CEMATEX, the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers, today announced the appointment of Alex Zucchi as its new president. Mr Zucchi was elected at the General Assembly held on 14 June 2024.
Mr Zucchi has been active in CEMATEX, having been involved in the ACIMIT delegation since 2015. He is the immediate past president of ACIMIT, and continues to be a staunch advocate of the sustainability cause, including promotion of the ACIMIT green label and the recycling of textile machinery. Currently, he is the managing director and partner of Ferraro, a manufacturer specialising in finishing machinery.
Recently, Textile Focus conversed with the Ceamtex President. Read the full conversation –
Textile Focus: CURRENT SCENARIO OF TEXTILE MACHINERY BUSINESS
Mr Zucchi: As of mid-2025, the textile machinery industry is navigating a complex but promising landscape, shaped by several key trends and global dynamics.
After the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent supply chain volatility, the textile machinery market has largely rebounded. Demand was increasing, especially in Asia (China, India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam), where large-scale investments in modernizing production facilities were underway. Now geopolitical tensions, particularly in Europe and Middle east , along with rising labor costs and environmental regulations, are prompting a reevaluation of supply chains. There’s a growing interest in nearshoring textile production closer to consumer markets, especially in Europe and North America, which impacts machinery investment patterns.
Textile Focus: How is Cematex working to boost the machinery business?
Mr Zucchi: CEMATEX plays a central role in supporting and boosting the textile machinery business across Europe and globally. Here’s how the organisation is actively working to strengthen the industry in 2025:
CEMATEX owns ITMA, the world’s largest textile and garment technology exhibition, held in Europe every four years, and ITMA ASIA in collaboration with CITME in China every two years and a special edition in Singapore this year. ITMA serves as a critical business accelerator by showcasing cutting-edge machinery, fostering partnerships, and giving manufacturers global visibility. It’s where suppliers connect with decision-makers from across the textile value chain. Through ITMA and other initiatives, CEMATEX emphasises sustainable innovation, highlights technologies that reduce resource consumption, support circularity, and increase efficiency. This is done by giving visibility to eco-friendly and smart solutions, encourage manufacturers to invest in future-ready equipment.
CEMATEX works closely with research institutions, universities, and trade organisations to foster innovation and knowledge exchange. These collaborations lead to technological advances and new applications in fields like technical textiles, composites and digital manufacturing.
As a unified voice for the European textile machinery industry, CEMATEX engages with policymakers to ensure favorable regulations, funding opportunities for R&D, and strong support for sustainability goals. This helps create a supportive environment for business growth.
Textile Focus: Cematex members, what will be presented at the Itma-Citme Singapore 2025 in October?
Mr Zucchi: More than 770 exhibitors from 31 countries/regions will occupy about 70,000 sqm across seven halls. This explains itself how important is an exhibition like this.
There will be 19 dedicated product sectors, covering the full textile & garment manufacturing chain, include spinning, knitting, nonwovens, finishing, printing, embroidery, composites, recycling, software, automation, chemicals and other sectors.
As a unique feature of any ITMA exhibition, there will be live machinery demonstrations to enable visitors to see real-time operations. Sustainability and circular technologies will also be displayed with recycling systems, waste management, heat recovery, pollution prevention, green chemicals and traceability services.
Besides solutions driven by Industry 4.0, including software platforms and automatic production systems will be also be displayed.
ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 in Singapore is set to be a pivotal showcase of next-generation textile machinery — eco-friendly, digitised, and operationally smart — tailored for manufacturers aiming to modernise their production, and excel in competitive regional markets.
Textile Focus: How do you see the Bangladesh market for CEMATEX?
Mr Zucchi: Bangladesh is a highly strategic market for CEMATEX member companies. As one of the world’s leading apparel exporters, Bangladesh, despite the difficult business environment, will continue to invest heavily in modernising its textile sector, especially in areas like automation, sustainability and energy efficiency. This creates strong demand for advanced European textile machinery. Our members see significant opportunities in supporting Bangladesh’s transition to more value-added production, digital manufacturing and eco-friendly processes. With a growing focus on quality and compliance, Bangladesh will continue to be a priority for our engagement and partnerships.
Textile Focus: As Cematex President, what’s your future plan?
Mr Zucchi: As President of CEMATEX, my future plan is to strengthen our role as a global leader in textile machinery innovation and sustainability. We will continue to support our member associations in advancing smart technologies, promoting sustainable manufacturing practices, and opening new markets. A key priority is expanding the impact of ITMA and ITMA Asia as platforms that not only showcase innovation but also drive meaningful industry transformation. We aim to foster greater collaboration across the value chain and ensure that European machinery manufacturers remain at the forefront of the global textile industry.”
