Cematex

What Cematex does

CEMATEX (the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers) is a private Swiss-domiciled trade association founded in 1951 and headquartered at Pfingstweidstrasse 102, 8005 Zurich, hosted at the offices of SWISSMEM. It is owned collectively by nine national textile machinery associations: ACIMIT (Italy), AMEC-AMTEX (Spain), BTMA (United Kingdom), GTM (Netherlands), SWISSMEM (Switzerland), SYMATEX (Belgium), TMAS (Sweden), UCMTF (France), and the VDMA Textile Machinery Association (Germany). Its core function is to represent, advocate for, and promote the European textile machinery industry to EU institutions and global markets, with stated priorities covering sustainability, market surveillance, trade barriers, competitiveness, and research and innovation.

CEMATEX's principal commercial asset is the ITMA brand — established in 1951 and held to be the world's largest textile and garment technology exhibition, held every four years in a European city (most recently Milan 2023 with 1,709 exhibitors from 47 countries and over 111,000 visitors from 143 countries; next edition Hannover 2027, expected 200,000 sqm across 13 halls). Since 2008, CEMATEX has co-owned ITMA ASIA + CITME with Chinese partners CTMA, CCPIT-TEX, CIEC and BJITME; the combined show is held biennially in Shanghai and, from October 2025, also staged in Singapore (840+ exhibitors from 30 countries, 26,600+ visitors from 109 countries). Supporting programs include the Start-Up Valley platform launched at ITMA 2023, the ITMA Sustainability Forum launched in Singapore in October 2025, and the ITMA Industry Excellence Award.

The association's revenue mechanics combine membership dues from the nine national associations, exhibitor space rentals and sponsorship across the ITMA portfolio, and visitor/delegate fees (Singapore 2025 four-day badges priced from S$50 early-bird to S$100 onsite; Sustainability Forum delegate fee S$35). Commercial operations are executed through its wholly-owned subsidiary ITMA Services NV, headquartered in Brussels with a Singapore subsidiary, which is the appointed organiser of ITMA branded exhibitions. CEMATEX serves two principal customer groups: European and international textile machinery manufacturers that exhibit at ITMA events, and textile and garment manufacturers from Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East that attend as buyers and modernization decision-makers. The organization is currently led by President Alex Zucchi (elected 14 June 2024) and General Secretary Federico Pellegata (appointed 11 April 2024).

Name

Cematex

Legal name

CEMATEX - The European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers

Website

https://cematex.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CEMATEX is a Swiss-domiciled trade association of nine national European textile machinery associations that owns and operates ITMA and ITMA ASIA + CITME, the world's largest textile and garment machinery exhibitions held in Europe and Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CEMATEX is a European trade association that owns, organizes, and promotes the ITMA and ITMA ASIA + CITME textile machinery exhibitions — the world's largest trade shows for spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, finishing, printing, and recycling machinery. It also runs supporting industry programs including Start-Up Valley, the ITMA Sustainability Forum, and the ITMA Industry Excellence Award, while advocating for the European textile machinery industry through regulatory lobbying, market-surveillance cooperation, and trade-barrier dispute activity.

Product overview

CEMATEX operates as a trade association representing the European textile machinery industry. Its primary offerings are exhibition and event programs: ITMA (the world's largest textile machinery exhibition, held every four years in Europe since 1951) and ITMA ASIA + CITME (the leading Asian textile machinery exhibition, held biennially in Shanghai since 2008). Supporting programs include Start-Up Valley (launched 2023), the ITMA Sustainability Forum, and the ITMA Industry Excellence Award. The association also publishes an e-Magazine covering regulatory and industry developments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ITMA The world's largest and most influential exhibition dedicated to textile machinery and technologies, held every four years in various European locations since 1951 and covering the complete textile and garment manufacturing value chain for textile professionals globally.
• ITMA ASIA + CITME The leading textile machinery exhibition for the Asian market, a combined show held biennially in Shanghai and Singapore, co-organised with Chinese partners CTMA, CCPIT-TEX, and CIEC, and serving South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern textile markets.
• Start-Up Valley An exhibition-based platform launched at ITMA 2023 to connect emerging textile-technology companies with industry leaders, potential partners, investors, and customers, supporting innovation in the textile industry.
• ITMA Sustainability Forum A half-day forum designed to help textile and garment manufacturers navigate EU sustainability regulations and access green financing opportunities for their transition to sustainable production, featuring EU policymakers, financial institutions, and industry leaders.
• ITMA Industry Excellence Award An award program sponsored by CEMATEX to recognize and promote sustainable textile technology and machinery that enables a sustainable textiles ecosystem.
• CEMATEX e-Magazine A digital newsletter publication distributed to members and stakeholders covering regulatory developments, lobby activities, and industry news in the textile machinery industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• ITMA 2023 in Milan: 1,709 exhibitors from 47 countries, over 111,000 visitors from 143 countries
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Beijing Textile Machinery International Exhibition Co., Ltd (BJITME)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025BJITME is the co-organiser of ITMA ASIA + CITME exhibitions. ITMA Services and BJITME collaborate to organize the combined textile machinery exhibitions in Asia.
• ITMA ServicescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025ITMA Services, headquartered in Brussels with a subsidiary in Singapore, is the appointed organiser of ITMA 2027 and future ITMA branded exhibitions. It is a subsidiary company that organizes exhibitions on behalf of CEMATEX.
• Singapore Fashion CouncilmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Singapore Fashion Council is the Programme Partner for the ITMA Sustainability Forum. The forum is organized by ITMA Services with Singapore Fashion Council as programme partner, supporting the sustainability transition of Asian textile manufacturers.
• All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025APTMA is supporting ITMA ASIA + CITME Singapore 2025 by organizing visiting delegations from Pakistan to attend the exhibition.
• Asosiasi Pertekstilan Indonesia (API)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Indonesian textile association supporting ITMA ASIA + CITME Singapore 2025 by promoting the exhibition and organizing delegations.
• Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025CITI supports ITMA ASIA + CITME Singapore 2025 as a key industry partner, recognizing the exhibition as important for Indian textile industry modernization.
• Deutsche MessecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Deutsche Messe is the venue owner of Messegelände Hannover, the host venue for ITMA 2027. The bid was submitted in close cooperation with the capital of Lower Saxony and the office of the Lord Mayor of Hanover.
• bnetworkminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025bnetwork is the accommodation specialist appointed by ITMA Services to provide hotel and vacation apartment booking services for ITMA 2027 participants.
• Japan Textile Machinery Association (JTMA)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024JTMA is a special partner of ITMA ASIA + CITME exhibitions. JTMA supported the original ITMA Asia shows in Singapore in 2001 and 2005, and continues as special partner for combined exhibitions.
• China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008CTMA is the co-owner of ITMA ASIA + CITME combined exhibition. The partnership combines ITMA ASIA with CITME (China International Textile Machinery Exhibition) held biennially in Shanghai since 2008. The show is owned by CEMATEX and Chinese partners including CTMA.
• Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT (CCPIT TEX)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008CCPIT TEX is a co-owner of ITMA ASIA + CITME combined exhibition along with CEMATEX and CTMA. The partnership has staged successful combined exhibitions since 2008.
• China International Exhibition Centre Group Limited (CIEC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008CIEC is a co-owner of ITMA ASIA + CITME exhibition. CIEC represents the Chinese exhibition industry in the partnership with CEMATEX.
• ACIMIT (Italy)coreOthersACIMIT is the Italian textile machinery manufacturers association, one of nine national associations that make up CEMATEX.
• AMEC-AMTEX (Spain)coreOthersAMEC-AMTEX is the Spanish textile machinery manufacturers association, one of nine national associations that make up CEMATEX.
• BTMA (UK)coreOthersBTMA is the British Textile Machinery Association, one of nine national associations that make up CEMATEX.
• GTM (Netherlands)coreOthersGTM is the Dutch textile machinery manufacturers association, one of nine national associations that make up CEMATEX.
• SWISSMEM (Switzerland)coreOthersSWISSMEM represents Swiss textile machinery manufacturers, one of nine national associations that make up CEMATEX. CEMATEX is hosted at Swissmem offices.
• SYMATEX (Belgium)coreOthersSYMATEX is the Belgian textile machinery manufacturers association, one of nine national associations that make up CEMATEX.
• TMAS (Sweden)coreOthersTMAS is the Swedish textile machinery manufacturers association, one of nine national associations that make up CEMATEX.
• UCMTF (France)coreOthersUCMTF is the French textile machinery manufacturers association, one of nine national associations that make up CEMATEX.
• VDMA Textile Machinery Association (Germany)coreOthersVDMA Textile Machinery Association represents German textile machinery manufacturers, one of nine national associations that make up CEMATEX.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Informa Markets: Division of Informa PLC that organises dozens of textile and apparel exhibitions worldwide (e.g., Textile Asia events). It is a much larger incumbent with a broad portfolio but overlapping coverage of the same customer base of textile machinery buyers.
• RX Global (Reed Exhibitions): Global trade show organiser operating across dozens of industries. Comparable as a broad incumbent that runs textile-relevant shows at scale and competes for sponsor and exhibitor spend.

Others

• China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA): Co-owner of ITMA ASIA + CITME since 2008. Not a direct competitor but an ecosystem peer that also runs Chinese textile-machinery exhibitions and influences Asian attendee bases.
• VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau): German engineering federation, parent body of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association (a CEMATEX member). Comparable as an adjacent industry association model that combines advocacy, trade fair co-ownership and lobbying.

Direct peers

• Messe Düsseldorf: Düsseldorf-based trade fair company running major capital-goods exhibitions (drupa, interpack, K). Comparable German mid-tier Messe that competes with CEMATEX for industrial exhibitor budgets on overlapping schedule years.
• Messe Frankfurt: Frankfurt-based trade fair organiser that runs Techtextil, Texprocess and Heimtextil, the principal direct competitors to ITMA in the textile and garment value chain. Operates the same global trade-show business model targeting apparel/textile manufacturers and machinery makers.
• Koelnmesse: Cologne-based trade fair organiser (interzum, IDS, Anuga). Comparable German Messe competing for European and international textile/home-goods exhibitor budgets within the same calendar window as ITMA.
• Deutsche Messe: Hannover-based operator of HANNOVER MESSE and host venue for ITMA 2027 at Messegelände. A direct peer as both trade fair organiser and the venue partner that must balance its own industrial shows against CEMATEX exhibitions.
• Messe München: Munich-based organiser of BAUMA, IFAT and other large industrial fairs. A peer German trade fair company with overlapping customer profiles of capital-equipment exhibitors and global visitors.
• Messe Berlin: Berlin-based trade fair organiser (ITB, IFA). Comparable German Messe with similar event-driven revenue mix targeting international visitor audiences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cematex

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cematex