This year’s ITMA in Milan, held in June 2023, hasshown that efficiency, digitalisation and circularityare the top issues of the textile industry.Efficiency has been around for many years, butthe energy policy challenges made once againclear that efficiency in energy and raw materials willremain a key issue in many regions of the world.The second big innovative theme is digitalisationand automation.VDMA member companies seethemselves not only as machine suppliers butalso as competent partners for the technologicaaspects of digitalisation and their customers”processes.
so that hard-to-recycle material mixtures neecbe substituted with other materials achieving t!same functionality.
How important does the Asian market continto be for Germany according to associationcompanies?Asia will continue to be an important sales markefor the VDMA member companies. Throughoutthe last [few] years, around 50% of the Germanexports of textile machinery and accessories werto Asia. With German exports of textile machineryand accessories worth more than EU€710m(US$766m) to China in 2022, the People’s Republiis the biggest market. Given the high populationand the large textile industry, it will continue to be arimportant market also in the future.

An intensive relationship between spinners,weavers, knitters or finishers, machine suppliers,chemistry suppliers and other technologyproviders is the key to future success.Assistancevia remote services/teleservice and predictivemaintenance software to avoid machine stops areprovided by numerous VDMA textile technologysuppliers.
What measures are you and your memberstaking to adopt more environmentally friendlymachines and processes?The developments that have already been made interms of efficiency are impressive.