Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers Focus on Sustainability and Digitalization at ITMA 2023
held a press conference to introduce the technologies they will exhibit at the fair. As Tekstil Teknoloji magazine, we followed the press conference organized by ACIMIT.
“There will be an improvement in the sector in the second half of 2023, this gives us hope”
During the event, Alessandro Zucchi, President of ACIMIT, showed the preliminary figures far 2022. Both ltalian production and exports of textile machinery increased by more than 10% compared to the previous year. The production value exceeded 2.6 billion euro. Of this value, 87%, or around 2.3 billion euro, was realised abroad. ltalian exports went mainly to Asia and Europe. Overall, the two areas absorbed 79% of foreign sales. China, Turkey, lndia and the United States of America were the main destinations of ltalian sales abroad in 2022. Alessandro Zucchi: “The positive results do not, however, cancel aut the obstacles that companies still face in this period. The critical issues following the Covid-79 pandemic have been amp!ified by the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Even in this early 2023, unfavourable conditions to business still exist, such as high inflation, constraints on the functioning of value chains, and energy commodity prices above the average of recent years. However, forecasts prepared by our Economic Office show an improvement in the second half of the year and in the 2024-26 period, which gives us hope”.
“400 Italian Exhibitors will Participate in ITMA”
With these forecasts, ITMA 2023, the leading trade fair far the textile machinery industry, to be held in June in Milan, could be the driving force able to stimulate investment in the textile sector, not only the ltalian one. Zucchi commented: “Our manufacturers are very confident about next June’s event. As shown by the figures on the ltalian presence at the event: almost 400 ltalian exhibitors, about 36,000 square metres, with an increase in the occupied surface area of over 20% compared to the previous edition held in Barcelona. 30% of the total exhibition area at ITMA 2023 will be taken up by ltalian machinery manufacturers”.
iTA and ACIMIT will Organize Many Events at ITMA 2023
During the press conference, the various initiatives that ACIMIT, with the support of – ltalian Trade Agency (iTA), has put in place to promote ltalian participation in ITMA were announced. Roberto Luongo, the General Director of iTA, stated: “The ltalian textile machinery industry represents one of the leading production sectors far our country due to its strong projection on international markets. Our textile technologies are considered to be ofa high quality level, and far us at iTA this represents an element of great pride and satisfaction, which pushes us to support ltalian companies in an increasingly convinced and decisive manner, through an effective collaboration, now consolidated and tested, with ACIMIT. ITMA is a unique opportunity far the ltalian textile machinery industry, due to the high number of exhibitors and the tens of thousands of visitors it usually attracts. As iTA we have therefore prepared, in accordance with ACIMIT, an extensive project aimed at promoting the ltalian textile machinery sector through the enhancement of the three drivers that distinguish it: technology, digitalization and sustainability. We will have an incoming of 740 top foreign buyers from 25 different Countries; this will be accompanied by an intense and widespread communication campaign in ltaly and abroad that will significantly contribute to increasing the presence at the event of professional operators from all over the world. There will be several training events, focusing mainly on the innovations presented by ltalian companies at ITMA 2023, with a special focus on sustainable technologies and digitisation processes. And then there will be the ltalian Textile Technology Awards, organised by iTA and ACIMIT. Prizes will be awarded to the 78 most deserving students from textile universities in those Countries where ltalian Textile Technology Training Centres are active or are being set up: Bangladesh, lndia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru and Vietnam”.
ACIMIT’s Concept: Shaping the Future
The promotional campaign through social and traditional channels was also particularly significant. The concept that distinguishes ACIMIT communication activities towards ITMA 2023 is Shaping the Future. “The ltalian textile machinery sector, explains the president of ACIMIT, has shown in recent years that it knows how to look ahead to create innovation and strengthen a technological leadership that is now established and recognised internationally. Shaping the future is a concept that aims to show how ltalian manufacturers are key p!ayers in the deve!opment of the entire textile supply chain, able to outline virtuous paths that testify to the proactive nature of the entire sector and that enable the future of the sector to be shaped through the three pillars, technology, digitalization, and sustainability, which are alsa the key themes of ITMA 2023”.
“The Main Topic of ITMA 2023: Sustainability and Digitalization”
At the Milan edition of ITMA, a trade show that has always been characterised by the high level of innovation of its technological proposals, sustainability and digitalization will be the main topics of discussion. Alessandro Zucchi: “The textile supply chain is moving towards increasingly competitive production processes, where the reduction of production costs, through lower consumption of water, energy and raw materials, is combined with attention to the environment. Equal!y important is the ongoing digital transformation of companies, a process that will enable technology suppliers and their customers to operate more and more constructively and efficiently”.
Two Projects from ACIMIT: Green Label and Digital Ready
During the conference on the topic of sustainability and digitalization, five ACIMIT member companies also spoke, bringing their company experiences: Flainox, ltema, Marzoli, Salvade, Sperotto Rimar. Their contributions highlighted the validity of the projects that ACIMIT has been pursuing for some years now in the field of sustainability and digitalization, namely the Sustainable Technologies project, with the Green Label as the core of the initiative, and the digital certification called ACIMIT Digital Ready. Both projects testify to the commitment of ltalian manufacturers in two areas of strategic significance to consolidate the leadership of ltalian textile technology alsa in the future. With the Green Label, certifying the environmental and economic performance of textile machinery, member companies undertake to reduce the CO2 emissions of their machines through constant technological improvement. With Digital Ready, on the other hand, the aim is to standardize the production and management data of ltalian textile machines and their ability to be digitally integrated at the customer’s plant. Alessandro Zucchi concluded: “We believe that the future of textiles that we want to shape lies in a sustainable and digitised technological supply”.
ACIMIT, Representative of a Sector Employing 73 Thousand People
ACIMIT, the Association of ltalian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, represents an industrial sector that comprises roughly 300 manufacturers (employing around 73,000 people), which produce machinery for an overall worth of around 2.6 billion euro, of which 87% are exported. Creativity, sustainable technology, reliability and quality are the hallmarks that have made ltalian textile machinery worldwide leaders.
iTA Introduces Made in Italy to the World
iTA – ltalian Trade Agency is the Governmental agency that supports the business development of our companies abroad and promotes the attraction of foreign investment in ltaly. With a motivated and modern organization anda widespread network of overseas offices, iTA provides information, assistance, consulting, promotion and training to ltalian small and medium-sized businesses. Using the most modern multi-channel promotion and communication tools, it acts to assert the excellence of Made in ltaly in the world.
After a positive 2022, the ltalian textile machinery industry looks with optimism to the current year. in 2023, after eight years, ITMA, the most important trade fair in the sector, returns to Milan. It is an opportunity to highlight the excellence of lta!ian technology and stimulate new investments in the textile industry. Italian textile machinery manufacturers held a press conference to introduce the technologies they will exhibit at the fair. As Tekstil Teknoloji magazine, we followed the press conference organized by ACIMIT.
“There will be an improvement in the sector in the second half of 2023, this gives us hope”
During the event, Alessandro Zucchi, President of ACIMIT, showed the preliminary figures far 2022. Both ltalian production and exports of textile machinery increased by more than 10% compared to the previous year. The production value exceeded 2.6 billion euro. Of this value, 87%, or around 2.3 billion euro, was realised abroad. ltalian exports went mainly to Asia and Europe. Overall, the two areas absorbed 79% of foreign sales. China, Turkey, lndia and the United States of America were the main destinations of ltalian sales abroad in 2022. Alessandro Zucchi: “The positive results do not, however, cancel aut the obstacles that companies still face in this period. The critical issues following the Covid-79 pandemic have been amp!ified by the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Even in this early 2023, unfavourable conditions to business still exist, such as high inflation, constraints on the functioning of value chains, and energy commodity prices above the average of recent years. However, forecasts prepared by our Economic Office show an improvement in the second half of the year and in the 2024-26 period, which gives us hope”.
“400 Italian Exhibitors will Participate in ITMA”
With these forecasts, ITMA 2023, the leading trade fair far the textile machinery industry, to be held in June in Milan, could be the driving force able to stimulate investment in the textile sector, not only the ltalian one. Zucchi commented: “Our manufacturers are very confident about next June’s event. As shown by the figures on the ltalian presence at the event: almost 400 ltalian exhibitors, about 36,000 square metres, with an increase in the occupied surface area of over 20% compared to the previous edition held in Barcelona. 30% of the total exhibition area at ITMA 2023 will be taken up by ltalian machinery manufacturers”.
iTA and ACIMIT will Organize Many Events at ITMA 2023
During the press conference, the various initiatives that ACIMIT, with the support of – ltalian Trade Agency (iTA), has put in place to promote ltalian participation in ITMA were announced. Roberto Luongo, the General Director of iTA, stated: “The ltalian textile machinery industry represents one of the leading production sectors far our country due to its strong projection on international markets. Our textile technologies are considered to be ofa high quality level, and far us at iTA this represents an element of great pride and satisfaction, which pushes us to support ltalian companies in an increasingly convinced and decisive manner, through an effective collaboration, now consolidated and tested, with ACIMIT. ITMA is a unique opportunity far the ltalian textile machinery industry, due to the high number of exhibitors and the tens of thousands of visitors it usually attracts. As iTA we have therefore prepared, in accordance with ACIMIT, an extensive project aimed at promoting the ltalian textile machinery sector through the enhancement of the three drivers that distinguish it: technology, digitalization and sustainability. We will have an incoming of 740 top foreign buyers from 25 different Countries; this will be accompanied by an intense and widespread communication campaign in ltaly and abroad that will significantly contribute to increasing the presence at the event of professional operators from all over the world. There will be several training events, focusing mainly on the innovations presented by ltalian companies at ITMA 2023, with a special focus on sustainable technologies and digitisation processes. And then there will be the ltalian Textile Technology Awards, organised by iTA and ACIMIT. Prizes will be awarded to the 78 most deserving students from textile universities in those Countries where ltalian Textile Technology Training Centres are active or are being set up: Bangladesh, lndia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru and Vietnam”.
ACIMIT’s Concept: Shaping the Future
The promotional campaign through social and traditional channels was also particularly significant. The concept that distinguishes ACIMIT communication activities towards ITMA 2023 is Shaping the Future. “The ltalian textile machinery sector, explains the president of ACIMIT, has shown in recent years that it knows how to look ahead to create innovation and strengthen a technological leadership that is now established and recognised internationally. Shaping the future is a concept that aims to show how ltalian manufacturers are key p!ayers in the deve!opment of the entire textile supply chain, able to outline virtuous paths that testify to the proactive nature of the entire sector and that enable the future of the sector to be shaped through the three pillars, technology, digitalization, and sustainability, which are alsa the key themes of ITMA 2023”.
“The Main Topic of ITMA 2023: Sustainability and Digitalization”
At the Milan edition of ITMA, a trade show that has always been characterised by the high level of innovation of its technological proposals, sustainability and digitalization will be the main topics of discussion. Alessandro Zucchi: “The textile supply chain is moving towards increasingly competitive production processes, where the reduction of production costs, through lower consumption of water, energy and raw materials, is combined with attention to the environment. Equal!y important is the ongoing digital transformation of companies, a process that will enable technology suppliers and their customers to operate more and more constructively and efficiently”.
Two Projects from ACIMIT: Green Label and Digital Ready
During the conference on the topic of sustainability and digitalization, five ACIMIT member companies also spoke, bringing their company experiences: Flainox, ltema, Marzoli, Salvade, Sperotto Rimar. Their contributions highlighted the validity of the projects that ACIMIT has been pursuing for some years now in the field of sustainability and digitalization, namely the Sustainable Technologies project, with the Green Label as the core of the initiative, and the digital certification called ACIMIT Digital Ready. Both projects testify to the commitment of ltalian manufacturers in two areas of strategic significance to consolidate the leadership of ltalian textile technology alsa in the future. With the Green Label, certifying the environmental and economic performance of textile machinery, member companies undertake to reduce the CO2 emissions of their machines through constant technological improvement. With Digital Ready, on the other hand, the aim is to standardize the production and management data of ltalian textile machines and their ability to be digitally integrated at the customer’s plant. Alessandro Zucchi concluded: “We believe that the future of textiles that we want to shape lies in a sustainable and digitised technological supply”.
ACIMIT, Representative of a Sector Employing 73 Thousand People
ACIMIT, the Association of ltalian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, represents an industrial sector that comprises roughly 300 manufacturers (employing around 73,000 people), which produce machinery for an overall worth of around 2.6 billion euro, of which 87% are exported. Creativity, sustainable technology, reliability and quality are the hallmarks that have made ltalian textile machinery worldwide leaders.
iTA Introduces Made in Italy to the World
iTA – ltalian Trade Agency is the Governmental agency that supports the business development of our companies abroad and promotes the attraction of foreign investment in ltaly. With a motivated and modern organization anda widespread network of overseas offices, iTA provides information, assistance, consulting, promotion and training to ltalian small and medium-sized businesses. Using the most modern multi-channel promotion and communication tools, it acts to assert the excellence of Made in ltaly in the world.