An ITMA that exceeded all expectations
KARL MAYER GROUP delighted with thoroughly positive experience at ITMA, 8–14 June 2023
After all the trade show restrictions and cancellations of the past few years due to the pandemic, ITMA 2023 ended with record visitor numbers – including for the KARL MAYER GROUP. Under the tag line of ‘Master the Change – profitable, flexible, sustainable’, the innovative industry pioneer exhibited solutions and innovations designed to maximise customer success over an area spanning 1,350 square metres. The KARL MAYER GROUP exhibited a total of eleven machines from all of its business units, along with numerous innovative, on-trend textile applications with exceptional new business potential, and a number of groundbreaking digital solutions. The global player’s booth really hit the mark.
Right from day one, the KARL MAYER GROUP stand was inundated with what could only be described as a visitor stampede. With just under 2,900 recorded contacts, the number of visitors exceeded all expectations significantly. The original KARL MAYER business units of warp knitting, warp preparation and technical textiles recorded a 20 to 30% increase in the number of visitors compared to ITMA 2019 in Barcelona. There was also huge interest in the exhibition by the business unit STOLL, which joined the others in 2020. The stand area dedicated to flat knitting was the Group’s busiest. Positive figures were also recorded in terms of the high number of new contacts made, which represented around 30% of the total. Many textile brands, but also visitors who did not hail from this industry, were interested in the potential with regard to sustainability and business development offered by innovations along the entire textile manufacturing chain, in which the KARL MAYER GROUP and its valuable solutions represent an important link.
Besides the number of visitors, the quality of the conversations with the customers also provided grounds for optimism. “Most of the talks were very specific project discussions and in-depth expert conversations. All things considered, it can safely be assumed that the outlook is positive for us and our customers until at least the end of next year”, explains Arno Gärtner, CEO of the KARL MAYER GROUP. That said, the extent to which the expectations will be met depends on the recovery of the worldwide textile markets and future geopolitical developments. The most recent global dynamics have already led to shifts in supply structures, which was reflected in the proportion of visitors from the various countries who visited the KARL MAYER GROUP stand. Most of them hailed from India, Turkey, Italy and Germany. The warp preparation business unit also saw lively interest from visitors from Pakistan. The flat knitting business unit, STOLL, handled many enquiries from the USA and from Bangladesh.
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