More than 100,000 visitors from 138 countries visited more than 1,350 exhibitors during the eight days of ITMA, held in Barcelona from 22-29 September.

Italy fielded 319 exhibiting companies and nearly 9,000 (9%) of visitors to the event, according to ACIMIT, the Italian Association of Textile Machinery.

Sandro Salmoiraghi, ACIMIT president, said: “These are very respectable figures, mirroring the healthy state of ItalyΆs entire textile manufacturing sector. Our manufacturers believed in ITMA as a must opportunity for the industry and they were right.”

A good deal of business was concluded at the trade fair, said the association.

Attilio Camozzi, Marzoli president, said he was satisfied with the eventΆs outcome. “At the fair we were able to finalise orders for ¤30m. Argentina and India are the main export destinations for the machinery weΆve sold, but orders will also be coming in from Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.”

Tiberio Lonati, CEO of Lonati Group, based in Italy, said: “Considering the current situation in the textile industry and the financial crisis, weΆre pleasantly surprised with these results.

“This edition of ITMA has been especially satisfactory, both in terms of the significant level of attendance of customers from all over the world and the interest shown in the latest innovations we presented. The positive atmosphere at the trade fair, which transpired into new orders, as well as the possibility of developing new projects and partnerships, allows us to now look to the future with renewed trust and optimism.”

Michele Riva, sales director at We R Reggiani, was also happy with the fair. “ITMA 2011 provided us with an opportunity to present our entire group to the market. The contacts and orders we established, above all from Western markets, largely exceeded our expectations.”

Italian exhibitors said they made a large number of contacts from South America, India and Turkey.

“The high number of Italian visitors confirms the healthy state of ItalyΆs textile sector and provides the groundwork for the next edition of ITMA, to be held in Milan from 12-19 November 2015.”

“WeΆve already established contacts with the authorities in Milan and the eventΆs primary stakeholders,” said ACIMITΆs president.

“We especially appreciated the visit to Barcelona of Franco DΆAlfonso, the councillor for trade, productive activities, tourism and territorial marketing for the City of Milan, whose presence bore witness to the commitment and attention Milan intends to dedicate to ITMA 2015.”