From the Sector

As the countdown to the 2018 edition of Cinte Techtextil China enters its last two months, the final exhibitor line-up is starting to take shape. A number of leading international and Chinese brands across the fair’s 12 product application areas will feature at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre from 4 – 6 September, with an expected 500-plus total exhibitors from around 20 countries & regions set to feature.

Nonwovens exhibitor highlights

As the fair’s largest product category, buyers have a wide range of domestic and overseas brands to source from, including:

• Johns Manville (US): who will showcase their polyester spunbond, PP & PBT meltblown, glass fibre nonwoven, micro glass fibre nonwoven, hybrid nonwoven, glass fibre needle mat and glass microfibre product lines among others at the fair.
•  J.H. Ziegler (Germany): with over 150 years’ expertise and their own production plant in China, they offer products for acoustic absorption in automotive interiors and exteriors, nonwoven foam composites for leather lamination, needle-punched nonwovens, foam nonwoven composites, laminated nonwovens and natural-fibre nonwovens.
• KOBE-cz (Czech Republic): a new exhibitor to the fair, their nonwoven fabrics, mainly made from glass fibre with temperature resistance up to 800°C, are used for high-temperature isolation in the automotive, marine, energy and building industries. They also have isolation materials made from natural fibres including hemp, wool, cotton and flax.
• TDF Nonwovens (China): one of the leading domestic brands, their specialties are polyester spunbond geotextiles, polyester filament roofing carriers, filter nonwovens, high-strength coarse denier polypropylene spunbond geotextiles and medical & health nonwovens.
• Kingsafe (China): they specialise in the production of fusible interlining and nonwoven fabrics for high-end garments.

Yarn & fibre exhibitor highlights

• Perlon (Germany): has developed a PET based monofilament, HighGrip, which guarantees long-lasting efficiency of conveyor belts, and is available in various types with different tribological characteristics, which they will feature at the fair.
• Sateri (China): is a global leader in viscose rayon made from 100% dissolving wood pulp, and the largest maker of viscose fibre in China. Their natural and high-quality fibre, made from trees grown on renewable plantations, can be found in textiles and skin-friendly hygiene products.
• Cordenka (Germany): producers of industrial rayon, their product range covers rayon tire cord, yarn, single-end dipped cord, short-cut fibre and more.
• EMS-Griltech (Switzerland): will showcase a range of technical fibres & yarns and thermoplastic adhesives at the fair.
• Barnet (Germany): several finished products (nonwovens, spun yarns and fabrics) made with their specialty fibre will be on display at the fair, including OPAN, para-aramid and carbon filament fibres. The application of their specialty fibre in flame retardant and anti-cut gloves and felts will be shown at their booth for the first time.

Coated textiles & solutions exhibitor highlights

• Stahl (the Netherlands): the Dutch company will present new products from their water repellent and flame retardant ranges at this year’s fair. According to the company, as the Chinese government continues its efforts to clean up the environment, eco-friendly chemicals remain in strong demand in the country.
• Sioen (Belgium): will showcase sign materials, truck tarpaulins, tents, membrane fabrics, apparel products, chemicals and specialty products such as inflatable boat fabrics, pool liners and more at Cinte 2018.
• ROWA Lack (Germany): a new exhibitor at this year’s fair, they will present their special lacquer systems and top coatings.
• Trelleborg (Sweden): also a new exhibitor, they will display engineered textiles, especially in the fields of outdoor, medical, protective and automotive.
• FPC Technical Textile (Saudi Arabia): another first-time participant at the fair, they will showcase a range of high-end specialty fabrics including PVC coated fabrics and fibre glass PTFE fabrics.
• Zhejiang Jinda New Materials (China): this supplier is known for its coated textiles for industrial, transportation and building uses, as well as warp knitted geo-synthetic materials and printable coated materials for advertisements.

Lenzing to showcase its new VEOCEL nonwovens specialty brand at the fair

First announced in June this year, and featuring at Cinte Techtextil, Lenzing’s new VEOCEL brand is billed as a premium range of nonwovens fibres for daily care, which “provides the nonwovens industry with fibres that are certified clean and safe, biodegradable, from botanic origin and produced in an environmentally responsible production process.” Products in this range can be applied to a multitude of uses including baby care, beauty and body care, intimate care and surface cleaning, under the VEOCEL Beauty, VEOCEL Body, VEOCEL Intimate and VEOCEL Surface brands.

EUROBIKE, the world’s leading trade fair for the cycling industry, will include ROICA™ smart innovations into the race. Cycle retailers, brands and manufacturers will discover ROICA™ premium stretch that provides comfort and movement as it energizes.

ROICA™ will go the distance as they join this year’s EUROBIKE Academy line-up and host an interactive panel focused on sustainability as an added value for the cycling market. Whether an expert or newcomer, the must attend panel titled; What is Smart Innovation in the Biking Market? will be held on Monday, July 9th from 12:00-12:45 in Conference Center East, Room London. Moderated by Giusy Bettoni, CEO, C.L.A.S.S. (Creativity Lifestyle And Sustainable Synergy), a Milan based company generating global strategies and identifying new values essential for today’s knowledgeable conscious consumer. The panel will lead the way, as they share their expertise and discuss what they are doing to push the boundaries of innovation. They will highlight responsible dimensions and processes currently available. The all-star lineup includes:

Uwe Schmidt, Asahi Kasei’s ROICA™, Managing Director introduces cycle enthusiasts, brands, retailers and manufacturers to the world’s first premium sustainable stretch yarn: ROICA™ Eco-Smart and the ROICA™ Feel Good family dedicated to well-being.
 
Laura Gambarini, marketing and communication manager at M.I.T.I. S.p.A.: M.I.T.I. Since 1931, M.I.T.I. develops and creates premium and innovative stretch warp knitted fabrics for all the high performance sports. Cycling brands recognize M.I.T.I. as the market leader for the outstanding features of their innovative fabrics. Green soul is their ultimate creation, the first fully sustainable stretch warp knitted range of fabrics in the world, created with ROICA™ Eco-Smart family for the new generation sustainable performance garments.
 
Sven Koehler, Head of production Maloja Clothing GmbH: Maloja, an outdoor specialty brand with its roots in nature and wellbeing have developed new amazing biking sets constructed of M.I.T.I. SpA fabrics using certified yarns belonging to ROICA™ Eco-Smart family.
 
Sergio Alibrandi, Executive Marketing Director Sitip S.p.A.: SITIP creates high-tech innovative sports fabrics that are made in Italy and optimize the latest technology. Committed to smart innovation, learn how they developed their ground-breaking multi-panel thermal bib tights able to generate heat for riders that want to conquer cold winter training. Made from BeHOT fabric constructed with ROICA™ StretchEnergy™, the next level of well-being providing a new dimension to active performance.  The audience will learn how leading international cycling brand Santini is using BeHOT with ROICA™ on select products to generate additional heat – up to 2 degrees C as the cyclist moves their body, thanks to ground-breaking heat generating technology as certified by CeRism, Outdoor Sport Research Centre at Verona University.
 
Spearheading the premium stretch market, ROICA™ partners’ materials elevate new standards for high-tech performance that can enhance cycling products to compete responsibly. ROICA™ partners excite you as they show a fantastic range of stretch essentials for cycling clothing, gear, and apparel that offer solid performance perks. Most importantly, visit ROICA™ partners at EUROBIKE to learn about their ongoing commitment to responsible innovation and creativity.

Linen, uniform and facility services operators certified Hygienically Clean Healthcare presented evidence today to members of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) that medical care facilities should more carefully control public wearing of employee uniforms.

Engaging visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit at APIC’s 2018 expo, certification staff had a receptive audience for the data. Most attendees interviewed indicated they support preventing employees from wearing scrubs and other healthcare apparel outside medical facilities. Many said they have policies to this effect but find these difficult to enforce.

The 3-day APIC exhibit is building awareness of Hygienically Clean certified providers among infection preventionists: individuals who recommend what linen and uniform service their facilities should use. Discussing issues with them such as uniform hygiene positions certified operators as the foremost laundry science experts with an unprecedented commitment to educating healthcare professionals regarding linen and laundry.

Visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit received Curbing the Infection Risks of Healthcare Garments, a brief compendium of studies and journal articles that point to the risk-reduction value of professionally laundering employees’ garments, worth the additional cost to a healthcare facility that currently makes employees responsible for washing them.

Hygienically Clean staff noted that TRSA, the global association for the linen and uniform industry that administers the certification program, has begun planning to raise the issue’s profile with healthcare industry stakeholders. TRSA’s Healthcare Committee has formed a task force on the matter. Staff has contacted TRSA associate members (suppliers to the industry) who manufacture scrubs, lab coats and other healthcare employee garments to explore promoting a new voluntary standard that would urge medical providers to prevent wearing these in public.

An Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) standard currently performs this role regarding garments worn in surgical suites. TRSA will weigh the possibility of supporting creation of a much broader measure, covering all clinical functions with discernible risk of pathogen transmission from healthcare garments to patients and the public.

As TRSA investigates courses of action, hoping to involve such stakeholder groups, Hygienically Clean certified providers will continue to point to the mounting evidence of the risks of garments carrying pathogens out of healthcare facilities and inadequate domestic laundering bringing them in.

In contrast, contracting with a Hygienically Clean provider, whose processes (laundry practices) are verified and outcomes (product cleanliness) are quantified by third parties, provides maximum confidence that all garments used in a healthcare setting have diminished presence of harmful bacteria. It’s a cost-effective way to essentially eliminate this single risk of infection transmission, unlike so many others that require preventionists to constantly guard against.

Exhibitors from eight countries have already confirmed to participate in the fair’s European Zone. They join an expected 500-plus total exhibitors from around the world. The 2018 edition of this biennial fair takes place from 4 – 6 September in halls N1 – N3 of the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

While China retains its edge in terms of technical textiles and nonwovens production capabilities, in the eyes of Chinese buyers, European suppliers are still the leaders when it comes to technology and innovation. This was widely reported by European exhibitors at the previous edition in 2016 of Asia’s leading biennial trade event for the industry: Cinte Techtextil China.

“In the Chinese market, buyers want good quality products, so overseas companies, and products with recognised quality certifications, have a lot of potential,” Ms Ping Chen, General Manager of IBENA Shanghai Technical Textiles commented. “As a leading German company in the industry, our products are welcomed by many buyers at this fair. It is also important to be in the German Pavilion as this signals to buyers that we have quality products, and it attracts more attention.” Swiss firm Sanitized AG had the same experience. “As a Swiss company in the European Zone I believe it’s an advantage, as some local buyers have more confidence towards imported products,” Mr Steven Liu, Sales Manager said.

Other exhibitors commented on the long-term trends in the Chinese market. “There’s a definite shift to more high-quality machinery in China that isn’t affected by what’s happening in the overall economy. Moreover, there are opportunities for overseas suppliers as there is still a gap between us and what Chinese companies produce,” Dr Joachim Binnig, Vice President, Head of Development & Technology, Autefa Solutions Germany GmbH explained.

Mr Roger Zhang, Sales Manager for German firm J.H. Ziegler Nonwovens and New Materials commented: “Our products are mainly for high-end Chinese customers, such as BMW and Audi. The Chinese market has gradually matured, but the production capability for high-performance products which are energy efficient and eco-friendly is still developing, so there is a lot of space for overseas brands to develop here.”

European Zone highlights
This year’s European Zone will feature around 30 exhibitors from eight countries, including Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, while further exhibitors can be found in national pavilions from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy. Some of the exhibitor highlights in the European Zone include:

• Arkema (France): with brands including PMMA Altuglas, Rilsan, Pebax, Kynar PVDF and Bostik, they will present polymer resin for fibres and yarns, which apply to a wide range of applications, at the fair.
• Dakota Coating (Belgium): specialists in thermoplastic and thermosetting adhesives, their polymer products, based on polyethylene, polyolefin or mixtures, ethylene vinyl acetates, co-polyamides, polyurethanes and co-polyesters, are suitable for automotive, building, heat transfer and sound insulation uses.
• Lenzing Plastics (Austria): a new exhibitor at the fair, they are a leading manufacturer of polyolefin and fluoropolymer products, such as Thermoplast and PTFE products. One of their core competencies lies in the monoaxial stretching of films and filaments, and they offer special solutions in the fields of construction & insulation, medicine & hygiene, packaging and cables, as well as automotive and technical textiles. They will highlight their PROFILEN® PTFE product at the fair, and with its extreme durability and very smooth surface, it is highly valued in many niche applications in the technical and medical sectors.
• Protechnic (France): leading manufacturers of hot-melt adhesives and plastic printed films, they will showcase hot melt thermo-adhesive nets, webs and films at the fair.
• Trelleborg Coated Systems (Italy): another new exhibitor this edition, they produce high-performance, engineered coated fabrics. They offer a wide variety of substrates – from Kevlar® to silk – with a choice of weaving methods.

The DyStar® Group recently launched a new concept of their resource saving module – Cadira Reactive/Disperse Continuous.

Cadira Reactive/Disperse Continuous is a modified pad-dry-thermosol-pad-steam dyeing process for open width PES/CO fabrics. In contrast to the standard PDTPS process, Cadira Reactive/Disperse Continuous does not require a separate reduction clearing process and thus saves more than 40% chemicals, water and energy. This effect is obtained by using a special dye choice of Dianix® XF/XF2 and SF disperse dyes in combination with selected Levafix® and Remazol® reactive dyes and a modified steaming and wash-off process with Sera® auxiliaries.

The Cadira concepts considerably reduce process costs, water, waste and energy consumption and machine utilization. Cadira supports Brands & Retailers and their production partners in their effort to save valuable resources and to reduce the carbon footprint of their textile goods.

The first Cadira module was developed in 2016. Since then DyStar has launched Cadira concepts for various substrates and applications. So far, the following Cadira concepts are available.

Cadira Polyester
Cadira Recycled Polyester
Cadira Vat
Cadira Reactive
Cadira Procion PX
Cadira Wool
Cadira Denim

DyStar will continue their effort to support the textile industry to reduce the environmental footprint.

About DyStar
DyStar® Group is a solution provider, offering customers across the globe a complete range of colorants, auxiliaries and services. The DyStar Group has offices, competence centers, agencies and production plants in over 50 countries to ensure the availability of expertise in all important markets. With a heritage of more than a century of product development and innovation for the textile and leather industry, DyStar has developed into new markets and now in addition serves the paper, plastic and many other specialty chemical industries.

DyStar’s service division assist brands & retailers and their industry partners from their first inspiration throughout the entire supply chain to ensure that they meet stringent quality and ecological specifications, reduce costs and shorten lead times. The service division offers state of the art color communication through CSI, textile and ecology testing through Texanlab, ecology and environmental advice, supply chain auditing and consulting for RSL compliant sustainable processes through Sustainable Textile Solutions programs.

The DyStar econfidence® program provides assurance that provided products comply with legal, voluntary and brand & retailer RSL (Restricted Substance List) requirements. It is an assurance that our products are in compliance with chemical and environmental legislation in each market in which they are sold.
Visit www.DyStar.com for more information.

• JEC Group pays tribute to the winners at JEC World 2018

The 2018 session of JEC World, the reference trade show organized by JEC Group, is in full swing and the focus is on innovation!
The JEC Innovation Awards ceremony, which took place on the Agora stage on Wednesday, March 7 at 5 pm, opened with a presentation by Yves Rossy, aircraft pilot and inventor of the first jet-powered wingpack. Then the jury revealed the names of the composite champions up for a JEC Innovation Award. Eleven winning innovations were chosen, out of the thirty finalists that had been previously selected from more than 100 applications from all over the world.

“JEC Group supports innovation. In 1998, it created the first award dedicated to composites, as a way to promote and reward the sector’s champions. Thanks to the work of JEC Group’s teams, the program has become an international benchmark. Each year, we receive more than a hundred applications from all over the world. Selection is now based on criteria like the level of involvement of the innovation’s partners in the value chain, the technical nature of the innovation, or its commercial applications,” explains JEC Group President & CEO Frédérique Mutel.
A new feature this year is that the jury revealed the winners during the ceremony, and the public could choose their favorite innovation before, during, and after the ceremony. So there is still time to vote! Votes are opened until Thursday March 8th, 5pm http://innovationawards.jec-world.events
Did you miss the ceremony?

11 AWARD WINNERS:
AEROSPACE APPLICATION
Winner:
AeroComposit, JSC (Russia) and its partner Solvay (United Kingdom)

• Infusion technology for an aircraft wing

The use of infusion technology to manufacture primary structural components for an aircraft wing. The technology makes it possible to create extra-long, integrated composite structures with complex aerodynamic shapes.

AEROSPACE PROCESS 
2 tied winners!
Winner: Airbus (Germany) and its partners, BMW Group (Germany), Technical University of Munich (TUM) (Germany), Neue Materialien Bayreuth GmbH (Germany), Werkzeugbau Siegfried Hofmann GmbH (Germany), BASF SE (Germany), Foldcore GmbH (Germany), Neenah Filtration (Germany) and SGL Carbon GmbH (Germany)

• Complex structural applications for MAI sandwich technology

Cost-effective production of a complex 2.5D structure made of thermoplastic composite sandwich, with very short cycle times: under 5 minutes for aerospace materials and 2.5 minutes for automotive materials.

Winner: M. Torres Diseños Industriales SAU (Spain)
Moldless process to manufacture one-piece parts
A new manufacturing process for oversized one-piece reinforced composite structures, without requiring the use of complete molds.

AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATION
Winner: Ford Werke GmbH (Germany) and its partners, Gestamp (United Kingdom), GRM Consulting (United Kingdom) and University of Warwick (United Kingdom)

• Lightweight composite automotive suspension part

Structural suspension part made of lightweight composite, using a brand-new patented process for prepreg/SMC/steel overmolding that was designed using a new computer-aided engineering (CAE) technology.

AUTOMOTIVE PROCESS
Winner: Audi AG (Germany) and its partners, Voith Composites GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), Dow Automotive (Switzerland), and Zoltek Corp. (United States)

• Series production of a rear panel module made of carbon composite

For the first time, the potential of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) is used to full advantage in series production with a new rear panel module and cost-effective production technologies.

CONSTRUCTION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Winner: Komatsu Seiren Co., Ltd. (Japan) and its partners, Kanazawa Institute of Technology (Japan) and Nagase ChemteX Corporation (Japan)

• Cabkoma cable made of CFRTP

Komatsu Seiren has developed a cable made of molded carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP), using a very cost-effective process that consists in polymerizing a thermoplastic epoxy resin in situ.

MARINE
Winner: Uljanik JSC (Croatia)

• Composite cargo decks for a vehicle carrier

On the SIEM Cicero, a vehicle carrier with a capacity of 7,000 vehicles, glass-fiber reinforced composites are used for a number of the structures for the cargo decks, thereby considerably reducing the ship’s weight, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

RAILWAY
Winner: ELG Carbon Fibre Ltd. (United Kingdom) and its partners, Alstom Transport (United Kingdom), Magma Structures (United Kingdom), the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom), and the University of Huddersfield (United Kingdom)

• A bogie frame made of optimized lightweight carbon fiber

This project has developed the very first carbon-fiber bogie frame that uses a recycled material, making it possible to overcome the obstacles to a commercial adoption of this type of structure.

SPORTS & LEISURE
Winner: BMW Group (Germany) and its partners EDAG Engineering GmbH (Germany), KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH (Germany), Chr. Karl Siebenwurst GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), TUM-LCC (Germany), Automation W + R GmbH (Germany), and FHG-IGCV (Germany)

• A modular construction system for the rear swing arm suspension of a motorcycle

A modular system to produce a complex-shape swing arm suspension reinforced with carbon fiber. The system can adjust the mechanical properties on a case-by-case basis, for a competitive cost and weight compared to metal solutions.

SMART CITIES
Winner: MC Materiales Compuestos (Argentina) and its partners, Plaquimet (Argentina), Purcom (Brazil), IS Groupe - Composite Integrity (France), and G12 Innovation (Brazil)

• The Wet Core Pod composite housing module

The Wet Core Pod is a composite housing module with an industrialization potential that can facilitate the most complex, costly and difficult step in a construction project.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Winner: Cetim-Cermat (France) and its partner, CETIM (France)

• “3-in-1” line for producing recycled composites

A modular line that uses an innovative thermomechanical process to make large panels from recycled composites or plastics. The panels are then thermoformed into parts.
 

Beijing - Tencent Holdings Limited (“Tencent”) (00700.HK), JD.com, Inc. (“JD.com”) (NASDAQ:JD), and Vipshop Holdings Limited (“Vipshop”) (NYSE:VIPS), today jointly announced that Tencent, a leading provider of internet value-added services in China, and JD.com, China’s largest retailer, have entered into definitive agreements with Vipshop, a leading online discount retailer for brands in China, such that Tencent and JD.com will invest an aggregate amount of approximately US$863 million in cash in Vipshop at the closing of the transaction.

Pursuant to the share subscription agreement, Tencent and JD.com will subscribe for newly issued Class A ordinary shares of Vipshop in the amount of approximately US$604 million and approximately US$259 million, respectively. The purchase price will be US$65.40 per Class A ordinary share, which is equivalent to US$13.08 per American Depositary Share (“ADS”) of Vipshop, five of which represent one Class A ordinary share. The purchase price represents a 55% premium over the closing price of the ADSs as of the last trading day on December 15, 2017.

The transaction is expected to close in the near future, subject to customary closing conditions.  Upon the closing, Tencent and JD.com will beneficially own, taking into account any existing holding, approximately 7% and 5.5%, respectively, of Vipshop’s total issued shares. The Class A ordinary shares issued to Tencent and JD.com will be subject to a two-year lock up restriction. Tencent and JD.com will have the right to appoint a director and an observer, respectively, to Vipshop’s board of directors during the two-year lockup period. After the end of the lock-up period, for so long as Tencent and JD.com hold approximately 12% and 8%, respectively, of Vipshop’s total issued shares, or otherwise by mutual agreement with Vipshop, they will maintain director and board observer rights.

Concurrently with the entry of the share subscription agreement, Tencent and JD.com have entered into business cooperation agreements with Vipshop, effective upon closing, establishing a cooperative relationship among Tencent, JD.com and Vipshop. Under these agreements, Tencent will grant Vipshop an entry on the interface of Weixin Wallet enabling Vipshop to utilize traffic from Tencent’s Weixin platform, and JD.com will grant Vipshop entries on both the main page of JD.com’s mobile application and the main page of its Weixin Discovery shopping entry, and will assist Vipshop in achieving certain GMV targets through JD.com’s platform.   

“I am truly delighted about Vipshop's new strategic cooperation relationships with Tencent and JD.com,” said Mr. Eric Ya Shen, Vipshop’s Co-founder, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. “This undoubtedly is an important event for Vipshop as well as China's e-commerce and internet industries. We, together with Tencent and JD.com, will leverage our respective strengths to form a strategic cooperative alliance aiming to achieve a deep, win-win cooperation and to benefit internet users and consumers. We will develop a holistic cooperation with Tencent on the Weixin platform and expand our strategic alliance with Tencent into more and broader areas.  We will explore win-win opportunities in multiple areas with JD.com, including establishing a strategic alliance in collaboration with brand suppliers, and an on-line traffic alliance. We will continue to operate as an independent e-commerce platform and further deepen and enhance our leading e-commerce capabilities in fashion (including apparel, shoes, bags and accessories) and cosmetics categories as well as our strong female user base, thereby offering higher value and better user experience to our customers.”

“The strength of Vipshop’s flash sale and apparel businesses, as well as its outstanding management team, create clear and strong synergies with us,” said Richard Liu, Chairman and CEO of JD.com. “This partnership will further extend the strong inroads that we have made with female shoppers, and will expand the breadth and reach of our fashion business. We continue to add the top-notch partners to complement JD.com’s core strengths, ensuring that JD and our partners provide the best customer experience for every shopping need.”

Martin Lau, President of Tencent Holdings, said, “We are pleased to become strategic investor in and partner with Vipshop. We look forward to providing Vipshop with our audiences, marketing solutions, and payment support to help the company provide branded apparel and other product categories to China’s rising middle class. We already see substantial demand from our users to discover, discuss and purchase branded apparel in our applications, and we believe that connecting our users more deeply to products on Vipshop’s platform will enrich their online experiences while benefiting Vipshop. We are proud of the role our resources such as marketing technology, payments handling, and machine learning play in facilitating a healthy and diverse retail ecosystem, online and offline.” 

About JD.com, Inc.

JD.com is both the largest e-commerce company in China, and the largest Chinese retailer, by revenue. The company strives to offer consumers the best online shopping experience. Through its user-friendly website, native mobile apps, and WeChat and Mobile QQ entry points, JD offers consumers a superior shopping experience. The company has the largest fulfillment infrastructure of any e-commerce company in China. As of September 30, 2017, JD.com operated 7 fulfillment centers and 405 warehouses covering 2,830 counties and districts across China, staffed by its own employees. JD.com is a member of the NASDAQ100 and a Fortune Global 500 company.

About Vipshop Holdings Limited

Vipshop Holdings Limited is a leading online discount retailer for brands in China. Vipshop offers high quality and popular branded products to consumers throughout China at a significant discount to retail prices. Since it was founded in August 2008, the Company has rapidly built a sizeable and growing base of customers and brand partners. For more information, please visit www.vip.com.

About Tencent Holdings Limited

Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users. Our social products Weixin and QQ link our users to a rich digital content catalogue including games, video, music and books. Our proprietary targeting technology helps advertisers reach out to hundreds of millions of consumers in China. Our infrastructure services including payment, security, cloud and artificial intelligence create differentiated offerings and support our partners’ business growth. Tencent invests heavily in people and innovation, enabling us to evolve with the Internet. Tencent was founded in Shenzhen, China, in 1998. Shares of Tencent (00700.hk) are traded on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “confident” and similar statements. Among other things, statements regarding the expected closing of the transactions and the quotations from management in this announcement are or contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to, those included in JD.com’s and Vipshop’s filings with the SEC and in Tencent’s filings with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and none of Tencent, JD.com or Vipshop undertake any duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

Overseas exhibitors found the fair an effective platform to open up the Asian market
Buyers benefited from wide range of quality exhibitors

The 23rd edition of Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles is over, with both exhibitors and buyers satisfied with the business outcomes resulting from the fair’s four days. The largest home textiles trading event in Asia was held from 23 – 26 August, attracting 1,106 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions. Given the strengthening market conditions in China the fair maintained its popularity, with the number of trade buyers increasing to 38,964 from 99 countries and regions (2016: 37,779 from 98 countries and regions). The show also attracted more international buyers this edition, with a 16% increase in those coming from abroad. “Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles has once again proven its leading position in Asia as a business and order platform for the industry. There was a noticeable positivity from both exhibitors and buyers this edition regarding the current and future situation of the domestic market, so we are optimistic about the industry for the next year,” Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd said.

Overseas exhibitors found the fair an effective platform to open up the Asian market

As the leading event of its kind in the region, the fair successfully attracts a number of Chinese and Asian buyers every year, ensuring suppliers can develop their business further in the region. This year, seven country and region pavilions including Belgium, India, Korea, Morocco, Pakistan, Taiwan and Turkey were formed, with exhibitors from all of satisfied they could meet their target buyers.

While being in the minority at the fair, European brands still managed to catch the attention of visitors due to strong interest in their products from Asia. The Italian upholstery supplier Enzo Degli Angiuoni Spa was satisfied with the number of Asian buyers, particularly Chinese, that they met at the fair. Mr Stefano Laurenzano, Export Area Manager expressed: “A lot of visitors that saw us here last year have come back again and are serious about cooperating with us. Here you can get a lot of new contacts and discover the Asian market. We’ve had mainly Chinese buyers, but have had more Asian buyers from South Korea, India, Malaysia and elsewhere to visit us this year. We are seeing more business here in recent years.”

Being a newcomer to the fair, Iceland Duvet ehf felt the potential in China. “We’ve had enough buyers including retailers and manufacturers visiting our booth to make our participation worthwhile. The interest from the buyers has been genuine. Being a European brand helps more than at fairs in Europe as we can stand out more here,” Mr Ragnar Ludvik Runarsson, representative said.

Indian exhibitor, Paramount Textile Mills Ltd has been joining the fair for three years. “Apart from meeting our existing customers, we’ve had enquiries from potential new customers from China as well as overseas including the US and South America,” Mr Ram. M., Director of Marketing & Finance said.

Also with three years’ participation, Mr Samir Tazi, General Manager of PIF Textile Emotions from Morocco affirmed the show’s effectiveness in meeting important buyers and decision makers. “It’s easier for us to meet them here compared with some smaller European fairs. Thanks to Intertextile Shanghai, we have also met the major players in China.” Talking about this year’s result, he continued: “We were very busy. We met with more people than any other fairs. There are a lot of new buyers and also returning buyers checking out our new products.”

Participating in the Korea Pavilion, Sangwon Textile Co Ltd found the fair helpful in attracting distributors and wholesalers from Southeast Asia. Mr Jeon Hyeon Tae, Sales Manager said: “We have found about five potential and quality distributors from Taiwan, India, Philippines and Singapore on the first day. We also got to meet a number of wholesalers who prefer to buy from us directly at the fair.” He added that Intertextile Shanghai is also an ideal platform to launch new products for their existing clients.

As the largest pavilion this year, the Turkey Pavilion was in the limelight of the show, with both new and veteran exhibitors finding it useful to exhibit in Intertextile Shanghai. Bezmez Ev Tekstil did not intend to receive any orders in their first show, but was surprised to obtain three in just one day. These concrete results reassured their likelihood of coming back next year. “We definitely see the potential for Turkish products here in China as Chinese companies prefer quality products nowadays,” Mr Ayhan Bezmez, representative, further commented. Mr Fahri Goksin, Vice President of Gokhan Tekstil agreed with Mr Bezmez that Chinese buyers are in favour of new things like imported goods and Western brands. His company has been in the Shanghai fair for six years and continued to get satisfactory results. “We’re looking for retailers, wholesalers and online buyers. We’ve had all of these visiting our booth already.”

Domestic exhibitors satisfied with the number of potential customers and orders received

Recently, there is strong signs suggesting that the home textiles market in China is recovering with both imports and exports rising gradually. The positive outcome that Chinese exhibitors achieved at the August’s fair have resonated with the market condition. It is no surprise to see a number of domestic booths packed with visitors throughout the days. SohoCUT is a case in point. To them, Intertextile Shanghai is the place for actual business. “Compared with other fairs we’ve been to, this is the exhibition where a huge number of international buyers gather. We met buyers from China, Mexico, Russia, the US, India and Southeast Asia. We even got large orders for the first two days.” Mr Wheatley Weng, Managing Director said.

The fabrics of Wujiang Linwang Weaving Mill is also sought after at the fair. Being a company that do both exports and domestic trade, they are happy to connect with local and overseas customers during the show. “We’ve collected around 100 leads on the first day, of which 70% are domestic and the remaining being international. The overseas visitors are from Italy, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Chile and Korea that our products precisely meet their requirement. We see high chances of cooperation after the fair.” Mr Kenny, Sales Manager said.

Given the prevailing smart home concept in China, Somfy China Co Ltd which specialised in advanced sun-protection system has become one of the highlights at the fair. Ms Nancy Nan, Chief Executive Officer mentioned: “The visitor flow has been really high that our booth is swarmed by buyers. Amongst those visitors, there is no lack of medium to high-end customers who placed orders immediately.”

Editors assembled to promote high-end products

To cater to the ascending standards of Chinese customers, Intertextile Shanghai once again brought editors together in hall 5.1 to maximise their exposure to their target buyers. As foreign brands with subsidiaries in China, JAB and Prestigious see the growing interest in their premium products in China. “We pay attention to the changing buying habits of Chinese consumers and, as such, have started promoting a series of products under a unified lifestyle trend. It’s obvious that we are gaining more awareness from buyers at the fair,” Mr William Lin, Vice President of JAB ANSTOETZ Interior (Shanghai) Co Ltd said. He also appreciated the specific display area for imported fabrics and the organisers’ attempt to attract more designers, which helped them meet more potential customers. Apart from getting onsite orders, Prestigious Textiles (Shanghai) Ltd also considers the show a promotion platform. “There is great demand for our products in China. Though we achieved similar sales compared with last year, through this fair our brand has been well introduced to the market,” Mr Lewis Liu, Sales Director expressed.

Originating from China, Euroart Co Ltd was another editor that successfully showcased their latest collection at the fair. “It is a good time to join the most influential home textiles exhibition in Asia as we have just launched new products in May. We are satisfied as some of our existing clients plus new visitors came to our booth,” Ms Guo Jianhua, Director Assistant said.

Industry players benefit from the expanded Digital Printing Zone

The demand for digital printing solutions has been growing in recent years, especially as the industry has put more emphasis on green production. As such, the Digital Printing Zone expanded in size this edition, incorporating a Seminar Area and more exhibitors.

As an Italian company, MS Printing Solutions Srl experienced the potential of the sector in China. “The fair has been busy, and we’ve had steady flow of buyers coming through. The potential in digital printing here is just beginning. The Chinese government is pushing companies to reduce their pollution, so it has a big advantage in this regard over traditional textile printing,” Mr Walter Oggioni, Regional Sales Manager stated, adding that the company has been growing very fast globally, especially in China, Turkey, India and Pakistan.

This potential holds for domestic machine manufacturers as well. Specialising in the production of digital printing machines, Guangzhou Xu Cheng Electronic Technology Co Ltd was at the fair to meet fabrics suppliers. Mr Jesse Luo, Overseas Manager explained: “Compared with exhibitions for textile machinery, Intertextile Shanghai attracts more fabrics suppliers, which are our target clients. It helps even more as we are located in this special zone. We’ve been talking to a lot customers, including overseas buyers who are also interested in our machines.”

A series of seminars also provided opportunities for the industry to share their insights on this emerging sector. As a speaker, Foshan Sanshui Yingjie Precision Machinery believed the session was mutually beneficial for them and the audience. “Attendees are from the whole sector including manufacturers and end users, so we can discuss different perspectives. It will facilitate our improvement,” Mr Peng Jichang, General Manager said. Mr Scott Bai, representative of Huntsman Textile Effects (China) Co Ltd also benefited from visiting the zone and the seminar. “Together with seminar, the Digital Printing Zone can professionally present the current situation for the industry. When suppliers and users come together, we can discover the way to enhance this technology.”

Buyers benefited from wide range of quality exhibitors

Intertextile Shanghai is the largest trading platform in Asia with the whole spectrum of home textiles and accessories on offer. Hence, visitors, be they Chinese or overseas, can access a wide range of quality suppliers that meet their sourcing needs. Australian buyer, Mr Glenn Whitchurch from Trabeth Textiles, was impressed with his sourcing journey. “The polyester quality of domestic exhibitors has been unbelievable. What’s more, we’ve found the Chinese suppliers to be very flexible in meeting our needs, they’re clearly keen to accommodate overseas buyers.” Mr Whitchurch also commented favourably on the product range at Intertextile Shanghai compared to European fairs.

One ongoing trend at the fair over recent years is the increasing quality of domestic suppliers, which attracts buyers to come back and source. Mezanin V SRL from Moldova is a long-term supporter of the show, and place orders every year. Its Vice Director, Mr Mihail Tornea remarked: “It is an important event for us to meet new suppliers from China. We are selective with the suppliers we work with, but the Chinese companies here meet our requirements. As a sourcing event, Intertextile Shanghai is the best place to be.”

The fair’s VIP buyer programme also assists buyers in meeting worldwide exhibitors at ease. Mr Bibo Lan is the co-founder of Loft Curtains in the US and he is excited to meet lots of potential suppliers here. “The arrangement for VIPs is satisfying and it helps a lot to have my target exhibitor information in advance. The largest benefit of our visit is that we met Libeco from Belgium, while we also confirmed to work with a blackout supplier at the fair,” he said.

Chinese buyers agreed that Intertextile Shanghai is the most effective sourcing platform in Asia. “Overseas suppliers like Turkey exhibitors are our main interest. So far, we have connected with four to five exhibitors in hall 4 and will place orders with them soon. In terms of exhibitor number and the product range, I feel that the fair has improved a lot. It is my favourite show with a lot of overseas products to discover,” Mr Huang Shenghua, General Manager of Ziranfeng Home Textile Co Ltd said.

Concurrent events inspired the industry

Apart from facilitating business between exhibitors and visitors, the fair also incorporated various design elements via a series of concurrent events. These included display area like Trend Area, International Fiber Art Exhibition and Home Furnishing Crossover Exhibition where participants could find innovative designs and ideas.

This was also the first time the Andrew Martin International Interior Design Summit and the fair took place concurrently. Experts from the interior design, architecture and art sectors were invited to share and discuss their views on the transformation of design in the new information era. Mr Kot Ge, founder of a domestic interior design studio, LSDCASA was delighted to join, and shared: “This show always attracts many top interior designers and it’s my pleasure to meet them here. Interior design and home textiles are closely related and new concepts can bring along improvement.”

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn Edition was organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Home Textile Association (CHTA). The next Autumn Edition will take place in August 2018, while the Spring Edition runs from 14 – 16 March 2018.
To find out more about this fair, please visit: www.intertextilehome.com.
For more information about Messe Frankfurt textile fairs worldwide, please visit: http://texpertise-network.messefrankfurt.com.

An exhibit at the recent Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) annual meeting in Washington promoted the value of doing business with a Hygienically Clean Healthcare certified launderer. More than 120 attendees learned how the certification verifies laundries’ best management practices (BMPs) and quantifies laundered product cleanliness. The display marked the first such promotion of Hygienically Clean Healthcare to an outpatient medical market. Previous exhibits touted the certification to hospital audiences: the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) and Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). Like members of those groups, most ASCA participants interviewed were industry customers, but represented a wider variety of professions, including M.D. owners and these job titles:

• Administrator • Business Manager
• CEO, President, CFO, COO
• Chief Medical Officer
• Clinical Coordinator, Director
• Nursing Director
• Regional Director, VP

Roughly 10 percent of the visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit on May 3-5 expressed concern about the product and service quality of their linen, uniform and facility services providers. Using a Hygienically Clean certified launderer addresses quality concerns, they were told, as inspectors focus on a facility’s quality assurance manual as the hub of control measures (BMPs) that minimize potential for error. In addition, unlike Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) certification, Hygienically Clean microbial testing measures finished product quality, enforcing a total microbial content ceiling, including yeasts, molds and bacteria.