and for the future in general.”

Comprehensive range of products
The range of products and services at this year’s IMB – World of Textile Processing encompassed machines and facilities, IT solutions, and services for all stages of the textile value chain — from product development and various types of production processes to distribution. In addition, IMB once again presented a broad range of processing techniques for technical textiles, textile machines, textile finishing, and logistics/RFID. The product range’s high level of quality was also emphasized by Günter Veit, Managing Director of Veit Group International: “We saw that the world’s leading companies — including those from Asia — sent representatives to IMB. It showed that IMB still is very attractive. Despite the difficult times, we don’t regret that we held our course and organized a major presentation at IMB. The results prove that we made the right decision: The number of our customer contacts and contract talks was higher than in 2006.” The appeal of IMB was also the reason why Tobita Shigeru of JUKI Corporation in Japan, came to IMB. “IMB offers the largest platform on which we as a global player can present our new products,” he said. And Hendrik Moelleken, Head of Central Marketing at Dürkopp-Adler AG, said: “We made the correct decision in organizing such a strong presentation of our company and new products in Cologne. When it comes to innovations, IMB still remains the leading global trade faifor us.”

The international trade visitors were particularly impressed by the comprehensive range of products, which for many years has been a particular strength of IMB – World of Textile Processing. The visitors expressed great satisfaction with IMB 2009 on the whole: More than 72 percent of them stated they were satisfied with this year’s product ranges, while 65 percent said they also are planning to visit the next IMB, and around 90 percent would recommend a visit to IMB to good business partners.

Supporting program featured top-quality presentations
The extensive range of products on display at IMB 2009 was augmented by a top-quality supporting program. The presentations by experts and company representatives at the IMB Forum and the Speakers’ Corner were especially popular. This year’s IMB Forum was particularly international in scope. Speakers from all over the world discussed “Technology as the backbone of the future — chances through progress,” providing a comprehensive overview of global trends and developments in the sector. The kick-off event, titled “Future Talk,” generated a great response from the audience. In front of a strong turnout of visitors, renowned participants engaged in controversial discussions concerning environmental and sustainability issues and their significance for the textile industry. A new IMB offer exclusively for exhibitors also met with a big response: The IMB Marketplace provided exhibitors with a relaxed setting where they could prepare themselves for another day at the fair, attend expert presentations, and obtain information on current issues in the sector. The last day of the trade fair was completely devoted to the sector’s next generation. School pupils, students, and young professionals used the opportunity at the IMB Career Day to learn more about the many different training programs and advanced courses available in the textiles sector. The offer to open up the IMB communication platform to young professionals was welcomed by exhibitors and potential employees alike. This initiative was supported by the VDMA, the Association for Clothing and Leather Technology, and various exhibiting companies, which provided employees from their Human Resources departments at their stands especially for this day, to offer guidance to the young people.

IMB Innovation Awards 2009
As part of a festive award presentation ceremony at IMB 2009 – World of Textile Processing, the winners of the second IMB Innovation Awards were announced. A five person jury consisting of representatives of the international trade press and of globally operating companies in the sector had to make the difficult choice: From more than 30 innovations submitted, they had to select the best of the best in three categories. Besides exhibitors and international research institutes, college students and young people with up to three years of work experience were invited to submit their innovations for the competition. Their entries were judged in the new category “Students & Young Professionals.” The awards were sponsored by the European Commission, which was represented by the head of the “Industrial technologies” Directorate of the Directorate-General for Research, Herbert von Bose. In the category “Exhibitors,” first prize went to the French company Sarl Erbe Innovation for its “Intelligent linking machine.” The winner of the first prize in the category “Research & Development” was the Institute for Textile and Clothing Technology at the University of Dresden, which was honored for its “Virtual Fit Simulation.” The first prize in the “Students & Young Professionals” category, which is endowed with €3,000 and was presented for the first time this year, was awarded by the jury to Anne Selby for her “Compleat Arashi Shibori wrapping Machine.”

IMB 2009: The trade fair trends
A majortrend at this year’s IMB – World of Textile Processing was the issue of ecology and sustainability. In all of IMB’s product areas, manufacturers of machines and facilities brought products to Cologne that conserve energy and resources, produce little noise and vibrations, and are ergonomic and userfriendly. The focus of the logistics segment was on linking all processes, from placing the order in production right through to check-out in the store. Automation was the focal point among sewing technology suppliers. Customers of these companies place great value during times of crisis to efficient, cost-effective production that is still of high quality. The area of IT was completely dominated by RFID technology. The costs of transponders, reading devices, and antennas have decreased significantly, and global standards have been defined. Interest in this technology was correspondingly high.

IMB 2009 in figures
A total of 509 companies from 34 countries took part in IMB 2009. The exhibitor figures can be broken down as follows: A total of 182 exhibitors and five additionally represented companies from Germany took part; 309 exhibitors and 13 additionally represented companies were on hand from other countries.

The next IMB – World of Textile Processing will take place from 8th to 11th May 2012 in Cologne. In addition, Koelnmesse will organize the next IMB Forum on 5th and6th May 2010.