ShanghaiTex Review
Textile World Asia Special Report
Shanghai Welcomes The WorldTextile machinery suppliers and buyers from China and around the
world reveled at the opportunity to network and conduct business.During a cold and rainy week last
December, Shanghai welcomed exhibitors and attendees from around the world to the 10th
International Exhibition on Textile Industry, or ShanghaiTex, as it’s more commonly known. Despite
the drizzle and the wind, the general vibe at the show was upbeat and the nine exhibition halls in
the New International Expo Centre were constantly humming with activiities.ccording to Hong
Kong-based Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd., one of the organizers of the show, the opening day of
ShanghaiTex alone attracted 35,000 visitors from around China and the world, and generated $19
million worth of business transactions. At the conclusion of the third full day of the show, a
total of $31 million worth of business was conducted. Moreover, a statement issued by Adsale during
the show noted that 95 of the 118 machines brought from overseas to ShanghaiTex were sold prior to
the opening of the show.Final reports indicate that more than 1,300 exhibitors from 26 countries
participated in the show, which was staged in an area of 71,000 square meters — a 60 percent
increase from the previous show.
Among the exhibitors, the Italian pavilion had the biggest presence. According to the Italian
Association of Textile Machinery Producers (ACIMIT), more than 90 companies exhibited in an area of
2,300 square meters — the most among non- Chinese companies. “This significant attendance is a
further sign of the success of Italian machinery in a market [that] will ever increasingly
represent the reference point for our companies in the future,” said Alberto Sacchi, ACIMIT
president.
Paolo Barchietto, OBEM S.p.A.Dyeing Machinery & Robotized Systems
Carter Lim (left), Ostasia Trading Pte. Ltd., and Cecilia Clement, Sclavos
International.Clement said ShanghaiTex was a great introduction to the Chinese market and was keyto
understanding new customers’ needs.Another country whose companies represented a significant
presence was Germany, whose pavilion took up 2,002 square meters and hosted a total of 50
exhibitors and sub-exhibitors. According to the German Textile Machinery Association, participating
companies overall were very satisfied with the show, saying that the new fairground in Pudong
offers “excellent exhibition conditions for the future growth of the show,” and recommending the
length of future shows to be five days.Other national pavilions included those from France, Korea,
Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.Du Shuang-Xin, director of Shanghai
Textile Technology Service & Exhibition Centre, another organizer of the show, commented, “The
show drives local enterprises to step into the international market. At the same time, it
introduces to us the foreign advance products and technologies. It thus speeds up the moving of our
textile machinery industry to meet with international standards.”
Zhang Jian-Bin, Hangzhou Donglin Dyeing & Finishing Machinery Co. Ltd.
Michael Korobczuk, Barmag, andFelix Chau, Barmag Far East Ltd.Heard On The Show Floor“From
what I have seen, it is very close to expectations,” said Sam Fong, general manager
(China/Thailand), Win Win Industrial Co. Ltd., Hong Kong. “We have received some orders — eight to
10 units so far.” Win Win is the sole agent for Japan-based flat-knitting technology supplier Shima
Seiki Manufacturing Ltd. in China and Thailand. “The Chinese economy is sometimes up and sometimes
down … we haven’t caught the rhythm yet, but we do expect growth,” Fong added.Dyeing and
finishing equipment manufacturer Fong’s Industries Co. Ltd.’s booth, at 800 square meters, was the
largest exhibitor at ShanghaiTex. Such presence reflects the importance of the Chinese market to
the company. Moreover, Monforts Fong’s Textile Machinery Co. Ltd., the joint venture established in
1999 between Fong’s and A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. to serve customers in China, has
been expanding continuously and its monthly output has increased to about 10 sets, said the
company.Sunny Y.S. Tong, an executive at the Application Technology Centre of Fong’s National
Engineering (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., said the Chinese market has grown rapidly in the past three years
because of China’s ascension to the World Trade Organization. “Many companies already use our
machines, but they are looking to upgrade to more advanced models to increase capacity and lower
cost,” said Tong. He added that many bigger mills in China are still using machines that are 10 to
20 years old, and therefore many of them will be planning upgrades.
Kurt Honegger, Benninger Co. Ltd.
Hans-Peter Stang, Mageba Textilmaschinen Vertriebs GmbH and Stephen Li Feng, Mageba (Hong
Kong), with the dyerange type Dual End HTAbout 70 percent of the 11,000 looms Japan-based Tsudakoma
Corp. built in 2003 were sold to China, which is the company’s most important market, followed by
Pakistan.“Shanghai is one of our biggest markets in China, therefore being here is very important
to us,” said Takeshi Kokura, deputy general manager of the sales department. “Moreover, we see many
important customers from other Asian countries here as well. We think the show is getting bigger —
at the ShanghaiTex two years ago, we had a small booth and the show’s attendees were mostly from
the local Jiangsu area.”To better serve the Chinese market, Tsudakoma recently established
Tsudakoma (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. to provide parts, sales and technical service to its customers in
China. Heading up the organization are President Osamu Miyamoto and General Manager Takeshi
Okunami. In addition, 20 engineers are employed in the technical service area to respond quickly to
customer inquiries and problems. However, according to Kokura, despite the fact that the company’s
facilities have already reached capacity, there is no plan to establish any manufacturing sites in
China.Meanwhile, first-time ShanghaiTex exhibitor X-Rite, Grandville, Mich., reported much interest
in its products. However, Michael Wu, sales & applications specialist of X-Rite Asia Pacific
Ltd., wondered if the show floor was too big. “Yes, there are nine halls but only about one-tenth
of the visitors came to this one,” he said. “We met with customers and got sales leads, but if I
had not called them, they would not have found us.”Besides China, X-Rite Asia Pacific also handles
sales in Southeast Asian markets, including Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. But, according to Wu,
China is the biggest potential market in the region. “The Chinese branches of European and American
companies are familiar with our products and they accept them easily,” he said, but added that it
may take some time to market to domestic Chinese companies.
Valentino Zambon (left) and Fulvio Galetto, Savio Macchine Tessili
Paolo Puntoni, Savio Macchine Tessili
Hermann Selker, Trützschler GmbH & Co. KG,with the new TCO3 card
Left to right: Alfred Watzel, Gerold Fleissner, Mrs. E. Fleissnerand Hans-Georg Buckel of
Fleissner GmbHShanghaiTex 2005The next ShanghaiTex will be held in 2005, but dates have yet to be
announced. Nonetheless, it should be safe to say that it will likely see growth again.
Maurizio Viglio, Textile Biella Machinery Consortium,was on hand to support textile machinery
producersfrom the Biella region of Italy.
Sultex Ltd. displayed a 3.9-meter P7300 projectile weaving machine.
Exhibitors from around China and the world filled nine halls of the Shanghai New
International Expo Centre.
Ciba
Clariant
BASF
Cognis
According to Courtney Rowe, Xiameter has “experienced a willingness of the Chinese customer
base to go online and access [its] services and products over the Internet.”
Bayer
Roland Adrion, Scholl-Then GmbH, with the variable loading Comat yarn dyeing machine, said
ShanghaiTex is a very important show with investments being made in high-quality equipment.
Yu Haiyun (left) and Tang Shirgey of Zhejiang RIFA Textile Machinery Corp.
Cao Ya-Hong, JIangyin No. 4 Textile Machinery Manufacturing Co. Ltd., with the GA125 warping
machine
Sandonini Santoni with the Santoni SM8-TOP2 machine
MCS Group Dyeing & Finishing Machinery’s Mario Chiappini, Jane Yin and Luigi Ubiali, with
the Multiflow dyeing machine
Zhu Hao-Sheng, Zhejiang Taitan Co. Ltd.
Left to right: Kurt Eppisser, Santex AG; Robin Liu, Beijing Public Technology Development Co.
Ltd.; Uwe Sick, Santex
Left to right: Sangiacomo S.p.A.’s Chiu Liang, Paola Sangiacomo and Rosino Varinelli.
Sangiacomo reported selling machines as of the first day of the show.
Mario Di Francesco, Brazzoli, would not miss ShanghaiTex despite an arm injury.
Manfred Muller of Bianco Textile Machineries
Paolo Banfi and Jackie Zhai, COMEZ S.p.A., with the CT 16 bar machine for producing lace
products
Heiner Eberli, Rieter Textile Systems
Raffaele Micheletii, Jakob Müller Hong Kong China Ltd.
Osthoff-Senge’s Jorg Schlageter said ShanghaiTex helped the company in understanding the
potential of China and establishing contacts.
Ferdinando De Micheli and Alessandro Paccanelli, Promatech, with the MYTHOS TEC weaving
machine.
Left to right: Massimo Biancalani and Domenico Luzzi, Biancalani Macchine Tessili, and Xu
Guang-Hui, O & G Business Consultant (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
Marzoli displayed the DTM 139 ring spinning frame (shown) as well as an MP-d ring spinning
frame linked to a Savio Orion.
Left to right: Anso Xu, Ian Amis, Harold Hoke, Uster Technologies AG, with Jin Xiao, Shanghai
Uster Service Station
Above and below: The USA Pavilion was set up by the American Textile Machinery Association to
promote U.S.-based companies to the Chinese market.
A representative from Hua Xin said the company sold a 12-color open-bearing rotary printing
machine during the show to a company in Hong Kong.
Luca Bardone and Roberto Mancini, CIMI S.p.A., expressed satisfaction with the exhibition.
Fong’s National Engineering Co. Ltd.
Lu Ya Kui, Xinya Textile Machinery Co. Ltd.,speaks with Du Jun, official representative
ofTextile World Asia
Fuat Eker, X-Rite, with the company’s TeleFlash spectrophotometer
Spring 2004