Cinte Techtextil China records over 12,000 visits

ASIA’S leading biennial technical textiles fair, Cinte Techtextil China, concluded last month with 12,496 visits recorded over the three days of the fair, representing a 63% increase compared to the previous edition in 2012 of 7,659 visits (excluding concurrent fairs). Visitors came from a total of 61 countries and regions, with the top five (excluding Mainland China) being South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, India and Hong Kong. In total, 459 exhibitors from 22 countries and regions took part in the fair, a 4% increase compared to the last edition. 

This year’s fair was held September 24-26  at Shanghai New International Expo Center across 35,000 sq m, an expansion of 40% on the last edition and the largest in the show’s history. Unlike in 2012, Cinte Techtextil China was also held separately from Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, and according to Wendy Wen, senior general manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, there were positive effects to come out of this. “Being held independently [from] the apparel fabrics show really ensured more qualified buyers attended, with many exhibitors expressing that visitors to their booths were more aligned with their target market.” 

Many exhibitors commented this year that the quality of buyers had improved, and that they were able to find their target buyers at the fair. “We’ve been to this fair for many years now as it is a professional one with high-quality visitors,” explained Susie Zhang, marketing representative in the Shanghai office of German testing company ISRA Vision AG. “This year the visitor flow has been good, and we could meet both existing and new customers.” 

British conveyorized laminator maker, Reliant Machinery, agreed on the quality of buyers. “We’ve had a lot of discussions here and met buyers from a wide range of the industry, and many of them were managers,” David Xue said. 

First-time German exhibitor DIENES, which provides slitting tools and systems, was satisfied with the opportunity to meet its target customers at the fair. “We didn’t make any appointments before the fair but we were still able to find new customers,” company representative Richard Leung said. 

Big potential in Chinese market 

Potential in the Chinese technical textiles market is still high, according to exhibitors, and there is growing demand across a wide range of products, many of them report. “We have some existing customers here in the filtration industry and there is strong demand in China for these products,” B. Mehmet Inceoglu from the Technical Fibres division of Turkish company AKSA explained. 

Medical products are another area with potential in China, according to the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel. “The feedback from buyers has been good and we’ve met a lot of people from R&D departments here. Many buyers here are looking for medical technology,” marketing manager Lydia Fung said. 

The nonwovens industry is also experiencing strong growth in China. “Nonwovens business is doing fantastically in China and is growing significantly, there’s lots of room for growth here,” Edward McNally from Oerlikon Textile, Germany said. Many other sectors are growing, too, according to Guy Decleer from Belgium’s Beaulieu Fibres International. “Our target is the high-end market and we see potential in the future. There’s a lot of demand here for high-performance geotextiles for high-speed rail projects, and demand for floorings and auto textiles has increased a lot too.” 

As in the Chinese textile industry as a whole, demand for European products is very high in the technical textiles sector, with domestic buyers appreciating the quality and technological advantage these products have. “Buyers here definitely recognize European quality,” Mr. Decleer also confirmed. “Those manufacturers that are producing here for export in particular appreciate higher quality.”

This demand was not exclusive to European suppliers however, with Jenny Seo from the Korea Textile Trade Association (KTTA) explaining: “There’s big demand in China for our products, and the fair is good to tap into this as we met 25 of our target buyers on day one. Chinese buyers really like our products because of the good quality.” 

Positive results for domestic exhibitors

Textile producer Hangzhou Jeenor Cleaning Supplies was a repeat exhibitor to the fair. “We met many professional buyers this year, with most of them coming from throughout Asia including [South] Korea and Japan,” sales manager Susan Lai explained. 

Fellow textile exhibitor Wenzhou Changlong Textile Technology’s vice general manager Huadi Wang explained the success the company had at the fair this year: “Some customers have already placed orders with us here so the fair this year has been successful for us.” 

Praise from buyers

Buyers praised the fair for the range and quality of products on offer.

Emily Blanch, a design engineer for Australian company ResMed, was sourcing textiles for the medical industry. “The fair has a good range of products with the 12 application areas so it’s a good reason to come here. Both domestic and international exhibitors here have good-quality products, and there are more future textiles compared to other fairs,” she said.

First-time buyer Ilker Arisoy from Turkish company, AKM Metalurji Sanayi Temsilcilik, said of the product quality. “This is my first time in China and I’m amazed by the standard of quality here,” he said. “It’s much higher than I thought it would be.” 

Chinese buyer Lei Yi from Canadian company, Albarrie, agreed. “I attend the fair in order to look for new products and have found some that can be applied to different industries. I can find both overseas and domestic suppliers here with good-quality products.”  

Cinte Techtextil China is organized by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, CCPIT Sub-Council of Textile Industry(CCPIT) and the China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association. The next Cinte Techtextil China will take place in October 2016 in Shanghai.