Reflecting the general optimism surrounding the technical textiles and nonwovens market in Asia, Cinte Techtextil China ended on a high last month with steady increases in the size of the fair and its internationalism. Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd announced that 480 exhibitors from 26 countries and regions (2014: 460, 22 countries and regions) took part, with new representation from Denmark, Japan, Poland and Sweden at this edition. This increase was matched in the buyer figure with 13,085 visits recorded (2014: 12,496), and these trade buyers coming from 67 countries and regions (2014: 61). The top 10 overseas countries and regions were Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the U.S., India, Russia, Italy, Germany, Hong Kong and Thailand. Both the exhibitor and visit figures were new records for Cinte Techtextil China, while at 35,000 gross sqm, the fair was the same size as the previous edition.

“Our focus in the lead up to the event was on ensuring we provided a quality trade platform for both exhibitors and buyers, and the feedback from both groups confirms this was the case,” says Wendy Wen, senior general manager, Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd said. “Attracting high-quality buyers both from China and further afield, including many new potential business partners for exhibitors, Cinte Techtextil China has further solidified its reputation in Asia as the leading trade event for the technical textiles and nonwovens industry. Coupled with the strong demand in the region at present – which is predicted to continue in the coming years, particularly in China – the 2016 edition of the fair can be considered a strong success.”

Demonstrating this strong demand and the fair’s effectiveness, many exhibitors reported strong buyer flow, the chance to meet new, quality contacts, as well as orders being placed during the three-day event. One such exhibitor was Johns Manville, participating in the fair for the first time. “I think the buyers in this fair are very professional compared to other shows in China,” says Raymond Zhang, technical support engineer from the American company’s Shanghai office. “The fair has helped us meet both existing and new buyers – 60% of enquiries are new contacts. What’s more, this is a good platform to learn more about the Chinese trends and market information to help our business. We can see many of our competitors here too so that proves this is the right place to be.”

Fellow first-time exhibitors J.H. Ziegler from Germany, who already have a high-end customer base in China including BMW and Audi, expressed a similar view. “After participating here for the first time, it transpires that the results have been better than other fairs we attend in China. Many of our target customers came to our booth to seek cooperation, and they were all high-end buyers,” says Roger Zhang, sales manager said.

Messe Frankfurt (HK) also reports that Asian exhibitors found the fair effective for generating new business, particularly those in the Korea Pavilion organized by the Korea Textile Trade Association (KTTA). “Our exhibitors have had many orders in the first two days including from Europe, the U.S. and Australia. Around 70% of them received orders on the spot,” says Tako Lee from KTTA. 

Furthermore, overseas exhibitors in particular were buoyant about the ongoing potential in the Chinese market, as well as the demand from domestic buyers for international brands. Autefa Solutions’ Dr. Joachim Binnig, vice president, head of Development & Technology, says, “Business is still good in China for us despite the slower economy. There is a definite shift to more high-quality machinery in China that isn’t affected by the economic situation. Moreover, there are opportunities for overseas suppliers as there is still a gap between what Chinese companies produce and us. We are optimistic going forward in this market.” 

Cinte Techtextil China was organized by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association (CNITA). The next Messe Frankfurt technical textiles trade fair in China will be the China International Nonwovens Expo & Forum (CINE) taking place from June 21-23 2017 in Shanghai. The next Cinte Techtextil China will take place in 2018.