The Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT) has recorded a 15% increase in orders of Italian textile machinery for the second quarter of 2015 over the same period of last year. The value of the orders index for this period amounts to 99.4 points. Italy remains under observation, but is showing sure signs of a recovery – domestic orders have risen by 7% compared to the second quarter of 2014, the association reports.

Orders have made a definitive move in foreign markets, a 21% increase over the same quarter for 2014, marking a fourth consecutive period of growth.

According to Raffaella Carabelli, ACIMIT President, this growth for the Italian market is somewhat unexpected. It’s highly likely that the incentives implemented by the Government may have contributed to this light recovery in their sector. The rest was certainly achieved by the healthy situation of various sectors downstream from their own.

With ITMA 2015 so imminently close, businesses are waiting on the innovations that will be presented in Milan, the association reports. The recovery of their domestic market is certainly a good omen for ITMA, where 450 Italian exhibitors will be present – 27% of the total number of companies.

As for foreign markets, official data from ISTAT confirm a recovery for the first four months of the year in various textile machinery importing countries. India, for one, has resumed its growth trend (+6% over the first quarter of 2014), and there’s been a surprising rise in exports to Bangladesh (+187%), with EU markets also appearing to show good form.

However, they are waiting for a recovery from China, where investments in machinery are still low compared to a year ago, said Carabelli. But ACIMIT has mainly been targeting the market in Iran.

For years, Iran was a benchmark for Italy’s textile machinery industry. International sanctions have effectively halted the flow of machinery exports towards Iran, penalizing many Italian manufacturers. But, the recent agreement on the nuclear issue opens up a window for a recovery in investments in textile technology by Iran’s textile sector.