Cinte Techtextil, a trade fair for technical textile and nonwoven products in Asia, has wrapped up its 2020 edition on September 4, with both the in-person event and a new online sourcing platform being widely praised. The fair attracted 409 exhibitors and over 15,300 visits across 38,000 sqm at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. 

 

This year marked the last time the fair would be held biennially, as it will switch to an annual event starting in 2021.

 

“While some things changed this edition, namely the addition of a new online platform to allow those who couldn’t travel to Shanghai to source from our exhibitors, what remained the same was the fair’s strength as a platform to capture the opportunities of China’s still-growing technical textiles and nonwovens market,” Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, said in a press release.

 

“While the pandemic has undoubtedly had an economic impact, specifically for this market the prospects remain bright, with China’s industrial output growing YoY in the second quarter of this year, spending on high-tech infrastructure expected from a stimulus package, and increased emphasis on the government’s new ‘dual circulation’ economic framework strategy of boosting domestic demand while at the same time attracting foreign investment and stabilising trade,” Wen said.

 

These factors all lead to an increase of 16 per cent in the number of visits compared to the 2018 edition, as well as a strong domestic exhibitor participation this year which ensured the size of the fair remained the same as the previous edition. Strong feedback from the international exhibitor brands present also confirmed prospects remain bright in the country. In addition, the new medical and protective zone gave the chance for companies to showcase their products and technologies for combating the current and future pandemics. And the fair’s new online sourcing platform was widely praised by exhibitors and visitors as an important tool in this time of restricted international travel.

 

“With the growing success of the fair over recent years, we have made the decision to change Cinte Techtextil from a biennial event to an annual one, a move which has been widely welcomed by exhibitors and visitors alike. The reasons for this change are we believe the strong demand in the Chinese technical textiles and nonwovens market will continue in the years ahead, while many exhibitors and buyers have communicated their preference to us for an annual event,” Wen said

 

“Cinte Techtextil has given us access to many customers that we couldn’t reach due to the pandemic. Almost half of those we talked to are new, and we are very happy with the visitor quality too with many coming from the high-end of the market. The Chinese nonwovens market, especially for the spunlace industry, has experienced rapid growth recently. The pandemic has further boosted this growth, and with changes in living habits, I believe the market will continue to grow in the coming years too. The fair being held annually will provide us more opportunities to showcase our latest technologies and promote our brand. We will definitely exhibit again next year,” Billy Zhu, sales director, Truetzschler Textile Machinery (Jiaxing) Co Ltd, China, said.

 

“Our products made from US cotton such as dry tissues and wet wipes have been very popular among buyers, and we were already very busy on the first day morning. This is our first time at this fair, so it’s a very good result for us so far. We have been receiving a lot of good enquiries about US cotton, and the quantity and quality of buyers has been very pleasing. The restart of physical trade fairs reflects the domestic economic recovery, especially in the textile industry. Face-to-face interaction is especially important for this industry as a lot discussion of product details are involved, so this is a good recovery platform for the industry. The change to an annual event is also a positive decision, which will give us more opportunities to get in touch with some of the mainstream companies in the industry,” Eric Ni, senior manager, china supply chain marketing, fabrics, garments and nonwovens, Cotton Council International, USA, said.

 

“Cinte Techtextil is a good platform for us – the chance to establish business agreements are usually pretty high, which is one of the key reasons why we continue to participate in every edition. The results this year have exceeded our expectations. There have been a lot of changes to trade fairs this year, so we are grateful that this fair was able to take place as scheduled. The visitor flow is also higher than our expectation. Through our participation as a seminar speaker, we were also able to introduce our latest antimicrobial concepts and technologies to many fairgoers. Before the pandemic’s effects this year, demand from consumers in China for our products was increasing significantly as they pay more attention to health and hygiene. We believe the future market, especially in China, will experience a rapid growth,” Liu Yong, sales manager of Polymer Additives, Sanitized (China) Ltd, said.

 

“We’ve met a number of potential customers this year and are very satisfied with their quality. Due to the pandemic, the flow of visitor is actually much stronger than before. Cinte Techtextil is the industry’s leading fair in China and is very influential; therefore, it attracts some of the industry’s most professional players and buyers,” Jack Lu, purchasing manager, Autefa Solutions Wuxi Co Ltd, China, said.

 

“I’m looking for Chinese nonwovens manufacturers so decided to join the new online sourcing platform. Cinte Techtextil is a comprehensive fair, so if we want to look for new suppliers or connect with existing ones, this is the place to go. I think the market will now focus more on the anti-viral properties in automotive interiors due to the pandemic. Consumers will want to know about the latest technologies in this regard. It’s great that the fair will be held annually starting from 2021; this will provide us with more opportunities to meet with different leading suppliers.” Zheng Xiaoqin, material engineer, Hyundai Motor Company, Korea, said in the release.

 

Cinte Techtextil China’s product categories cover 12 application areas, which comprehensively span the full range of potential uses of modern textile technologies. These categories also span the entire industry, from upstream equipment and raw materials providers to finished fabrics, chemicals and other solutions. This full coverage of product groups and application areas ensures the fair is an effective business platform for the entire industry.

 

The next edition of the fair will take place in Shanghai in 2021, with the exact date to be confirmed in due course.