Texcare Asia draws global interest
Texcare Asia 2002, which was held in Hong
Kong in May, drew 2,531 visitors from 41 countries, according
to the organizers of the event, Messe Frankfurt. Eighty-four
exhibitors were on hand for the three-day show.
The bulk of the overseas visitors, around
27 percent, were from Asia. Others travelled from further
afield to attend the show, with around 146 visitors coming from
Europe, 96 from Australia and New Zealand, and 62 from North
America.
Exhibitors reported visits from a broad
cross-section of sectors, from hotel chains, hospitals,
airlines and government departments to major commercial
launderers and drycleaners and industrial textile processors.
The show presented products from 18
nations, with exhibitors from Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark,
Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal,
Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK
and the USA all present.
Among the items on display were a number
of new machinery models, including a hydrocarbon drycleaning
machine from Böwe of Germany, and machines using carbon
dioxide and silicone solvents. Many buyers commented on the new
machinery from China, much of which has not been seen by the
international industry before Texcare Asia.
“This is the only event in Asia
where we have made such an investment in our participation, and
it has paid off,” said Lee Edwin Wilson, vice president,
international sales, for Alliance Laundry Systems of the USA.
“We have had visitors from all over Asia Pacific
representing a good cross-section of industries. Prior to 1997,
Asia was our biggest export market. When the economic crisis
hit in 1997-98, we remained committed to the market and have
increased our marketing efforts here, as we still believe that
Asia holds the greatest potential for the future.”
Karl Schubert, managing director of Milnor
International, noted “a trend towards replacing
traditional washer/extractors with modern tunnel systems, and
the market for these new machines is developing rapidly in Asia
and Australia. We expect this to be the case in China
too.”
An educational component of Texcare Asia
2002 was the Textile Care Educational Conference 2002 organized
by the TCA Textile Care Training Centre of Singapore. The
three-day program ran alongside the exhibition and
attracted many participants.
“I am overwhelmed by the response to
our CLLM course (Certified Linen & Laundry Manager) here in
Hong Kong,” said Ken Tyler, course instructor for the
National Association of Institutional Linen Management of
the USA. “The participants have approached it with
extreme professionalism and enthusiasm.”
The next Texcare exhibition will take
place in Frankfurt, Germany, June 6-10. 2004. For information,
visit www.texcare.de or send e-mail to texcare@messefrankfurt.com.
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