Germany exported textile machinery in 2006 toa value of €3.4 billion, almost double that of its closest rival Japan, which achieved exports of €1.7 billion, followedby Italy with €1.65 billion.
The top five markets for German textile machinery last year were China (28.6%),India (11.7%) and Turkey, the USA and Italy with a combined share of 17%.
Broken down into four key areas, 2006 spinning machinery exports were worth €1.35billion, knitting and hosiery machinery €1.2 billion, finishing machinery €706 million and weaving machinery €344 million.
For 2007, the VDMA is anticipating a sales increase of around 13% and expects such growth to extend to 2008. Speaking at a special press conference held in Frankfurt, Thomas Waldmann (right), managing director of the VDMA textile machinery branch said he was delighted by the impressive figures from the industry.
“General conditions, a continuing positive development of incoming orders and the investment plans of both traditional and emerging textile nations are a perfect basis for further sales increases,” he said.
Meanwhile, ITMA 2007 is already confirmed as a success on many levels, and the number of participating exhibitors, at 310 companies as of May 2007, is already 34% up on those who attended the last ITMA in the UK in 2003.
And VDMA members are showing a clear commitment to ITMA remaining in Europe in the future.
“ITMA will continue to be the place for launching innovations, and events in Asia will be more business based,” said VDMA textile division president Johann Philipp Dilo (right). “The pattern for events in the coming years is already set, with ITMA in Europe every four years and ITMA Asia every two. ITMA will be held again in Europe in 2011.”
