Sustainability and Digitalisation – A Winning Asset for Italian Technology
After a positive 2022, the Italian textile machinery industry looks with optimism to the current year. In 2023, after eight years, ITMA, the most important trade fair in the sector, returns to Milan. It is an opportunity to highlight the excellence of Italian technology and stimulate new investments in the textile industry, says Alessandro Zucchi, President of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, in an interview with Fibre2Fashion.
How was the performance of the Italian textile machinery industry in the last year?
As per the preliminary figures, both Italian production and exports of textile machinery increased by more than 10 per cent in 2022, compared to the previous year. The production value exceeded €2.6 billion. Of this value, 87 per cent, or around €2.3 billion, was realised abroad. Italian exports went mainly to Asia and Europe, which together absorbed 79 per cent of foreign sales. China, Turkiye, India and the US were the main destinations of Italian sales abroad in 2022.
Do you foresee even better performance in the coming years?
The positive results of last year do not, however, cancel out the obstacles that companies still face today. The critical issues following the COVID-19 pandemic have been amplified by the ongoing Russian-Ukraine conflict. Even in this early 2023 (at the time of writing), unfavourable conditions to business still exist, such as high inflation, constraints on the functioning of value chains, and energy commodity prices remaining above the average in recent years. However, forecasts prepared by our Economic Office show an improvement in the second half of the year and in the 2024-26 period, which gives us hope.
What kind of presence will the Italian textile machinery manufacturers have at ITMA 2023? Do you think the event will stimulate investment in textile manufacturing?
ITMA 2023, the leading trade fair for the textile machinery industry, is to be held in June in Milan. This event could well be the driving force that is able to stimulate investment in the textile sector, not only in Italy, but the world over.
Textile machinery manufacturers in Italy are very confident about the event which can be understood from the figures on the Italian presence at the event: almost 400 Italian exhibitors, about 36,000 square metres, with an increase in the occupied surface area of over 20 per cent compared to the previous edition held in Barcelona. Around 30 per cent of the total exhibition area at ITMA 2023 will be taken up by Italian machinery manufacturers.
Can you tell us about the initiatives taken by ACIMIT to promote Italian participation in ITMA?
The Italian textile machinery industry represents one of the leading production sectors for our country due to its strong projection on international markets. Our textile technologies are considered to be of a high-quality level, which represents an element of great pride and satisfaction, and pushes us (the ACIMIT along with the support of ITA—the Italian Trade Agency) to support Italian companies in an increasingly convinced and decisive manner, through an effective collaboration.
ITMA is a unique opportunity for the Italian textile machinery industry, due to the high number of exhibitors and the tens of thousands of visitors it usually attracts. ITA has therefore prepared, in accordance with ACIMIT, an extensive project aimed at promoting the Italian textile machinery sector through the enhancement of the three drivers that distinguish it: technology, digitalisation and sustainability. We will have an incoming of 140 top foreign buyers from 25 different countries; this will be accompanied by an intense and widespread communication campaign in Italy and abroad that will significantly contribute to increasing the presence at the event of professional operators from all over the world.
Further, there will be several training events, focusing mainly on the innovations presented by Italian companies at ITMA 2023, with a special focus on sustainable technologies and digitisation processes. And then there will be the Italian Textile Technology Awards, organised jointly by the ITA and ACIMIT. Prizes will be awarded to the 18 most deserving students from textile universities in those countries where Italian Textile Technology Training Centres are active or are being set up. These are Bangladesh, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru and Vietnam.
Tell us about the ‘SHAPING THE FUTURE’ campaign?
SHAPING THE FUTURE concept distinguishes ACIMIT communication activities towards ITMA 2023. We are carrying out the promotional campaign through social and traditional channels.
The Italian textile machinery sector has shown in recent years that it knows how to look ahead to create innovation and strengthen a technological leadership that is now established and recognised internationally. SHAPING THE FUTURE is a concept that aims to show how Italian manufacturers are key players in the development of the entire textile supply chain, able to outline virtuous paths that testify to the proactive nature of the entire sector and that enable the future of the sector to be shaped through the three pillars: technology, digitalisation, and sustainability—which are also the key themes of ITMA 2023.
What, according to you, would be the main topics of discussion at ITMA 2023?
ITMA is a trade show that has always been characterised by the high level of innovation of its technological proposals. At the Milan edition of ITMA, sustainability and digitalisation will be the main topics of discussion.
The textile supply chain is moving towards increasingly competitive production processes, where the reduction of production costs, through lower consumption of water, energy and raw materials, is combined with attention to the environment. Equally important is the ongoing digital transformation of companies, a process that will enable technology suppliers and their customers to operate more and more constructively and efficiently.
Is ACIMIT already doing something in the field of sustainability and digitalisation?
For some years now, ACIMIT has been pursuing two projects in the field of sustainability and digitalisation, namely the ‘Sustainable Technologies’ project, with the ‘Green Label’ as the core of the initiative, and the digital certification called ‘ACIMIT Digital Ready’. Both projects testify to the commitment of Italian manufacturers in two areas of strategic significance to consolidate the leadership of Italian textile technology also in the future.
With the Green Label, certifying the environmental and economic performance of textile machinery, member companies undertake to reduce the CO2 emissions of their machines through constant technological improvement. With Digital Ready, on the other hand, the aim is to standardise the production and management data of Italian textile machines and their ability to be digitally integrated at the customer’s plant.
We believe that the future of textiles that we want to shape lies in a sustainable and digitised technological supply.
What is the secret of Italian textile machinery? Why is it preferred by textile manufacturers globally?
Creativity, sustainable technology, reliability and quality are the hallmarks that have made Italian textile machinery worldwide leaders.
Interviewer: Shilpi Panjabi
Published on: 08/06/2023
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
