With more than 6,400 square meters of booked space – an 18% increase over its total from 2010 – Germany is the largest foreign exhibiting nation at the IMTA Asia CITME 2012 event, held in Shanghai from June 12-16.

A total of 112 German companies are exhibiting, 10 of them for the first time. The German exhibitors cover all different types of machinery, with spinning as the largest segment, followed by finishing, knitting and hosiery, nonwovens and weaving.

Sustainable textile production is the hot topic at ITMA ASIA 2012. Ecological design and increasing efficiency are the subjects which the textile branches in Asia are increasingly confronted with by consumers, retailers, and by legislation. ChinaΆs 12th five-year plan, for example, sets high goals for the Chinese textile sector, such as enhanced productivity, substantial energy and resource savings, and emissions reductions.

“Sustainability is a topic with hard economic and ecological aspects,” says Thomas Waldmann, managing director of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association. “Increasing efficiency is a task that requires technological upgradation. German technology showcased here in Shanghai can be the key for optimizing the conditions for manufacturing textiles and for resource-saving, low-energy production methods.”