Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd commented on the results of last week’s fair: “While some things changed this edition, namely the addition of a new online platform to allow those who couldn’t travel to Shanghai to source from our exhibitors, what remained the same was the fair’s strength as a platform to capture the opportunities of China’s still-growing technical textiles and nonwovens market. While the pandemic has undoubtedly had an economic impact, specifically for this market the prospects remain bright, with China’s industrial output growing YoY in the second quarter of this year, spending on high-tech infrastructure expected from a stimulus package, and increased emphasis on the government’s new ‘dual circulation’ economic framework strategy of boosting domestic demand while at the same time attracting foreign investment and stabilising trade.”

These factors all lead to an increase of 16% in the number of visits compared to the 2018 edition, as well as a strong domestic exhibitor participation this year which ensured the size of the fair remained the same as the previous edition. Strong feedback from the international exhibitor brands present also confirmed prospects remain bright in the country. In addition, the new Medical and Protective Zone gave the chance for companies to showcase their products and technologies for combating the current and future pandemics. And the fair’s new online sourcing platform was widely praised by exhibitors and visitors as an important tool in this time of restricted international travel.

Regarding the change in the fair’s format to an annual event starting from 2021, Ms Wen explained: “With the growing success of the fair over recent years, we have made the decision to change Cinte Techtextil from a biennial event to an annual one, a move which has been widely welcomed by exhibitors and visitors alike. The reasons for this change are we believe the strong demand in the Chinese technical textiles and nonwovens market will continue in the years ahead, while many exhibitors and buyers have communicated their preference to us for an annual event.”

Exhibitors’ impressions on the fair and Cinte Techtextil China becoming an annual event

“Cinte Techtextil has given us access to many customers that we couldn’t reach due to the pandemic. Almost half of those we talked to are new, and we are very happy with the visitor quality too with many coming from the high-end of the market. The Chinese nonwovens market, especially for the spunlace industry, has experienced rapid growth recently. The pandemic has further boosted this growth, and with changes in living habits, I believe the market will continue to grow in the coming years too. The fair being held annually will provide us more opportunities to showcase our latest technologies and promote our brand. We will definitely exhibit again next year!”

Mr Billy Zhu, Sales Director, Truetzschler Textile Machinery (Jiaxing) Co Ltd, China

“This year for the Chinese market we are focusing on printing machines and automated inventory systems. We’ve received quite a lot of orders recently due to the trend of automation upgrading in China. Due to the impact of COVID-19, market demand is all about reducing labour and switching to intelligent manufacturing. We’ve had many visitors come to our booth this year, with double the order volume compared to previous editions, and a lot of contracts under negotiation. We expect the rapid development and investment in new projects will continue into the first two quarters of next year. A lot can happen in the market in one year, so we welcome Cinte Techtextil to be held annually; we will come back next year.”

Mr Calvin Liu, President, A.Celli Shanghai Machinery Co Ltd, China

“Cinte Techtextil is a fair where we can meet many visitors. Quite a lot of people visited our booth this year, and some even placed orders. Since many fairs have been postponed this year, hosting this one has brought a lot of confidence to the industry and us. We need a platform to communicate and exchange, especially to meet face-to-face. Given the rapid market changes, it will be good to hold the fair annually to keep up with the latest information and trends.”

Mr Jeff Liu, Sales Director of China Market, Brückner Textile Sales & Services (Shanghai) Co Ltd, China

“Our products made from US cotton such as dry tissues and wet wipes have been very popular among buyers, and we were already very busy on the first day morning. This is our first time at this fair, so it’s a very good result for us so far. We have been receiving a lot of good enquiries about US cotton, and the quantity and quality of buyers has been very pleasing. The restart of physical trade fairs reflects the domestic economic recovery, especially in the textile industry. Face-to-face interaction is especially important for this industry as a lot discussion of product details are involved, so this is a good recovery platform for the industry. The change to an annual event is also a positive decision, which will give us more opportunities to get in touch with some of the mainstream companies in the industry.”

Mr Eric Ni, Senior Manager, China Supply Chain Marketing, Fabrics, Garments and Nonwovens, Cotton Council International, USA