IKME 2005
Textile World Asia Special ReportThe Best Of Both WorldsIKME 2005 will enlarge its focus to
include both knitting and finishing developments.
IKME once again will be held in Milan at Fiera Milano.Milan, Italy’s couture capital and
center of industry, will provide a fashionable setting for the second edition of the International
Exhibition of Finishing and Knitting Machinery (IKME 2005), to be held at Fiera Milano from 9:30
a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Friday, November 18, through Tuesday, November 22. IKME premiered in 2003 as
an event that offered European textile companies, primarily those in Italy, an outlet to display
their developments and technologies to the international market. Show organizers stress that while
Italy may sometimes be eclipsed by Asia on the world textile scene, it still has a powerful impact,
meeting 48 percent of world demand for textile products and 75 percent of European needs, as well
as making up 30 percent of European textile and clothing production. The 2005 edition marks the
start of the quadrennial schedule of the exhibition, which will take place between International
Exhibition of Textile Machinery (ITMA) shows. It also marks the first time the finishing sector —
encompassing pretreatment, dyeing, printing and finishing — will be offered in addition to knitting
technology — covering flat-bed, circular, chain and crochet machinery developments. Exhibitors also
will include manufacturers of auxiliary equipment serving these sectors. Finishing was added in an
effort to meet the needs of manufacturers who want more frequent contact with customers and
potential customers than was offered by ITMA’s quadrennial schedule. Organized by Milan-based Fiera
Milano International (FMI) S.p.A., the exhibition is promoted by the Association of Italian Textile
Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT); and recently gained the support of the European Committee of
Textile Machinery Manufacturers (CEMATEX) and its supporting textile associations in Germany, Spain
and Switzerland. Exhibitors Continue To RegisterAfter a somewhat slow start to exhibition
registration, nearly 180 companies have signed on to exhibit as of Textile World Asia’s press time.
Italian exhibitors will have the greatest presence, while companies from Turkey, Germany, Japan,
Taiwan, Switzerland, Brazil, France, Spain, India, Poland and the United Kingdom will lend an
international flavor. “It looks as though the decision-making cycle of companies that take part in
trade fairs has changed,”said Dott. Federico Pellegata, director, ACIMIT. “Before, when the markets
were more stable, it was in companies’ interests to book their places months in advance. Now,
because of the turbulence of the international economy, particularly in our industry, companies are
making last-minute decisions.” IKME exhibitors will take up the whole of Hall 11 at Fiera Milano,
and organizers plan to make space available in Hall 10 as more companies register. Visitors will
enter these halls through the Porta Metropolitana entrance. “We are prepared to change the layout
of the exhibition area in order to provide space for companies wanting to take part,” said
Costantino Cutroneo, exhibition director.“We will certainly make every effort to make sure
last-minute participants do not miss out on this great opportunity to take part in the largest
textile machinery exhibition in Europe in 2005.”
The Excellence area will highlight new products and treatments for traditional fabrics.IKME
ConferencesTwo conferences will be offered at IKME. The first,“The Role of Product and Process
Innovation and the Relaunch of Textiles and Fashion,” will take place Saturday, November 19, and is
sponsored by the Italian Textiles Association and the Italian Textiles and Colour Chemicals
Association. Domestic and international experts will discuss topics relating to the Best Available
Technologies, which enable companies to save energy and protect the environment. Topics of
discussion also will include innovative production processes that utilize nanotechnologies. The
second conference, to be held Monday, November 21, is entitled “The New Frontiers in Textiles:
Scenarios, Innovations and Products. Technology, Functionality and the Supply Chain in Textile
Surface Finishing and Non-traditional Applica-tions for Knitted Fabrics.” Organized by TexClubTec,
Milan, it will focus on current development opportunities offered by nontraditional uses of
innovative textiles. On the afternoon of Sunday, November 20, a series of short talks on technical,
economic and market topics organized by trade magazines in Italy and abroad will be held in a
special conference area in Hall 11.
Knitwear examples on display at the last IKME.Promoting ExcellenceIntroduced at IKME 2003,
the Excellence area — an entry portal to the exhibition itself that serves to promote the synergy
between machinery manufacturers and users — will highlight new products and treatments for
traditional fabrics, as well as the extension of everyday applications to new sectors. More than 30
companies will be represented in the 600 square meters of the Excellence area. These companies will
promote new ideas for home furnishings, apparel and nontraditional applications. “IKME Finishing
& Knitting mainly targets clients in Europe and the Mediterranean basin, who nowadays have to
face a difficult market to which they should be able to present ever more interesting and complex
products,” said Biella Intraprendere representative Maurizio Poma, who will help to coordinate the
Excellence area. “This is the basis for the concept embodied by Excellence, which exhibitors will
use initially to stimulate interest in visiting the event and then to make visitors want to spend
time at the individual stands.”
For more information about IKME 2005, contact Fiera Milano International S.p.A. 39 02 48550
376/378; fax 39 02 43995259; www.ikme.it.
November/December 2005