IMB 2009 opens in Cologne
21/04/2009
The 2009 IMB (World of Textile Processing) exhibition opened its doors in Cologne on April 21, with the aim of presenting the world’s most comprehensive range of technologies and services for the processing of flexible materials.
The organisers, Koelnmesse GmbH, said they were expecting the fair to attract more than 500 companies from 40 countries around the world. According to Udo Traeger, vice president for furniture, interior design and textiles at the organising company, said the event would have on display solutions for the production of clothing, home textiles, and upholstered furniture and for leather processing.
Mr Traeger said: “Here, manufacturers of textile processing machines don’t just meet with representatives of the trade but instead interact directly with the ?users of their products, by which I mean the managing directors, technical directors, engineers, and procurement managers of manufacturers from the textile-processing industry. In other words, they meet with the sector’s real decision-makers.”
In the build-up to the show, Elgar Straub, managing director of the VDMA, the German Garment and Leather Technology Association, said he felt the sector is undergoing radical changes, irrespective of the current financial crisis. “Across the world, new production locations are coming to light,” he commented. “Energy costs have risen and labour costs in some of the low-wage countries have also increased noticeably. At the same time the sector is counting on more flexibility and productivity within the whole production chain, from suppliers to distribution. The trend toward individualisation is accompanied by an increased awareness of quality. Environmental protection, resource conservation and social responsibility are further important topics for the whole sector.”
Furthermore, he said the role of logistics throughout the entire value chain is currently being rethought. “The sector is closely examining the steadily increasing transport and logistics costs in relation to cheap products, particularly in regard to environmental protection,” explained Mr Straub. “Production centres close to sales locations are becoming more important, especially for high quality produce or for small batches that have to be made available quickly.”
The four-day exhibition also included the IMB Innovation Awards programme, which celebrates the best product developments and research in the textile industry, and the IMB Forum, which, with morning and afternoon sessions o the middle two days of the event, examined technology for shaping the future of the industry.
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