ShanghaiTex Review
Textile World Asia Special Report
ITEMA Opens Shanghai OperationsThe opening of ITEMA (Shanghai) Textile Machinery Co. Ltd.,
which coincided with ShanghaiTex, establishes the group’s presence in China with a new sales,
service and manufacturing facility.At the inauguration ceremony, Cavaliere Miro Radici, ITEMA Group
CEO, characterized the occasion as a “very special day … because it represents a milestone for
our group.” Radici added, “Above all, for us it means putting to good use our great experience
acquired in many years of presence in China, dating back to the 1970s.”ITEMA (Shanghai) was
established with an initial investment of 10 million euros to produce 2,000 looms per year. The
facility encompasses 2,500 square meters of manufacturing space and an additional 700-square-meter
office, training and showroom space. The site allows for an additional 2,000 square meters of
industrial facilities and another 700 square meters of office space. ITEMA (Shanghai) will become
the “reference point” for all Promatech S.p.A. and Sultex Ltd. sales and aftersales activities in
the region. Current production is 1.5 looms per day — more than 100 looms already have been shipped
to the Hebei, Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces.The ITEMA Group is owned by Radici Holding Textiles
Machineries S.p.A., Italy, whose shareholders include the Gianni Radici Group (known as the Radici
Group) and the Miro Radici Group.The Radici Group specializes in chemicals; plastics; textiles;
engineering; and fibers including polyamide, polypropylene and polyester. It had a 2002 turnover of
1,294 million euros. The Miro Radici Group — with a 2002 turnover of 650 million euros — is
involved in textile, automotive, fiber, retail and energy markets.ITEMA’s formation and portfolio
of technology includes such textile mainstays as Promatech, Eutron S.p.A., Savio Macchine Tessili
S.p.A., Sultex and Fimtextile S.p.A.
ITEMA Group CEO Miro Radici pours celebratory champagne at the opening ceremony.Today, under
Miro Radici’s leadership, Promatech, Sultex, F.I.R.S.T. S.p.A. accessories, Savio and Eutron
electronics feed four business areas of high-technology weaving machines, winders, accessories and
electronics. Of ITEMA Group’s 2002 turnover of 850 million euros, 74 percent came from weaving
machinery, 20 percent from spoolers, 2 percent from accessories and 4 percent from electronics. A
full 85 percent of the 2002 turnover represents exports, and 5 percent was invested in research and
development.“With the opening of ITEMA (Shanghai), we finally carry out the first important step of
our commitment,” Radici said. “With a decisive boost to the project, we succeed in starting up a
plant that, in little less than a year, has already reached the production output of more than 30
looms per month.”Fabio Mazzucchetti, commercial director, ITEMA Group’s weaving sector, emphasized
in his opening presentation that the company’s presence in China has evolved through the years,
starting with the first installation of the Somet brand in 1974 in Tianjin. Sales promotion and
service from both Shanghai and Hong Kong have been in place and were established with local
management and staff. According to the company, Promatech is the largest European loom manufacturer
present in China, having installed more than 20,000 machines.Savio, with a long legacy in China
supplying automatic winding machines, signed an agreement in 1992 with the China National Machinery
Import and Export Corp. for the manufacture of the Espero automatic winding machine by Qingdao
Textile Machinery Works. In 2000, Savio began to supply Orion winders, and claims it has had the
largest market share in China since 2001. The company states 160,000 automatic winding heads have
been installed in the main provinces of China. The first Chinese installation of Sulzer Textil
weaving machines occurred in 1972 and comprised projectile machines. Many installations of rapier
and air-jet machines followed, and the company now has installed more than 12,000 machines.
Starting in 1993, Nanfei Textile Machinery Co. in Nanchang began as a licensee to manufacture
projectile weaving machines.“ITEMA (Shanghai) is not limited to the pure production of machines,”
Radici said. “Our strong will is to create a real and modern textile machinery district, with a
global offer for services, which will become a reference point for the Chinese market and serve the
textile sector in this great country.” TWAsia TWAsia
Spring 2004