Textination Newsline

Destination Mauritius - rebuiding former relationsships

Island of dreams in the middle of the Indian ocean for some travellers neighbouring the last European outpost, French overseas department La Réunion, a destination for reliable production of textiles and apparel for the European, notably German fashion market, this is the spectrum
of associations that Mauritius evokes in the heads of people. Mauritius looks back on a long time experience in producing textiles and apparel since its independence from Britain in 1968. Republic since 1992 the group of islands is one of the very few stable democracies in Africa.

Arvind Radhakrishna, CEO of Enterprise Mauritius, the organiser of the Mauritius day, April 5, 2017 at Düsseldorf Fashion House II, gives it a strong regret that the relation between Mauritius and Germany, mainly based on knitwear, dating back in the early 70ies nearly came to an end. The amount of textile exports into Germany in 2015 was just about 30 million Euros and counting. Anyhow this does not represent the strength of the Mauritian apparel industry which is a hub in the region with own inland production completed by production plants on the neighbour island Madagascar, in South Africa and some even in Bangladesh to serve a lower price level, which cannot be achieved with Mauritian production itself. In 2015, domestic exports to Europe accounted for 40 %, USA: 24% and South Africa: 21%. Charming is the fact that the delivery of Mauritian goods is duty free.

Strong support by the government

Interested buyers are heartily invited to come and see with their own eyes what the Mauritian textile and apparel industry can offer. This industry is one of the strong pillars of the gross domestic output. Others are tourism and - up and coming - the lapidary and jewellery industry. Traditional fields of production are spices, sugarcane products including rum or cosmetics.

To foster textiles and apparel exports the government sponsors airfreight costs by 40%, part of a holistic program in the speed to market scheme. To compare the benefits of Mauritius as a sourcing destination compared for example with China, besides the shorter distance, is that the minimum order quantities per style are much smaller than in China, the quality standard is high, the social compliance is given. Mauritian companies must spend 1% of their gains for Corporate Social Responsibility – CSR projects. Certificates such as BSCI, SA8000 or WRAP are common. Free entry to the EU market is guaranteed by the EU partnership agreement. And - a point that should not be neglected - most of the companies offer creative services executed by their inhouse design departments or people. This makes it clearer why the textile and apparel industry had been a strong engine for economic growth in Mauritius.

Main products are: T-Shirts, Polo Shirts, Shirts, Trousers & Denim, Pullovers & Cardigans, Formal Suits, Beachwear & Underwear, and Childrenswear etc. Main material used: cotton and its blends. There is a strong focus on knitted fabrics and jerseys of all kind paired with woven denims. The price segment of Mauritian clothing mainly ranges in the lower middle range. There is a high awareness for sustainability. The exporting companies aim to use eco-friendly substances in resources saving production processes. Laser technology for effects on denim is widely in use.

A look to the companies presenting

• FINE TEXTILES LTD
  Contact: Mamade Nohur 
  Tel.: +230 2661092/57321079
  E-mail: finetextileltd@gmail.com
  Type: Final Product
  Products: Polo shirts/T-shirts/Sweat shirts
  Minimum order: 600 pcs. per colour
  Fine Textiles mostly produce menswear. They distribute their garments under own label M*RIYANO and private label for their customers. The own label is calculated to compete with the Chinese market. Time from sample to delivery takes about 5 to 6 weeks.

 

• FIREMOUNT TEXTILES LTD / FM DENIM LTD
  Contact: Sangeeta Gobin
  Tel.: +230 2075836
  Email: sangeeta@firemount.mu
  Website: www.firemount.mu
  Type: Final Product
  Products: Denim fabrics & Denim and Twill Jeans pants/Jackets/shirts/Shorts/Dresses
  Minimum order: 6000-7000 yd. fabric or 2500-3000 pcs. of jeans per order
  Certifications: WRAP
  The company is fully vertical and the biggest supplier of apparel in Mauritius, still growing, looking for direct relations to retailers. Due to the latest technologies available, the company aims to fulfil the needs for sustainable production. Stretch, even power stretch is used in nearly every jeans style.

 

• TEX KNITS LTD
  Contact: Suresh Radha
  Tel.: +230 2865577
  Email: info@texinternational.com
  Type: Final Product
  Products: Denim trousers, jackets, shirts etc. /Knitted garments for ladies, men and children
  Minimum order: 800 pcs. per style/colour
  Certifications: Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA)
  The knits company is part of a group offering garments in a broad range. To serve the UK market they run an office in London. The company puts a strong focus on design input for the international clients. Production plants in Madagascar and Bangladesh serves different price ranges.

 

• PALMAR LTEE
  Contacts: Yannick Capiron (Knits), Genevieve Marie Figaro (Denim)
  Tel.: +230 401 7000
  Email: y.capiron@palmar.intnet.mu; gfigaro@palmar.intnet.mu
  Type: CMT & Final Product
  Products: Jeans, Chinos, Shorts, Dresses, Skirts for kids, Women & Men
  Minimum order: 600 pcs. for jerseys; 800 pcs. for jeans
  Over two thirds of the production is for menswear. The company is a family business which takes special interest in sustainable and resources saving production. The knitting department is fully
  vertically integrated. A fair trade line is being offered, pure organic is in development.Contact: Ranil Gunasekara
  Tel.: +230 4130034
  Email: camdenimltd@gmail.com
  Type: Final Product
  Products: Denim jeans for men, women, children and toddlers
  Minimum order: 1200 per style
  The company solely works for private labels. The main market until now is South Africa. The production is going to be shifted to a higher percentage of eco-friendly production, representing 17% for the time being. Prices range in the upper middle segment.

 

• TARA KNITWEAR LTD
  Contact: Fabiola Law
  Tel.: +230 2123715/52553621
  Email: fabiolalaw@taragroup.intnet.mu
  Type: Final Product
  Products: T-shirt, polo shirt, sweat shirt, hoody, short, pant, skirt, dress, baby grow, baby/kid swear accessories (beanie, bootie, blanket, sleeping bag, headband), sleepwear, loungewear
  Minimum order: Basic styles: 4000 units. Fancy styles: 1000-2000 units
  Certifications: BSCI
  Tara is very design oriented with a big in house design department open for design services to customers too. The company's organisation is vertically integrated. Modern equipment such as the
  Eton Mover system enables the company to react fast and operate Fast Track orders too.

 

• BEACHWEAR EXPORTS
  Contact: Mr. G.M Toolsee
  Tel.: +230 4545600
  Email: girdhar@beachwear.intnet.mu/beachwear@intnet.mu
  Type: Final Product
  Products: Swimwear and related products
  Minimum order: 300-500 units per style
  Certification: BSCI, SMETA, SEDEX
  All production is for private label. The company features as the leading supplier of swim and beach wear in Mauritius. Well known international brands are customers from US to Europe, mainly in Italy, France and UK as well as South Africa and Zimbabwe.

 

With over 113,000 visitors and 2,368 exhibitors the largest EuroShop in its 50-year history

• Great international attendance confirms its special global position
• In focus: digitalisation, omnichannel and emotionalisation of the shopping experience 
• Accompanying forums very highly attended

After five days, on 9 March 2017 saw the world’s largest trade fair for retail investment requirements, EuroShop 2017, draw to a close in Düsseldorf with the best result in its 50-year history: the 2,368 exhibitors from 61 nations report unanimously on very good to excellent contacts and business deals. Furthermore, very lively post-fair business is anticipated. Over 113,000 visitors (round about 4% over the last event) came to the Rhine to gather information on the range of products, trends and concepts for retailers and their partners on display here in the 18 exhibition halls extending over 127,000 m² of net exhibition space.

Hans Werner Reinhard, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf, is delighted: “EuroShop 2017 has further exceeded all the top scores achieved at EuroShop 2014. At its anniversary event it was able to once again show how young and creative the sector and its trade fair are.”

The exhibitors across all exhibition areas spent months preparing for EuroShop 2017 so as to be able to meet the competition with convincing innovations. And they encountered an outstanding response: trade visitors were delighted with product variety and the level of innovation at the stands as well as with the excellent quality and great creativity of the stand presentations.

A total of 138 countries were represented on the visitor side. Commenting on this Reinhard said: “We could not be happier with the trade visitor breakdown. We are recording a constantly high level of demand from Germany and a significant rise in interest from abroad. Throughout the world it is known that EuroShop in Düsseldorf is the global No.1 trade show in the sector demonstrating what the future of retail looks like.”

Held every three years, EuroShop 2017 kicked off with a completely new concept. Its refined profile with seven clearly defined dimensions (POP Marketing, Expo & Event Marketing, Retail Technology, Lighting, Visual Merchandising, Shop Fitting & Store Design and Food Tech & Energy Management) went down well with exhibitors and visitors alike – because this meant exhibitors could be positioned in their optimum segment while visitors conveniently found the suppliers they needed according to area of interest.

The dominant themes at EuroShop 2017 were the continuing digitalisation in retail, tailor-made omnichannel solutions and emotionalisation of the shopping experience in the store.

Online retail is currently fuelling investment in physical stores in the sector. This is because competition from suppliers online means retailers have to make their stores ever more attractive. At the same time, the dovetailing of physical and online stores is generating new retail and interior design concepts. Modern information technology is becoming ever more important here.

“Customers expect both – on the one hand the shopping experience on site in the store and, on the other, delivery to their own front door. Conventional physical retail is now increasingly developing it online activities and large online retailers are looking more and more to opening their own stores. EuroShop has managed to bring both worlds together,” explained Michael Gerling, Managing Director of the EHI Retail Institute, adding: “Physical stores and online retail are growing ever closer together, which is why at EuroShop the exhibition segments of shop fitting and technology are increasingly merging.”

EuroShop 2017 also highlighted that the top priority for stores themselves was unadulterated emotionalisation! Storytelling was at the forefront of many concepts, solutions and products at EuroShop 2017. Whether it was architecture, design, lighting or the embedding of state-of-the-art media in the shop fitting, everything has to follow a joint dramaturgy to give customers that certain kick. So it comes as no surprise that visual merchandising is continuing to gain great significance in the custom design of retail spaces. Here retailers’ willingness to invest in Germany has virtually doubled, according to an EHI study presented at EuroShop.

However, retail is also investing heavily in LED technology and refrigeration technology. This was not just another result from the EHI study, it was also visible in the halls of the exhibition centre. Here energy saving and sustainability are top priorities for retailers – which is why EuroShop Special Ecopark with its accompanying forum met with such a great response.

Overall, the accompanying lecture forums on the different EuroShop dimensions were avidly attended and many EuroShop visitors took valuable ideas home with them from the international line-up of practicefocused lectures, be this from the Architecture & Design Forum, the EuroCIS Forum, the Omnichannel Forum, the POPAI Forum or the Expo & Event Forum.

The next EuroShop will be held in Düsseldorf from 16 to 20 February 2020 and the next EuroCIS, as an annual event focusing on retail technology themes, will already run from 27 February to 1 March 2018.

 

• No longer just milk powder demanded 
• Internet important sales channel

The easing of the one-child policy in China will probably not bring the expected baby boom. Nevertheless, the market for baby products is very interesting for foreign suppliers. Because Chinese parents trust these more than domestic products and they are willing to spend money on imports. After this has been already the case with milk powder, now household appliances, furniture, care products for babies and expectant mothers are in the focus. The internet is very important as a sales channel.

Between 17.5 million and 21 million babies are expected to be born every year in China, according to the forecasts of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) within the next five years. This provides a large market for products needed for baby care and for pregnant women. Also baby seats for cars, prams and furniture from abroad are being sought as well.

According to iResearch market research the total sales of products for pregnant women, mothers and babies amounted to RMB 2.3 billion in 2015. (approximately USD 360 billion; 1 USD = RMB 6.39 as an annual average). The growth rate of 25% is expected to weaken in the future, but the demand is still growing strongly. Despite the fact that the birth rates are hardly rising, the "little emperors" are pampered with pleasure. Quality and security promises are the decisive factor for foreign products in the urban middle class.

Quality and safety speak for foreign products 

The share of sales thru the Internet is steadily growing. More than 15% of purchases for the little Chinese are already made via the network. By 2018 the proportion is expected to grow to 23%. This is what market analysts have found out together with the second-largest Chinese online portal JD.com. Furthermore, the per capita purchases are highest in the prosperous coastal provinces. But, for example, mothers in Sichuan in the south-west also spend over RMB 1,000 per year for their offspring.

With China's size, new brands hardly can accomplish a successful market appearance. But the Internet provides a valuable platform and is used by expectant mothers to get information and also to purchase. Leading are the platforms of the Alibaba Group, for example Tmall and the competitor JD.com. There are also specialized shopping portals such as bleibi.com, mia.com and gou.com, as well as social media channels such as WeChat and Internet forums for expectant mothers (e.g. mama.cn or Babytree).

Sales of baby and pregnant women's products (in RMB billion, year to year change in sales in %.)

	Turnover	Change
2013	1,400	13.8
2014	2,000	30.2
2015	2,300	25.2
2016 *)	2,600	12.5
2017 *)	2,900	12.0
2018 *)	3,200	10.1

*) from 2016 forecasts
Source: iResearch, JD.com

Alibaba announced in its financial statement about cross-border Internet shopping for 2016, that baby products are already the third largest import category. In recent years this segment has grown considerably, in 2016 imported goods stood already for more than one-fifth of baby products sold on the Tmall and Taobao platforms.

Cross-border trade in baby products is booming

While in the past foreign milk powder brands were in high demand, now bottles, baby seats and care products for mother and child are now in the focus of online shoppers. Chinese milk powder still enjoys little confidence following a large scandal with contaminated milk powder in 2008.

The online trade however also was overshadowed in 2016 by scandals involving counterfeit products, mainly re-packaged milk powder came into circulation. The government therefore is watching the boom in overseas e-commerce with mixed feelings and consumers are becoming more cautious.

In recent years’ diapers, also have been ordered especially from abroad (especially from Japan). While these two categories continue to account for more than half of the sales, baby bottles and child seats experienced explosive growth in 2016. In addition, the mothers like to order cosmetics and personal hygiene, which will not hurt the growing life. This applies in particular to natural cosmetics.

In 2016 the leading countries of origin for online imports were Japan (19.3%), USA (18.3%) and Korea Rep. (13.6%). But Germany was already on fourth place with 8.0%. Particularly popular with "made in Germany" were kitchen equipment (including kitchen appliances), milk powder, baby food and food supplements.

 

Chinas Import of hygienic products*) (in USD millions; change compared to previous year in %)

2010	2014	2015	2016	Change
157	752	1,357	1,310	-3.7

*) HSPos. 9619 Sanitary napkins, tampons, diapers for toddlers;
Source: Chinese Custom

 

Chinas Import of Baby Food*) (in USD millions; change compared to previous year in %)

	2010	2014	2015	2016	Change
Insgesamt	688	1,565	2,518	3,150	25.0
Deutschland	14	60	302	346	14.5

*) HSPos. 1901.10;
Source: Chinese Custom

 

Living in Space: special event at Techtextil showcases textile processing technologies for the space industry: Some four months before the start of Texprocess (9 to 12 May 2017), the leading international trade fair for processing textile and flexible materials reports the highest number of registrations in its history and thus continues its pattern of growth. Even now, more floor space has been booked than the previous edition had in total. “It is well worth our while continually developing Texprocess further, with regard to the technologies and processes on display, the hall layout and the complementary programme. With this fourth edition, Texprocess is now firmly established in the marketplace and is attracting other market leaders in the sector to Frankfurt,” says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies, Messe Frankfurt.

Texprocess reports growing numbers of companies signing up, particularly in the CAD/CAM and Cutting, Making, Trimming (CMT) product groups. Technologies and material for Sewing, Joining and Fastening are growing steadily, too.

Among the companies that have already signed up are: Amann, Astas, assyst/Human Solutions, Barudan, Brother, bullmer, Caron Technology, Dürkopp Adler, Epson, Filiz Makina, Gemini CAD Systems, Gerber Technology, Gütermann, Juki, Kuris Spezialmaschinen, MACPI, Malkan, Mitsubishi, Morgan Tecnica, Pfaff, Serkon Tekstil Makina, SMRE, Strima, Tajima, Teseo, Tetas, Veit, Zünd.
The range of products at Texprocess once again covers all stages in the value-creation chain for textile goods, from design, IT, cutting out, sewing, seaming, embroidery and knitting to finishing, textile printing and logistics.

Change in placement for CAD/CAM and Cutting, Making, Trimming
To make the profiles of Techtextil and Texprocess even sharper, the bonding and separating technology, CMT (Cutting, Making, Trimming), CAD/CAM and printing product segments will be concentrated together at Texprocess in hall 4.0. Thus, visitors will find Techtextil exhibitors from these segments at Texprocess. These product groups will be deleted from the Techtextil nomenclature.
Apart from this change, the overall concept behind the halls at the previous event will be retained: trade visitors will find Design, IT, CAD/CAM, CMT and Printing as well as the special IT@Texprocess section in hall 4.0. Exhibitors of machines and accessories for sewing and seaming will be presenting their products in hall 5.0 and 5.1; and hall 6.0 will showcase embroidery technology, together with finishing techniques and logistics for textiles.

The technologies of textile processing for space travel
Both exhibitors and visitors at Texprocess will, this year, have the benefit of a rather special experience at the show: under the heading 'Living in Space', Techtextil will be showcasing the wide variety of applications for technical textiles in space travel, together with the processing involved. This is a cooperative venture between Techtextil, The European Space Agency (ESA) and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). Close to the location for, amongst others, exhibitors of functional apparel textiles in Hall 6.1, and based on the areas of application for technical textiles, a special, interactive area is to be built to display, with the help of four thematic sections, the high-tech textiles and textile processing technologies that have emerged from and for space travel. The highlight of this area is a virtual-reality experience in which visitors to Techtextil and Texprocess get to go on a virtual journey through the universe, where they will learn about the application of technical textiles in space travel and the processing required to make them.

Complementary programme with focus on Digital Printing and international Innovative Apparel Show
Digital Printing will be one the thematic focusses of the Texprocess complimentary programme. The sector's information service, the World Textile Information Network (WtiN) will, for the first time, be organising the European Digital Textile Conference at Texprocess. The conference will centre round technologies for digital printing on textiles and will be held on Wednesday 10 May in the Saal Europa in hall 4.0.
And digital printing on textiles will also be taken up as a topic in a dedicated series of lectures forming part of the Texprocess Forum. The forum offers, in hall 6.0, expert lectures on current issues in the sector, on all days of the trade fair. For the first time, the programme will have been designed jointly by three partners: the Dialog Textil-Bekleidung (DTB), die International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the World Textile Information Network (WTiN).

Following on from the success of its first edition, the Innovative Apparel Show is to be continued and set on an international footing. For the first time, there will be, as well as a German university, three European universities / colleges from outside Germany, showcasing, on the catwalk, their fashion designs from functional textiles and the processing stages that go into making them. The show will take place on all days of the trade fair. The participating universities / colleges are: Accademia Italiana, Florence / Italy; ESAD College of Art and Design, Matosinhos / Portugal; Esmod Paris/France, and the University of Trier / Germany. The young designers will be displaying designs relating to the three key themes of 'Textile Effects', 'Creative Engineering' and 'Smart Fashion'. Visitors will be able to vote for the public's award throughout the duration of the trade fair and the award will be presented at the last fashion show.

With the Texprocess Innovation Award, Messe Frankfurt seeks, for the fourth time, to honour the best new technological developments in the field. Submissions for the award may be made up until 20 February. The competition is open both to exhibitors at Texprocess 2017 and to other companies, institutes, universities, colleges and private individuals, who are not otherwise exhibiting at the fair. The awards in the various categories will be presented during the joint opening ceremony for Texprocess und Techtextil, on 9 May 2017. At the same time, there will be a special display area in Hall 4.0, showcasing all the prize-winning products at Texprocess.

Visitors will, once again, find many new IT solutions for the apparel industry in the IT@Texprocess section in Hall 4.0, where exhibitors will be presenting product life-cycle management systems (PLM), 'Cloud' applications and 3D CAD systems, which make it possible to create tailor-made clothes in real time and without the need for a Fitting.

Sewing and apparel-making technology record significant rise in Sales According to information provided by the Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies section of the VDMA (Association of German machinery and plant manufacturers), conceptual partner of Texprocess, the German sewing and apparel-technology industry achieved an increase in turnover of 15.9 percent compared to the previous year in the period from January to October. “With export sales of € 523 million, Germany is in third place amongst exporting nations worldwide, behind China and Japan,” observes Elgar Straub, General Manager of the VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies Association. “Our member companies are outstandingly well placed amongst the international competition. Above all, that is because they are continually developing and innovating. The individualisation of apparel, the digitalisation of the value creation chain and new technologies, such as digital printing and sustainable processing technologies, are currently at the heart of our members' planning for innovation.”

Texprocess will again be taking place in parallel to Techtextil, leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens (also from 9 to 12 May 2017). In all, 1,662 exhibitors from 54 different countries attended Texprocess and Techtextil in 2015, together with a total of 42,000 trade visitors. Over 13,300 of them came to see Texprocess. Added to that, there were around 7,600 additional visitors, who came across from the concurrently held Techtextil.

 

• Matchmaking at the trade fair: exhibitors and visitors highlight the quality of business contacts made
• Celebrity guests and star designers go on a textile tour of discovery
   

Inspiring, touch-focused and close to the industry: Heimtextil finished last Friday after four successful trade fair days in Frankfurt am Main. In spite of the snow, ice and storms, particularly on the first and last days of the trade fair, almost 70,000 trade visitors (2016: 68,277) from across the world attended the leading trade fair for home and contract textiles and were won over by quality and variety of the exhibited products as well as the trends of the new season. Growth was driven primarily by Brazil, China, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Russia, the USA and United Arab Emirates. A total of 2963 exhibitors from 67 countries (2016: 2864) presented their new textile products and designs across 20 halls and appeared to be highly satisfied by the orders they received and business contacts they made. Detlef Braun, CEO of Messe Frankfurt, highlighted the positives following the end of the trade fair: “The figures speak for themselves: Heimtextil grew

once again in 2017 in terms of its visitor and exhibitor numbers. But it’s no longer about quantity and hasn’t been for a long time. I am especially pleased about the high quality of the products exhibited as well as the intensity of discussions between purchasers and exhibitors. Frankfurt is the international meeting place and beating textile heart of the interiors industry.”
Also positive: overall, visitors consider the sector’s economy to be in a better place even than last year. Visitors from Germany in particular consider the situation to be good (40 per cent).
“We returned to Heimtextil at the right time: over the past few days, we have been successful in positioning our new profile and new product orientation”, says Andreas Klenk, CEO Saum & Viebahn. “The feedback from our visitors was thoroughly positive and we were able to acquire both export and domestic contacts. We will be leaving this Heimtextil with a good feeling and look forward to returning next year.”

Textile design: the eye feels too

It is not just the feel of a material that determines its appeal – something that was also obvious at Heimtextil with the great interest shown in textile design. The colourful fabrics and varied designs by well-known designers and young talent were very popular and attracted a lot of attention: “For me as a designer, Heimtextil is extremely interesting, in particular because I can see myself designing bed linen, pillows and other home textiles in future in addition to wallpaper”, says star designer Michael Michalsky, who presented his new wallpaper collection at the trade fair.
“At the world’s leading trade fair, competitors are present in great numbers. Here, I can experience marketing of products at close quarters and get direct feedback on my own new products.” And it was not just designers that showed great interest in the globally unique design offer at Heimtextil. Exhibiting companies also used the creative hotspot to acquire new designs for their upcoming collections.

Eva Padberg, Harald Glööckler and Michael Michalsky

The enthusiasm for beautiful and high-quality textiles not only brings trade visitors together, but also numerous celebrity guests. At the opening of Heimtextil, top model Eva Padberg talked with Detlef Braun about the trends of the coming season, the interest of end consumers in sustainability and

the common ground between fashion and interior design. She then used the opportunity to take a tour of the Theme Park trend area and the trade fair.
A meeting point for stars continued to be the Marburger Tapetenfabrik on the first day of the trade fair: Harald Glööckler presented his new collection “Glööckler Imperial” which bore the unmistakeable signature of the designer with its usual luxurious style. Musical accompaniment and a good atmosphere was provided by singer

Dynelle Rhodes from the Weather Girls as well as Frankfurt radio presenter and DJ Felix Moese. Designer Michael Michalsky also presented his new collection of wallpapers in person in cooperation with A.S. Création.

Trend towards more materiality

An end to bare walls and cold floors: home textiles are celebrating their comeback in private homes. Curtains, carpets and decorative cushions are decorating people’s own four walls and lending them a personal note. “We can also confirm the trend towards more materiality. In addition to our new wallpaper products, we have seen an increased interest from visitors in our new fabric collections”, says Andreas Zimmermann, CEO Zimmer + Rohde. This trend is boosting orders at Heimtextil: “The quality of visitors was very high: we met very high-quality, good international purchasers and excellent potential new customers. We are therefore very satisfied with our attendance at Heimtextil.”

Sleepinmg as a lifestyle

After nutrition and fitness, sleeping will be the next big lifestyle theme. This was also proven by the numerous innovations seen in the bed segment. Mediflow from Hamburg, for example, presented an improved version of its water pillow capable of full adjustments for firmness and supportive effect. Robert Kocher, European CEO of Mediflow: “This year, we had lots of new customers at our stand who had heard about us and wanted to know more about our products or even ordered them directly. Visitors primarily came from the Middle East, China, the eastern European region and Scandinavia. We also enjoyed intense discussions with American and German customers. This is also the great strength of Heimtextil. You’ve can shake hands with the world here. It is not just about sales, but also communication and establishing relationships or simply getting direct feedback on our products”. At the sleep campaign stand, visitors and exhibitors alike were able to inform themselves about

the four things that can influence sleep. Heimtextil will continue to focus on the topic of sleeping over the coming years.

The next Heimtextil, international trade fair for home and contract textiles, will take place from 9-12 January 2018 in Frankfurt am Main.

• In Cologne, bed manufacturers will be presenting their new products and ideas in the Sleep Segment.
• The subject of sustainability will be a key area of focus in a segment strong on Innovation.

"You made your bed, now sleep in it", so the saying goes. The choice of bed determines how well we sleep. That sounds simple, but is in fact quite complex. There are beds of different heights, with varying levels of mattress thickness, type and size, box spring beds, waterbeds and futons. This year, once again, the Sleep segment at imm cologne 2017 offers a complete overview of what is currently on offer from the industry. Across approximately 18,000 square metres, all of the big names in the industry will be presenting their ranges. The themes of the action areas are sustainability and Recycling.

imm cologne is the perfect place to guide the trade through the multiplicity of beds and mattresses: once again, in 2017 bedroom furniture for every taste and need will be on show here. Says Arne Petersen, Vice President Trade Fair Management at Koelnmesse: "Our Sleep segment is again expected to be hugely popular at the coming imm cologne 2017. Hall 9 is already fully booked and Hall 5.1 has also to a large extent been booked by vendors from the Sleep segment."

The big exhibitors will without exception be represented again in the coming year in the city on the Rhine, including the German company Oschmann, which has been manufacturing upholstered beds for five generations, and the home textile specialist Frankenstolz.

And Tempur, Hilding Anders from Sweden, Badenia, Rummel Matratzen, Veldeman, Auping, Fey & Co. as well as De Rucci will be showcasing their contributions to a restful sleep in Cologne. A lot of international companies will be debuting at imm cologne in 2017, including Perzona International, Ecus Sleep, Ersan Madeni, Boydak and Toom Tekstiil, among others. And a number of German companies will also be among those represented at imm cologne for the first time, including Centa Star and Shogazi. Shogazi has been specialising in healthy sleep since 2002. With its mattresses made from natural materials, the Munich-based manufacturer is a perfect match for the focal point of the Sleep segment at imm cologne 2017.

The subject of sustainability will be addressed in two special areas: in cooperation with the American organisation ISPA (International Sleep Products Association), Koelnmesse is creating a Lounge area in Hall 5.1 on the theme of "Mattress Recycling".Hall 9 also addresses the topic of the responsible use of resources: "The Recycling Lounge ties in with the topic we'll be covering in Hall 9, which is the subject of sustainability", explains Petersen. "In this way, the Sleep segment in 2017 will again illustrate the current state of the bedroom furniture segment whilst at the same time offering answers to issues that are relevant to society."

More and more retail stores are empty - even in good business locations like Pfeilstraße, one of the top modem fashion lines of Cologne. Glued blades are not a solution for real estate owner Helga Festi. She put on interim usage until the appropriate tenant is found. With success: the Popup-studio of the artist Barbara Ruf brought a win-win situation for all.

The displacement competition and the struggle between in-house trade and the growing power of the online platforms become visible to all: there are the vacancies in the business streets, which look unattractive. Not only small towns and affiliates are affected, but also the shopping streets in the big cities. In Pfeilstraße, one of the top addresses in Cologne for upscale needs, currently there are four business locations empty or are being renovated.

For Helga Festi no nice view. The full-blooded fashion retailer passionately led her fashion shop Lips in her own property and retired in 2014. The successful Lips concept was leased. But the continuation with another handwriting did not work. The shop floor was empty in spring 2016, the search for a suitable tenant takes time. Reason enough for Helga Festi to look for another intermediate use. There a coincident happened and brought a chance: the Cologne artist Barbara Ruf walked by her shop with a painting under her arm. From a conversation a plan developed: Already two weeks later the painter came with an easel and 100 paintings and moved for two months in the rooms of the Pfeilstraßen 41. Just in time for the autumn street festival, Barbara Ruf presented herself in her pop-up studio with a retrospective of her art. Instead of an ugly vacancy a win-win situation happened for all.

The popup studio represents a whole new dimension for Barbara Ruf. "It is inspiration and a new territory at the same time," the artist rejoices. "I paint daily and I am inspired by the wonderful ambience and the passing spectators. It's like a shop window."

The time in the temporarily rented studio the painter knew how to use, she presented herself daily as a gallery, arranged in October a vernissage with the coherent title Intermezzo and celebrated a live art performance. For two hours the guests watched the picturesque history of the painting `Deutzer Hafen'. It is the fifth from the new picture cycle with photos of the recently deceased Cologne photographer Hans-Peter Fuhrmann, all of which were created in the pop-studio.

Real estate owners should be mobile

Also after the artistic in between use Helga Festi is still adventurous. "I always had a good partnership with my neighbors of Pfeilstraße and would like to keep a certain standard. The intermediate use is a good tool for testing for both sides – smart property owners should be more flexible. "At the beginning of November the streetwear label DZZD celebrated as a pop-up store opening and tested the location in Cologne. If the start is good, the long-term rental agreement will be signed. An appointment for next year is already envisaged.

Further information about Barbara Ruf at www.barbara-ruf.de

From 25 to 29 October, at ORGATEC in Cologne, 665 companies from 40 countries will be presenting the current trends in the world of work of the future. Long gone are the days when just desks, filing systems etc. were presented at the leading international trade fair for the modern world of work. Nowadays, it is much more to do with work culture, work processes and work environments. With its wide spectrum of products and concepts from international exhibitors, plus an excellent programme of events, ORGATEC 2016 is once again set to act as a think tank for the international office furniture industry. Topics to be addressed at the fair, which is expected to attract around 50,000 trade visitors from all over the world, will be new ideas on the current trends of team working, digitalisation, holistic interiors and the attractiveness of the workplace. The following is an overview of what is on offer in the supporting programme.
In high-calibre congresses and forums, trade visitors from all over the world can find out about current trends and discuss pressing issues of theory and practice.

ZEIT Work & Style conference
The Work & Style conference, a premium congress format hosted by the renowned German weekly newspaper "DIE ZEIT" will launch this year's ORGATEC and address both sociopolitical and aesthetic questions, in particular the following issues: what role does work play in the identity of the upcoming generation? How will work, life and lifestyle interact? What is it that makes an employer attractive? Which approaches to work will be successful in the future?
26 October 2016, from 10:00 a.m., Congress Centre

ORGATEC  Trend Forum
At the Trend Forum hosted by Hajo Schumacher, creativity and design will be the focus of discussion: with numerous exciting talks on the various different aspects of office design and work culture by distinguished speakers from the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and the Fraunhofer Institute, among others. On the very first day of the trade fair, it's already all about "Working differently and better!" This is where Bernd Fels, co-founder of if5, will be presenting trends, facts, ideas and examples for the journey into the world of work 4.0. The talk by AECOM, entitled "See further, go further - transformational change" will provide an in-depth exploration of the new challenges facing the world of work in the future and what new approaches global companies are adopting. And trend consultant Brigitte Gebhard will delve into the subject of creative learning environments under the banner of the "New Work Order".
25.-28. Oktober 2016, Halle 6, Stand B 029    

workplace congress
The trade journals "Der Facility Manager" and "industrieBAU" are hosting the second workplace congress at ORGATEC in Cologne. The congress, like its first edition, will focus on all aspects of the challenges posed by the office, in particular how to provide functioning, motivating workplaces. Practical concepts and solutions for office workplaces will be presented. Acclaimed speakers from research, teaching and practice will explore topics such as space and room planning, lighting, acoustics, air conditioning and ergonomics, and discuss current trends and their experiences, gathered over the course of many years in the field. The event is recognised by the Chamber of Construction Engineers of North Rhine-Westphalia as an advanced training course with six time units of 45 minutes each.
27 October 2016, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Offenbachsaal 

SEO Day
Presented for the first time at ORGATEC 2016: the SEO Day is an annual industry meeting of the search machine optimisation scene. Around 800 experts are expected to attend, with more than 40 German-speaking industry experts on hand, holding numerous talks and sharing the latest tips and tricks in the area of search engine optimisation, Google and co.
27 October 2016, Konrad-Adenauer-Saal, Congress Centre North

Speakers' Corner
Following a successful premiere in 2014, exhibitors at ORGATEC will this year once again have the opportunity to present themselves as well as new products and services to a broad trade audience and answer questions directly on site. In half-hour-long presentations, speakers will introduce trends, innovations and methods from their particular field of expertise (daily between 11.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m).
25 through 28 October 2016,11:00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m., Hall 11.2, Stand J 002

Alongside the congresses and the forum, ORGATEC 2016 also offers numerous special events that offer trade visitors real added value. The offering ranges from the presentation of innovative materials, through Scandinavian design for indoors and outside, to the current trend of co-working spaces.

"RE/WORK - Moments of Inspiration by Ippolito Fleitz Group"
The competence centre "RE/WORK - Moments of Inspiration by Ippolito Fleitz Group" is an inspiring staging that traces valuable moments of inspiration, combines analogue and digital experiences, enabling a fresh view on the world of work from new perspectives. It shows, in a creative and humorous way, what the office of the future might have to look like in order to address changing requirements. The workplace is no longer bound to a particular space, but rather to moments: moments of networking through the perfect integration of technology, moments of well-being, of inspiration, of lifelong, playful experimentation. The competence centre takes ten examples of these moments and brings them to life in three dimensions. The Competence Centre takes ten examples of these moments and brings them to life in three dimensions.
Daily, Hall 11.2, Stand E 031/ F 030

The influence of design on co-working spaces can be seen by visitors to ORGATEC at the special event "The smart working space", in which the "smart co-working lobby" model showcases a module that will be at the core of the modern office block and that enables the co-working philosophy to be adopted in existing buildings. Using this approach, the trend towards co-working can be embraced relatively quickly and economically. The model will be presented in the form of a fully functioning prototype at ORGATEC. The curator of this specially designed area is Michael O. Schmutzer who, as Managing Director of Design Offices, has turned the idea of "New Work" into a remarkable success story. "The Smart Co-working Lobby" was developed in cooperation with the prestigious interior design office, brandherm + krumrey interior architecture (b-k-i), based in Cologne and Hamburg.
Daily, Hall 9, Stand B 010

Innovation of Interior
In Hall 8, the experts from Haute Innovation will be demonstrating the potential offered for modern working environments by the latest innovations in materials. They will be presenting about new sources of raw materials for manufacturers and planners, sketching out scenarios for the deployment of intelligent materials in the context of the smart office or smart home and outlining the opportunities for additive manufacturing in the furniture industry.
Daily, Hall 8, Stand B 010

Design meets movement
Creative design will be lined up for the visitors in the Passage between Halls 10 and 11. In the special exhibition Design meets Movement, leading European designers will present smart solutions from Scandinavia that go beyond working indoors and act instead as an interface to the outside world - a multifunctional installation for outdoor working.
Daily, Passage 10/11

ORGATEC Boulevard - Creativity Works
Exceptional design will also be on display on the Boulevard. This is where Koelnmesse, in cooperation with the German association for the office and working environment (IBA / Industrieverband Büro und Arbeitswelt e.V.) will be presenting various projects on the topic of "Creativity Works". For instance, the magazine FRAME will be staging a captivating exhibition of forward-looking workplace design in collaboration with young creative professionals. The magazine "100 working SPACES" will be presenting 100 current and innovative workplaces and office concepts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as the best and most amazing projects from the rest of the world. And, presenting the results of their research project, students of design at the University of Applied Sciences, Düsseldorf (HSD / Hochschule Düsseldorf) will be showing an ingenious fusion of fashion, workspace, performance and identity.
Daily, Boulevard

ORGATEC, with its 50,000 trade visitors from all over the world, has also traditionally been the appropriate place for the awarding of important honours. This is also the case in 2016.

Prize ceremony for the "Büro & Umwelt" ("Office & Environment") competition 
Sustainable behaviours in everyday office life and attention to environmental requirements in the procurement of office equipment are extremely important for our environment. The German Association for Environmental Management, B.A.U.M e.V. (Bundesdeutscher Arbeitskreis für Umweltbewusstes Management) aims to draw attention to this with the "Büro & Umwelt" competition. At the heart of the competition is the sustainable handling of resources in everyday office life, as well as the awareness of environmental concerns when procuring office equipment.
25 October 2016, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Trend Forum stage, Hall 6, Stand B 029

"Architektur + Office" Innovation Prize
The 9th Architecture + Office Innovation Prize will be awarded by AIT and xia during ORGATEC 2016. Designers and manufacturers will submit their products to the critical judgment of renowned architects. The aim of the award is to underline the importance of quality in architecture in the office interiors sector. Products on the market that are particularly effective in addressing the concerns of the target group will be awarded a prize. All of the submitted products will be displayed in a special exhibition at ORGATEC 2016 in Cologne.
25. October 2016, Hall 10.1, Stand E 011

Time is money. The same is true for the trade visitors to ORGATEC 2016. In order to get a comprehensive overview of the important new developments and trends on show, guided tours around the trade fair are available.

Guided tours around the fair by the Mensch&Büro-Akademie (People&Office Academy)
The Mensch&Büro-Akademie (MBA) and PRIMA VIER Publishing Frank Nehring (P4) will be offering two guided tours around ORGATEC 2016, based on the topics of "Health & Ergonomics" and "Design & Innovation", both taking place twice daily on 26, 27 and 28 October 2016.
Meeting point: Hall 7, Stand B 073

Guided tours for architects organised by Bauverlag
Actively promote dialogue between architects, interior designers, lighting planners and exhibitors - with this aim in mind, Bauverlag publishers is offering guided tours on four trade fair days to selected trade fair highlights at ORGATEC. The "Bauverlag architects' tours" around the trade fair will be conducted by editors from the magazines "Bauwelt" (Building World) and "DBZ" (Deutsche Bauzeitschrift/German Building Magazine). In the approx. 2 ½ hour tour around 10 important exhibitors will be visited. You will be met by competent representatives at the stands, who will demonstrate their new products and systems specifically from the viewpoint of the architect.
25 through 28 October 2016, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., setting off from: Passage 3/11, Stand P 001  
 
SIX-TO-NINE Party
What could be better than bringing the exhibition day to a relaxed close? On the first day of the fair, nothing could be easier - the ORGATEC Boulevard is the perfect setting for the legendary ORGATEC SIX-TO-NINE party. On the evening of the first day of the fair, all exhibitors, visitors and journalists are invited to this industry meeting to engage in lively conversations and exchange ideas in a relaxed atmosphere.
25 October 2016, 6.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m., ORGATEC Boulevard

 

Large Companies focus on abroad and the Digitization 

Tokyo (GTAI) - Japan's machinery and facility manufacturers expect increasing orders again. An increase is expected, especially for the international business. They saw the slight financial doldrums of 2015 before. However, there were exceptions - for example at the robot technology. The big companies have a strong interest in the subject of Industry 4.0. Here are cooperation opportunities for German companies, also on third markets.

The Asian region remains high on the Agenda

Japan's economy is not yet in full swing. A new in August released stimulus package of the government is to ensure the recovery. In total Yen 28.1 billion (EUR 246.49 billion, in early September 2016: 1 Euro = Yen 114) amounts to the "package” which is funded to about 25% directly from the state treasury. The investment plans of the manufacturing industry are looking promising in the fiscal year 2016 (4.1 to 3.31.). They could rise by 14.5% over the previous year, according to the result of a survey of the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) in July 2016.

This is confirmed by a survey of the business newspaper Nikkei with 1,140 participating companies. In the fiscal year 2016 they want to investment a volume of Yen 25.28 billion. This would be an increase over the investments made in the fiscal year of 2015 of 8.3%. If the expansion plans will actually be implemented, it would be the seventh consecutive increase year. Manufacturers of electronic machines have the most ambitious investment plans: Yen 3,64 billion, they have scheduled approximately 9.4% more than in the previous year.

Meanwhile lean foreign Business

According to the sector association JSIM (Japan Society of Industrial Machinery Manufacturers) in the fiscal year 2015 the incoming orders for industrial machinery remained below the expectations. Incoming orders came nearly to Yen 5.50 billion.  These were almost 10% less than the year before. Industry experts had already expected in advance that particularly the foreign business would suffer after the exceptionally successful year 2014. For the fiscal year 2016 the JSIM experts expect an increase of 4.6% to Yen 5.73 billion.

Not as positive as in the preceding years the situation looks in the machine tool segment. According to the industry association JMTBA (Japan Machine Tool Builders' Association) the orders declined in 2015 over the previous year by 11.4% and reached around Yen 1.40 billion. - This is justified by an overcapacity abroad. In fact it was the overseas business which fell by 22.1% to just under Yen 820 billion, while there was still an increase of 9.9% to Yen 579 billion yen domestically. With a view on the 1st quarter of 2016 the association has to state that the foreign business has not yet recovered. With more than one-quarter the orders declined compared to the same period last year.

The domestic market thus wins in importance for Japan's machinery builders. Generally, there is a need of modernization of the partly obsolete equipment at the local businesses. In addition, the reconstruction of the earthquake regions is required too. In addition, the hosting of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo is considered quasi as a guarantor of business orders from the construction sector.

Orders by machine type, fiscal years 2014 to 2016 (in billion Yen), change in %)

	2014, total 1)	2015, total 2)	2016, total 3)	2016, domestic	2016, abroad	Change 2016/15, total
Boilers, Turbines	1,809	1,796	1,896	1,390	506	5.6
Mining	23	29	31	28	3	6.9
Chemistry 4)	2,097	1,405	1,455	828	628	3.6
Tanks	30	47	56	26	30	18.7
Plastic processing	194	211	216	87	129	2.5
Pumps	336	358	373	270	103	4.3
Compressors	267	267	274	136	138	2.5
Ventilators	28	28	30	25	5	8.6
Boost material	355	400	433	282	150	8.3
Drive technology	50	53	54	45	8	2.5
Metalworking	162	182	186	79	107	2.5
Others 5)	725	703	725	535	189	3.1
Total	6,075	5,477	5,729	3,732	1,997	4.6

 
 ¹⁾ actual results; ²⁾ preliminary; ³) forecast; ⁴) also included in category: pulp- and paper machines, chillers, equipment for air- and water cleaning; ⁵⁾ among others: equipment for waste treatment, industrial washing machines
Source: Japan Society of Industrial Machinery Manufacturers, February 2016

A high importance is given to the field of environmental and energy technology for the machinery industry in Japan. Although reactors, that meet stringent safety regulations, are expected to enter the net again in the next few years, renewable energy will be pushed up. In addition, there are intelligent power networks (smart grids) in the focus. Especially in areas with high priority, such as the energy and environmental technology, German suppliers with innovative technologies and customized solutions can win the points.

Connection links by Industry 4.00

Digitalization and with it topics related to Industry 4.0 keep the Japanese machinery and factory builders now very much interested. In June 2015, the "Industrial Value Chain Initiative (IVI)" was launched. About 40 Japanese companies belong to this interest group – like as the branches of the German Bosch and Beckhoff Automation GmbH. End April 2016 the German Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWi) signed with the Japanese Ministry of Economy (Meti) a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for joint cooperation in the region.
Equipment manufacturers from abroad should observe under cooperation aspects with big business interests the international activities of the Japanese mechanical and plant engineering. The Japanese abroad generated production shares are not far from the 40% mark the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) determined the end of 2015. This creates opportunities for third-market operations, which are often controlled by the parent companies in Japan.

In foreign projects the PRC stands not as strong in the foreground as it used to be. The focus is increasingly directed on the ASEAN countries („Association of Southeast Asian Nations"), while currently the general economic activities in the emerging markets are critically observed. In the longer term India has been planned as a manufacturing location. Single, large companies dominate.

According to preliminary data from the industry association JMF (Japan Machinery Federation) Japanese engineering companies manufactured machines worth of about Yen 13.55 billion in the fiscal year 2015. This was 2% less than last year. Important were cooling machines, (Yen 1.98 billion, 4.8%) as well as equipments for manufacturing of semiconductors and flat panel monitors -Yen 1.61billion, 2,8%. The manufacturer of metalworking machines had a production decline over the previous year by 5.9% to Yen 1.18 billion. Growth rates of just over 10% are registered in the robotics segment since several years.

In general the concentration in the individual equipment segments is high. According to the Yano Economic Research Institute in the fiscal year 2015, slightly more than two thirds of the NC milling machine production came from three companies: Makino Milling, Okuma and OKK. In general metalworking machines Amada, Kobe Steel and Kawasaki Hydromechanics (subsidiary of Kawasaki Steel) came on a market share of about three-quarters. Other important tool machine vendors are Yamazaki Mazak and Mori Seiki. Also in construction, textile, packaging and food processing equipment the three leading manufacturers account for at least 60% of domestic production for themselves.

Production by selected machines, Fiscal years 2014-2016
(in billion Yen, change in %)

	2014 1)	2015 2)	2016 3)	Change 2016/15
Boilers, Turbines	1,433	1,193	1,127	1,9
Pumps, Ventilators	440	486	498	2.5
Compressors	677	666	669	0.4
Boost Equipment	533	533	595	7.5
Robotics	594	681	750	10.2
Drive – technology	419	413	418	1.2
Agricultural machinery	456	444	422	-5.0
Metalworking	1,257	1,183	1,120	-5.4
Food processing machines	448	518	520	0.5
Chillers	1,894	1,984	1,958	-1.3
Machines for the production of semiconductors and flat Monitors	1,564	1,608	1,772	10.2
Total machinery	13,838	13,554	13,784	1.7

¹⁾ actual results; ²⁾ preliminary; ³⁾ forecast
Source: Japan Machinery Federation (JMF), July 2016

Japan imports partly from our own production abroad

The Japanese imports of machinery and equipment continue to increase. It should be noted, that some of the imports are based on the foreign production of local companies. The largest share of supplies from abroad accounts for the category pumps and compressors. According to the United Nations Comtrade database this category reached on the basis of USD around USD 3.57 billion in 2015. This was 6.5% less than in the last year.

Just over 30% of the supplies came from the PRC; probably to a not inconsiderable proportion from Japanese production. The latter is also the case with electrical machines. According to Comtrade these reached in 2015 an import value of slightly more than USD 55 billion (-8%). More than a third of this was accounted for the PRC; about one-fifth to Asian emerging markets. In the import statistics Germany is especially noted in machine tools and food and packaging machines.

Despite displacements to abroad Japanese exports continue to play a role. In 2016 they are likely to suffer from the resurgent Yen. Moreover, the economic slowdown in the Asian emerging markets is becoming more noticeable.

Import of machinery to Japan (in million Yen)

HS	Description of goods	2014	2015	From Germany(2015)
8429 bis 30, 8474, 8479.10	Construction- and Constructionmaterial machines, Mining machinery	41,275.5	48,946.3	4,699.8
8444 bis 49, 8451 bis 53	Textile- and Leathermachines	65,712.2	64,431.0	4,934.5
8439 bis 42, 8443.11 bis 19	Printing and Papermachines	43,089.1	43,239.5	15,835.5
8422.30 bis 40, 8437, 8438, 8479.20	Food- and Packaging machines	38,155.9	49,887.9	11,197.5
8465, 8479.30	Woodworking machinery	8,466.0	8,099.7	2,215.3
8477	Plastic- and Rubber machines	67,477.2	64,335.5	6,783.4
8413, 8414	Pumps and Compressors	403,986.5	432,352.1	26,565.7
8425 bis 28	Boost Technology	61,233.1	65,326.0	13,124.7
8456 bis 63	Machine tools for metalworking	93,513.9	111,394.1	26,701.5

Source: Japanese custom statistics

 
Commercial practice

Relevant provisions for machine and plant engineering in Japan will be supplied by the following institutions: Japan Customs, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Center for Information on Security Trade Control Japanese Standards Association (http://www.jsa.or.jp), the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee , the Japan Accreditation Board for Conformity Assessment  and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO ). JETRO published in February 2010 the still actual report "Handbook for Industrial Products Import Regulations 2009", which contains the specific import requirements for some types of machines, especially for machine tools, food processing and packaging machines.

Detailed information on commercial and tax laws are available at http://www.gtai.de/recht and for import arrangements, tariffs and NTB under http://www.gtai.de/zoll

Internetadresses

Name	Internet addresses	Comments
Germany Trade & Invest	http://www.gtai.de/japan	Foreign Trade Information for German Export
AHK Japan	http://japan.ahk.de	Information place for German companies
Minstry of Economy, Trade and Industry	http://www.meti.go.jp	Responsible for strategy and planning for industrial machinery engineering and related sectors
Japan Machinery Federation	http://www.jmf.or.jp	Association of Machinery Engineering
Japan Society of Industrial Machinery Manufacturers	http://www.jsim.or.jp	Association of Industrial Machinery Manufacturers
Japan Machine Tool Builders' Association	http://www.jmtba.or.jp	Association of Machine Tool BuildersHerstellerverband für Werkzeugmaschinen
JIMTOF/Japan International Machine Tool Fair Tokyo Big Sight	http://www.jimtof.org	Largest and most important machine tool exhibition (every two years, next date November 17th – 22nd 2016)

The series “Sector compact” provides analysis on important key sectors of German export economy.
Other country reports for machinery and plant engineering and other industries can be found at http://www.gtai.de/branche-kompakt .
Contact for engineering: Roland Lorenz; E-Mail: roland.lorenz@gtai.de

 

Industry Association is searching for Business Partners

Tashkent (GTAI) - The Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan is launching a new initiative for the modernization and expansion of its shoe and leather industry. Until 2020 numerous projects are planned to open foreign offering parties sales opportunities. In addition to machinery and equipment various supplies such as shoe parts, materials and chemicals are required. The majority of the sector companies concentrated in the industrial association O'zbekcharmpoyabzali.

The shoe and leather industry of Uzbekistan is facing a new wave of investment. In the years 2016-2020 the implementation of 82 projects for the establishment of new or for the expansion and modernization of existing capacities is planned. The commissioning of 48 new production facilities and the technical renewal or extension of 34 factories is provided. The for the projects necessary investments are estimated at USD 115 million.

Numerous business opportunities for foreign companies

The expansion and modernization projects offer a range of business opportunities to foreign companies. This applies to the supply of shoe parts, auxiliaries and additives, accessories and chemicals (tannins, fat accumulating and degreasing agents, aniline and pigments) as well as machinery and equipment, including used technology. In the tanneries and shoe factories mainly following types of equipment are required:

• Vacuum dryer
• Spiral blade for excarnation and planers
• Electronic instruments for measuring the leather Surface
• Slotting machines and squeezing machines
• Sewing machines for shoe production
• Hydraulic cutting machines
• Splitting machines for shell Elements
• Equipment for shoe assembly

In addition, some companies strive for the establishment of joint ventures with foreign capital participation.

Industry association O'zbekcharmpoyabzali coordinates investment projects

Behind the expansion and modernization program of the sector stands the Uzbek Association of Leather and Shoes O'zbekcharmpoyabzali. The majority of the companies of the industry are concentrated under its umbrella. The association today includes more than 80 manufacturers of raw material leather / finished leather (production of hard leather / foot and insole leather and soft leather / upper leather, including mainly chrome leather goods and Russia leather / fine calf leather for shoes), women, men, and children's footwear and gallantry leather accessories.

The in 2010 founded industry part-association is the central buying organization of raw- material leather and coordinates investments in the shoe and leather industry of the country. The association takes similarly care as its sister organization, the state joint stock company for the textile and clothing industry O'zbekyengilsanoat, which is comparable in the area of responsibility with as a small specialized ministry. 

A special professional association, which mainly would take care of the interests of private independent leather and shoe manufacturers, is not available in the country. Shoe producers, which are operating outside of the industry organization, represent about one third of the shoe production in Uzbekistan.

Annual production is expected to increase to USD 0.5 billion until 2020

The production of goods of the O'zbekcharmpoyabzali enterprises is expected to reach a volume of USD 140 million in 2016. In comparison to 2010 that would be a tenfold. In 2016 8.7 million pair of shoes are expected to be produced (2010: 3.1 million pairs). The expectation for 2020 is a production of goods in an amount of USD 476 million. Exports are assumed to rise from USD 191 (forecast for 2016) to USD 301 million in 2020. Shoes and other leather goods are currently being exported to the PR of China, to Pakistan, Turkey, India, Kazakhstan, Korea (Rep.), Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. 

But - the new industry program remains far behind the original goals. The investment program for the period 2011 to 2015 provided an increase of shoe production by 120% to 14.2 million pair in comparison to 2011. The production of leather should rise by 90% (to 468 million qdm), of leather clothes by 720% as well as leather accessories by 40%.

From 2008/09 the industry showed a clear uptrend. However, the situation in the industry began to worsen again in 2012/13. As the main reasons for this market experts identified this mainly with liquidity problems of the companies, major difficulties in currency conversion and associated restrictions on the procurement of supplies from abroad and a general deterioration of the business climate in the country.
The production of leather, footwear and leather goods accounts now for only a fraction of the production of the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1990 the companies still produced about 50 million pairs of shoes per year.

Die Produktion von Leder, Schuhen und Lederwaren macht heute nur einen Bruchteil der Produktion von Ende der 1980er und Anfang der 1990er Jahre aus. Im Jahr 1990 produzierten die Unternehmen noch circa 50 Mio. Paar Schuhe pro Jahr.

Contact addresses:

O´zbekiston charm va poyabzal ishlab chiqarish korxonalarining O´zbekcharmpoyabzali uyushmasi
(Association oft he leather and footwear enterprises of Usbekistan O´zbekcharmpoyabzali)
Mustakillik kuc., 109, 100192 Taschkent
Contact: Maksudshon Mansurow, chairman, Sharifshon Scheralijew, deputy chairman
Tel.: 00998 71/23052-80, Fax: -83
E-Mail: info@uzcharm.uz,  Internet: http://www.uzcharm.uz