ITMA 2027, the world’s leading exhibition for textile and garment technology, has received a strong response from the global industry as preparations continue for its next edition. The exhibition has unveiled its sector plan, covering 12 halls across more than 180,000 square metres at Messegelände Hannover, Germany, where the event will take place from 16–22 September 2027.
More than 1,500 companies from 43 countries have already secured their participation, highlighting continued confidence in textile manufacturing innovation despite ongoing geopolitical and economic challenges.
The exhibition will feature 20 sectors spanning the complete textile and garment manufacturing value chain, including spinning, weaving, knitting, nonwovens, finishing, printing, garment making, software and automation, recycling, fibres, yarns and fabrics, research and innovation, and services.
The European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers (CEMATEX), representing nine national textile machinery associations—ACIMIT, AMEC AMTEX, BTMA, GTM, SWISSMEM, SYMATEX, TMAS, UCMTF and VDMA—continues to demonstrate strong industry leadership. Manufacturers represented by these associations account for 43% of all exhibitors and more than 60% of the exhibition space booked to date.
International participation remains equally impressive, with manufacturers from outside Europe accounting for over 50% of exhibitors and approximately 40% of the booked exhibition space. China leads international participation, followed by India, Türkiye and Japan, reflecting the importance of Asia and other key manufacturing regions in the global textile machinery industry.
Alex Zucchi, President of CEMATEX, said the broad international participation reinforces ITMA’s role as a neutral global platform where manufacturers can showcase innovations and compete on an equal footing.
Charles Beauduin, Chairman of ITMA Services, added that the strong exhibitor response demonstrates the industry’s resilience and continued willingness to invest in innovation and long-term growth despite challenging global economic conditions.
Innovation, Recycling and Start-Ups Gain Momentum
The traditional machinery sectors—including Spinning, Nonwovens, Weaving, Knitting, Finishing, Printing and Garment Making—continue to occupy the largest exhibition footprint. Alongside these, dedicated sectors for Research & Innovation, Software & Automation, Recycling, Fibres, Yarns & Fabrics and Services highlight the industry’s growing focus on sustainability, digitalisation and smart manufacturing.
One of the fastest-growing features is the CEMATEX-funded Start-Up Valley, which has seen applications double compared to ITMA 2023. A total of 64 start-ups are competing for just 20 exhibition spaces, underlining the increasing role of emerging technologies in shaping the future of textile manufacturing.
According to Alex Zucchi, Start-Up Valley is an important initiative that encourages fresh ideas, technological advancement and long-term industry competitiveness by providing innovative young companies with a global platform.
The Research & Innovation sector will once again promote collaboration between academia and industry, supporting the commercialisation of new textile technologies.
Meanwhile, the Recycling sector continues to gain momentum, driven by regulations such as the EU Sustainable and Circular Textiles Strategy and growing investment in textile-to-textile recycling technologies that are making circular manufacturing increasingly commercially viable.
Looking Ahead to ITMA 2027
Taking place from 16–22 September 2027 in Hannover, Germany, ITMA 2027 will showcase the latest advancements across the textile and garment manufacturing value chain, with major themes including advanced materials, automation, digital transformation, sustainability, circularity and human-centric manufacturing.
The publication of the sector plan provides exhibitors and visitors with an early overview of the exhibition layout, allowing companies to begin planning their participation well ahead of visitor registration, which is scheduled to open in March 2027.
