According to ACIMIT president Raffaella Carabelli, the 17th edition of ITMA was a great success for Italian textile machinery manufacturers as exhibitors are broadly satisfied. “Italy ranked first overall in the number of exhibiting companies at 454, as well as made up for 18 per cent at the textile technology trade show,” an ACIMIT press release stated. Behind Italy, visitors from India and Turkey accounted for 8 per cent each, followed by Germany with 7 per cent and the rest accounted for by those from France, the United States, Iran, Brazil and Pakistan. In addition to industry operators, ITMA was also attended by over 4,000 students, while media representatives in the press hall numbered 400 in total. “The number of Italian exhibitors and visitors bears witness to the vitality of the entire Italian textile industry,” Raffaella Carabelli stated. “Our member companies chose to believe in ITMA as a key event for the industry, and they were proven right,” she added as an afterthought. Carlo Rogora, CEO of Itema Group, was satisfied with the event, recording many qualified contacts and orders finalised at the fair. “It was a success from an organisational standpoint, as well as for the quality of visitors and the contacts and orders received, above all from India and Turkey, have far exceeded our expectations,” Rogora said. Alex Zucchi, general manager of Ferraro Spa said, “We saw lots of visitors and a good many business opportunities, especially from non-traditional countries.” “We also noted a reawakening of our domestic market, an essential sign for all businesses in our industry, and for the development of the entire Italian textile sector,” he too added. In concluding, Carabelli informed, “The trade fair pavilions in Rho exhibited a great many technological innovations that focused on a quest for greater sustainability in textile production processes.”
