中国是全球纺机行业的关键市场

經历了订单数量“有史以来最好”的前几年后，瑞士和其他许多工业国家一样，遭遇了纺织行业发展的严重放缓。很明显，由于全球新冠肺炎疫情的大流行，2020年和2021年对所有的市场参与者来说都极为困难。瑞士从未对纺织行业实施封锁。因此，由于订单和项目的延期、供应链不稳定的情况，大多数公司都在较低的水平上继续生产。2020年瑞士纺织机械的出口统计数据显示，与2019年相比，下降了约25%，前五大出口国是中国、德国、土耳其、美国和印度。然而纺织机械行业是一个周期性行业，这个行业虽然最早受到了打击，但崛起也是最为快速的。因此，目前我们的会员公司大多正在恢复订单。

目前瑞士的疫情正在平息。我们在疫苗接种方面取得了良好的进展，这为我们创造了一定的自由度。诚然，我们的会员公司仍然受全球疫情形势的影响，因为只有全球的局势得到控制，全球供应链和需求才会再次稳定。我们预计，2022年纺织行业才会逐渐恢复正常。

今年瑞士第一季度的订单量趋于稳定。特别是，中国、德国、美国、意大利和孟加拉国的订单量有所增加。不出所料，非织造布和工业用纺织品领域的新订单发展非常顺利。从纺纱到刺绣和质量控制，纺织价值链上的其他环节也有积极的发展。

在本次纺机展中，我们没有像往年一样，有很多瑞士的参展商参加。尽管市场对我们来说依然非常重要，但对于一些公司来说，想要积极参展，阻碍太大了。准入限制和物流问题是两大挑战。虽然我们不能参加此次展览，但是我们相信，我们会积极参加ITMA ASIA + CITME 2022。参展商将展示机械、操作和搬运方面的许多新进展。从纺纱到编织、针织、非织造布到整理和刺绣，包括装饰，瑞士纺织机械制造商一直在为整个纺织价值链提供解决方案。在纺织价值链的所有环节中都可以发现令人兴奋和创造性的创新。

关于创新和进步，纺织行业的重要趋势仍然是可持续、数字化和循环经济。数字化提供了多种可能性，无论是在产品或流程优化方面，还是在开发全新的商业模式方面。我们的纺织机械公司利用这些可能性来为客户创造最大的利益。可持续性，资源的优化利用也是主要议题之一。原材料稀缺，能源昂贵，使机器和解决方案在这两个方面更加高效是关键。可持续性和循环经济将是我们未来许多年的急需解决的挑战。世界人口的购买力每年都在增长，这也导致了纺织品的生产不成比例的增长。这就是纺织价值链上所有参与者都面临着寻找可持续解决方案的原因。

多年来，中国一直是我们最重要的出口市场。2020年，瑞士纺织机械出口的15%流向中国。如果再加上我们成员公司在中国的生产工厂和分支机构，中国的重要性就更为突出了。未来长一段时间内，中国仍是全球纺织业最重要的市场。当然，亚洲的其他市场也很重要，例如，越南、印度尼西亚和泰国。印度，也是另一个重要的纺织工业中心，目前由于全球疫情，有所削弱。但我相信印度市场也会在不久的将来顺利复苏。

对于我个人而言，我对纺织业未来的发展绝对是积极的。至于什么时候会恢复到以前的水平，还有待观察。这场疫情显示了纺织业的重要性，特别是在那些被遗忘多年的欧洲国家。当口罩和防护设备紧缺时，这个行业的重要性被人们重新发现，各种产品和技术再次地区化。

中国对于是纺织机械制造商来说，仍然是一个十分有吸引力的市场，这一事实增强了我们的信心。尽管2020年全球经济环境非常困难，但中国纺织品出口同比增长29%，达到1540亿美元。随着疫情在中国得到控制，非织造行业作为一个关键市场，这场展会的意义更加重要。此外，ITMA ASIA + CITME 2020 是疫情后唯一一次大型纺织机械展览会，为纺织机械制造商与客户进行面对面交流提供了交流的桥梁。

China is the key market of global textile machinery industry

Interview with Cornelia Buchwalder， Secretary General of Swissmem

After quite a few years with "best-ever" order volume and results， Switzerland， as many other industrial countries， encountered a heavy slowdown of our industry. It has become apparent that 2020 and 2021 will be very difficult years for all market players due to the global corona pandemic. In Switzerland we never had an imposed lockdown for the industry. So most of companies continued production – on a lower level， due to postponement of orders and projects， supply chain difficulties and the unsecure situation in general. The 2020 export statistics of the Swiss Textile Machines showed a minus of around 25% compared to 2019， the top five export countries being China， Germany， Turkey， the US and India. But knowing that the textile machinery industry is an early cyclical industry， the industry was not only hit early， but it also upswinged earliest. Accordingly， our member companies are currently already talking about a good order intake again.

Fortunately， the pandemic situation is calming down in Switzerland. We are now making good progress with the vaccination programme， which is creating new freedoms. Of course， our member companies continue to be affected by the global situation. This is because global supply chains and demand will only stabilise again once the situation is under control worldwide. I expect that we will see a gradual return to normality only from 2022 onwards.

In the first quarter of the current year we see a stabilisation of order intake. In particular， orders have picked up in the following markets - China， Germany， USA， Italy and Bangladesh. Not surprisingly， incoming orders in the nonwovens and technical textiles sector are developing very well. But the other segments along the textile value chain also have a positive development - from spinning all the way to embroidery and quality control.

We will not have the same number of Swiss exhibitors at this exhibition as in previous years. Although the market is still eminently important for all our members， the hurdles are too great for some companies to actively participate in the exhibition. Entry restrictions and logistics problems remain two current challenges. However， we are convinced that the participation of Swiss companies at the upcoming ITMA ASIA + CITME 2022 will recover and even grow. With a good number of exhibitors， many new advancements in machinery， operation and handling will be on display. The Swiss Textile Machinery manufacturers present solutions for the entire textile value chain from spinning to weaving， knitting， nonwovens to finishing and embroidery， including garmenting. So exciting and innovative novelties can be discovered in all steps of the textile value chain.

With regard to innovation and progress， the important trends for our industry continue to be sustainability， digitisation and the circular economy. Digitalisation offers various possibilities， be it in product or process optimization or in the development of completely new business models. Our textile machinery companies use these possibilities to generate maximum customer benefit. With regard to sustainability， the optimized utilisation of resources is again one of the major topics. Raw materials are scarce and energy is expensive， therefore making the machines and solutions more efficient in both aspects is key. I believe that the whole issue of sustainability and the circular economy will be our main challenge for many years to come. The purchasing power of the worlds population， which is increasing every year， is also leading to a disproportionate increase in textile production. This is why all players along the textile value chain are challenged to find creative and sustainable solutions.

China has been by far the most important export market， not only for the Swiss textile machinery industry， for many years. In 2020， 15% of Swiss Textile Machinery exports went to China. If you add to this the many production plants and branches of our member companies in China， the importance is massively increased. China will remain the most important global market for the textile industry for a long time to come. But of course other markets in the Asian region are also important and developing. To name just a few， Vietnam， Indonesia and Thailand. India ， another important hub of the textile industry is somewhat weakened at the moment due to the global Corona situation. But I am convinced that the Indian market will also recover well.

I am definitely positive about the textile industry. Whether it will be in 2021 or the following year remains to be seen. The pandemic has shown the importance of the textile industry， especially in European countries， which was forgotten for many years. When suddenly no masks and protective equipment were available， the importance of the industry was rediscovered and various products and technologies were regionalised again.

Our confidence is strengthened by the fact that China continues to be an attractive market for textile machinery manufacturers. Despite a very difficult global economic climate in 2020， Chinas textile exports increased 29 percent yearon-year to now $154 billion. With the COVID pandemic under control in China， holding this combined show will become even more important as a key marketplace for the textile industry for both the traditional and growing nonwoven sectors. In addition， ITMA ASIA + CITME 2020 will be the only major show to take place after a difficult year， giving textile machinery manufacturers the opportunity to reconnect with the market after a year of minimal face-to-face interactions with customers and partners.