CITME Flash Report
By Carmen Pang,Executive EditorPhotographs By James Borneman,Editor, Textile World
Record-Breaking SuccessCITME 2004With only months to go before global textile quotas are
eliminated in January 2005, the 9th China International Textile Machinery Exhibition (CITME), which
concluded its fiveday run on October 16 in Beijing, China, attracted scores of both Chinese and
international exhibitors and visitors.According to show organizers, which included the China
Council for the Promotion of International Trade Sub-Council of Textile Industry (CCPIT TEX), China
International Exhibition Center Group Corp., and the China Textile Machinery & Accessories
Association, this year’s show was by far the largest in its history — there were more than 1,000
companies from more than 20 countries and regions exhibiting on more than 60,000 square meters of
floor space. In addition to occupying the entire China International Exhibition Centre, an extra
8,000 square meters of temporary show space was built to accommodate all the companies. In terms of
visitors, organizers said there were almost 50,000 registered attendees from 50-plus countries.What
exactly the post-quota landscape looks like remains to be seen, but there was a consensus among
CITME goers that China will play an important role. To international textile machinery
manufacturers, CITME provided the opportunity for them to introduce their wares to Chinese textile
companies that are looking to upgrade their equipment to prepare for 2005 and beyond. To domestic
Chinese machine suppliers, the show was a chance for them to interact with many of their existing
customers and to showcase their products, which face increasing competition from international
manufacturers.
Chinese government officials, including Du Yuzhou (far right), president, China National
Textile Industry Council, and Hao Jianxiu (fourth from right), former Minister of Textile Industry,
toured the show floor on the opening day of CITME. Country Pavilions GaloreUnlike other textile
machinery shows, the halls of CITME 2004 were organized by country instead of by the type of
machinery offered.According to show organizers, the largest foreign country pavilion was that of
Germany — taking up 2,400 square meters (representing an increase of 15 percent from the 2002
show), it was home to more than 60 German companies, including Brückner Trockentechnik GmbH &
Co. KG, Lindauer Dornier GmbH, Fleissner GmbH, among others. Such German presence was
understandable because, according to the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) Textile Machinery
Association, China has been the largest export market for German textile machinery three years in a
row. Shipments to China represent about 26 percent of the country’s annual machinery exports.Other
countries that showed a strong presence were Italy, with 73 exhibiting companies; Japan, with 23
exhibiting companies; Korea, with 31 exhibiting companies; and the United Kingdom, with 13
exhibiting companies.By far, the largest area of the show was taken up by the hundreds of Chinese
companies spread over several halls. The companies exhibiting ranged from small-scale local firms
selling to one region of China to major conglomerates that export internationally.In fact, China’s
largest textile machine enterprise, China Textile Machinery (Group) Co. Ltd. (CTMC), took up one
entire hall to house its 27 subsidiary companies. A total of 47 machines were on display in the
hall, which attracted constant crowds of visitors, easily making this hall one of the most
congested areas of the show.
Cavaliere Miro Radici, ITEMA Group; Luciano Corain, SMIT S.p.A.; Federico Pellegata, ACIMIT
Paolo Banfi, Managing Director, COMEZ
Jenson Mai (left) will assume the role of general manager at Jakob Müller Hong Kong China
Ltd. upon the retirement of Raffaele Micheletti.
China Textile Machinery (Group) Co. Ltd.’s booth occupied an entire hall.
Jan Röttgering, Saurer GmbH & Co. KG
Luca Bardone (left) CIMI S.p.A., and Ma Jie, SIN’HER (Hong Kong) Trading Co. Ltd.
Tetsuya Uedo, Toyota Industries Corp.
Left to right: Fabio Mazzucchetti, Promatech S.p.A.; Rino Morani, Savio Machine Tessili
S.p.A.; Cavaliere Miro Radici, ITEMA Group; Nicola Radici, Europe Yarn GmbHCo-Locating Events Add
Value To ShowIn conjunction with CITME, two co-locating events provided additional opportunities
for show attendees to learn and network.A technical seminar, titled “Using Technology To Improve
The Industry, Cooperate To Create A Better Future,” invited 25 Chinese and foreign exhibitors to
use the show as a platform for exchanging ideas. According to organizers, about 2,500 people,
including a number from India, Pakistan, Japan, Korea and Belgium, attended the 27 seminars, which
included presentations by Eduard Küsters Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, Picanol NV, Uster
Technologies AG, Pacific Mechatronic (Group) Co. Ltd., and CTMC.Another co-locating event was the
5th China International Textile Chemicals & Environmental Technologies Exhibition (CITCE 2004).
It hosted more than 40 textile chemicals suppliers from China, Germany, Japan, India, Korea, and
others. The exhibiting companies were grouped together in the same area of the exhibition center so
that show attendees could conveniently visit them at the same time.
Kurt Episser, project and sales manager, Santex AG
Pauline Wei (left), C.N.T. Ltd., with Rino Morani, Savio Macchine Tessili S.p.A.
Andreas Weber, head of sales/marketing, Heberlein Fiber Technology Inc.
Joël Jegou (left) and Reinhard Furrer, Stäubli AG
Mario Di Francesco, Brazzoli S.p.A.
Heiner Eberli (left) and Bo Michael Kristoffersen, Rieter Textile Systems
Opening Banquet Provided Networking OpportunityTo Exhibitors And Visitors
CITME 2004 was officially opened during a banquet hosted by the organizers of the show.The
festivities took place at the Great Hall Of The People, one of Beijing’s most recognizable
landmarks, on the evening of the opening day of the show.True to its name, the Great Hall laid out
banquet tables for the 1,000-plus guests gathered for the occasion.Many key officials of the
Chinese textile industry were present, including Xu Kunyuan, vice president of the China National
Textile Industry Council, who commented in his speech that China’s textile industry, through
restructuring in the past several years, has developed rapidly and is now faced with a huge
opportunity to play a key role in the world market. He encouraged the industry to keep up the pace
of technical revolution, for which CITME has an opportune role to play. He ended his remarks with
wishes of success to the show.Following the various speeches, guests were treated to a feast of
Chinese delicacies, as well as a performance program that included martial arts demonstrations,
traditional Chinese music performances, and a dance performed by dancers dressed in traditional
Chinese tribal costumes.
Photographs By Du Jun
Lutz Trützschler, Heinrich Trützschler and Michael Schürenkrämer,Trützschler GmbH & Co.
KG Textilmaschinenfabrik
Franz Miesbauer, Dornier Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., with Peter Dornier, Lindauer Dornier
GmbH
Takeshi Kokura, Tsudakoma Corp.Peter Stahlecker (left) and Erich Casanova, Spindelfabrik
Suessen
Winter 2004