The recently concluded IGATEX Pakistan 2004 exhibition has reinforced its position as the largest exhibition of its kind in the region as well as the largest commercial event in the history of Pakistan with international dimensions. This renowned international Garment, Textile & Leather Machinery, Accessories & Fabrics Exhibition received a stunning response from industry players in its third showing this year; surpassing its previous record by stitching up a gross exhibit space of more than 12,000 sqm; and doubling its size compared to its 2003 presentation.

It attracted more than 430 participating companies, mainly dominated by the international participation coming from 30 countries, including China, Germany, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, Korea, Turkey, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The Textile Machinery Manufacturers Association (TEMSAD) of Turkey has once again played a pivotal role in bringing all the leading Turkish textile machinery manufacturers into this event, which in itself is the largest single-country participation in any exhibition in Pakistan in the form of a Country Pavilion. The international representation at IGATEX Pakistan granted a multi-faceted splendor of premium brands with their state-of-the-art technology and practical applications.

Business deals of more than US$ 100 million reported
According to press release by Grace Chan, CEMS, "The four-day exhibition attracted some 50,000 trade visitors and professionals from all over the world; with the majority rating IGATEX as a world-class showcase of the latest in textile technology. The success of this edition of IGATEX Pakistan 2004 is evident from the very fact that the exhibitors closed numerous business deals estimated to be worth more than US$100 million during the four days of the show".

Quilting machines from Meca, Dyeing machines from Fong's , MCS and Al-Ameen Industries, Printing machines from M&R, Embroidery machines from Tajima, Barudan, SWF and ZSK and Industrial Sewing machines from Zoe, Jack Sewing Machines and Juki remained the center of focus for the trade visitors throughout the exhibition. The circular knitting technology was exhibited by NCB Corporation (Pakistan), Masa (Anwar Mill Store) and Lisky Circular knitting machines from Bangladesh. In finishing

technology, Santabrush was the star of the show in addition to the Hacoba sewing thread winder.

In the weaving sector, Panter and Comez attracted a larger numberof visitors to their looms in operation.

The testing instruments by Mesdan, James Heal, SDL/Atlas/Raitech and Premier Polytronics attracted a significant number of visitors and their agents also reported a number of on-site sales

and orders. The lab instruments elicited a good response from various segments, especially spinning mills and lab dyeing machines. The latest textile manufacturing machinery of numerous types, showcased at IGATEX, included computerized embroidery, pattern making, quilting, cutting & engraving, sewing, dyeing, knitting and quality testing machines. The exhibitors regarded IGATEX better than any other show in Asia in terms of getting to meet quality visitors and potential buyers.

The textile industry of Pakistan needs its own regional exhibition and the exhibitions of such magnitude and prestige will bring long term investments and growth opportunities to the door step of textile mills in Pakistan. The leading Textile mills in Pakistan have both the means and resources to visit international fairs and acquire the latest machinery and technology. The IGATEX, in this context, has brought small to medium sized textile mills, machinery manufacturer and enterprises into focus. The textile mills operating on smaller scale will benefit immensely from such platform and they will be better equipped to face the challenges of quota free environment in 2005. For example, the local manufacturers of parts and spares should be encouraged to exhibit their products along with the leading agents and their European Manufacturer.

IGATEX Pakistan 2004 sets the stage for companies to generate productive transactions seamlessly in an industry that is fast climbing the upward curve. The event would significantly boost the industrial performance of the country's textile sector as a timely response to the forthcoming challenges of quota-free trade regime commencing from 2005.

 Organisers:
Organized by Conference & Exhibition Management Services (CEMS), Singapore and Pegasus Consultancy (Pvt) Ltd, the third edition of IGATEX has grown into a significant regional event in South East Asia.

The perseverance and faith of both the organizers has resulted in the success of the third edition of IGATEX. Pakistan holds a pivotal position in the world markets for its textile and garment made-ups that are exported to a large number of countries. In addition to its contribution of fulfilling a major share of global need, the garment and textile industry contributes more than 65% of the total export earnings, accounts for 46% of total manufacturing and employs

38% of the manufacturing labour force as a major component of the national economy.

The beginning of the quota free trade regime from 2005 will mark a new challenge for the textile industry where internationally accepted quality standards and latest technology will be sought in order to meet the demands of quality products, timely delivery and speedy production.
At present, IGATEX shows primarily aim at serving the Pakistani textile manufacturers, at their own doorstep, as a single comprehensive and premium marketplace where established and renowned machinery manufacturer showcase their latest offerings in technology and design. In

future, the show may grow into as an ideal one-stop sourcing center for Iran, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and all the important international visitors of South Asian and Middle Eastern markets. Overseas trade visitors from China, India, Italy, Korea, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, UAE and UK are the testament to the diverse range of visitors. In addition to the majority visitors from Pakistan, delegations from China, Singapore and UAE also visited the exhibition during the second day. Visiting delegations also included representatives of

Dr. Emilio de Matteis, Italian Trade Commission with Mr. A.R. Dawoodpota, Deputy Trade Commissioner

The trade visitors from upcountry, including Faisalabad, Multan and Lahore turned up in large numbers.
The diplomats and trade delegates from Switzerland, Italy, UK, India and Korea also visited the exhibition, rating IGATEX as a world-class showcase of latest in textile technology. Adding to the significance of this show, some of the major and internationally renowned manufacturer of textile machinery have chosen IGATEX as their preferred launching pad of their latest product range and technology in Pakistan. The SantaBrush machine by Santex Group, The quilting machine by Meca, Italy and Allwin dyeing machinery by Fong's, Multihead embroidery machine by Tajima displaying a sequence device with 3mm sequence, are some of the examples.
Extensive support by government & private sector organisations:

strengthen the show in Pakistan and its significance abroad. In addition, support from the private sector trade bodies and associations such as following has gone a long way to encourage its members to visit the exhibition.

- Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers Association
- All Pakistan Textile Manufacturers Association
- Pakistan Cloth Merchants Association
- Pakistan Bedwear Exporters Association
- Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association
- All Pakistan Bedwear & Upholstery Manufacturers Association.

Aasim Siddiqui, Chairman and Managing Director, Pegasus Consultancy The show was a success beyond all our expectations. I am particularly pleased about the large number of foreign visitors who came from countries like South Africa, Bangladesh, UAE, Spain and Korea. In fact a visitor from Korea sent us an urgent email asking us to guide him to an exhibitor's booth for a meeting as he did not have any time to lose. These visitors came to see international textile machinery on display. This makes the exhibition truly an international event. More than 1000 foreign visitors and exhibitors were present at IGATEX. It is heartening to note than these international visitors have come to Karachi to buy textile machinery despite all the negative stereotypes about Pakistan. Some of the exhibitors even launched their new technology in IGATEX the same way they do at leading international exhibitions. The advantage of IGATEX is that a textile machinery manufacturer can equate the level of business done during these four days to a full year's marketing efforts in Pakistan. The response from our own industry has been remarkable. Many textile mills sent their teams of 15-20 people from all over the country to look at the technology on display. Most of them stayed for the entire duration of the show. Although the amount of business that took place was quite significant, the interaction taking place between the foreign textile experts and the technicians and managers of textile mills in itself is of tremendous value for our industry which had only limited exposure to such expertise and technology in the past. One interesting observation made by a consultant was that this show has generated a great deal of interest even in non-textile sectors. After visiting the show many visitors from other industries are convinced of the viability of the textile industry in Pakistan and are ready to invest in this vital sector. Aamer Khanzada, Director According to Aamer Khanzada, Director, Pegasus Consultancy, IGATEX has evolved into a high level

platform of interaction between our textile industry and the leading textile machinery manufacturers in a short span of two years. The industry has realised the importance of this event and after 2 editions in 2002 and 2003 visitors and exhibitors have made IGATEX a remarkable success this year.

Visitors from all parts of the country came to Karachi to view the latest textile technology on display. Although we are keen to hold an edition of IGATEX in Lahore, the facility to display machinery is not yet ready there. Once the Expo Centre at Lahore is ready we would certainly like to rotate IGATEX alternatively between Karachi and Lahore.

In this edition we have tried to provide our exhibitors and visitors world class service and facilities like compressed air in collaboration with one of our exhibitors as well as uninterrupted power supply. Power supply for an exhibition like ITMA would be taken for granted but in Pakistan we had to generate our own power for the entire duration of the show. This is something even our partners in Singapore could not comprehend fully because rest of the world takes uninterrupted electric power for granted. Most of our present exhibitors have already requested an increase in space for next year. To meet the increased demand for next year, IGATEX has been divided into two shows of garments and textiles with a gap of 3 days in between. We believe that by being more focussed this way we will provide better service to the exhibitors and the industry visitors.

Kashif Siddiqui, Manager Sales
Igatex was a great success with an unbelievable response from the exhibitors as well as visitors. Our team worked very hard to achieve this level of success and the outcome has been very rewarding. We are pleased that the number of targeted visitors from the industry was very high. The quality of visitors makes a show successful and there was no dearth of that in this show. Many of our exhibitors will be coming back with bigger space requirements next year. We are quite positive that the next show will be an even greater success than the 2004 edition.

Usman Lakhani, Manager Operations
Usman Lakhani, Manager Operations was responsible for the making the operational and technical aspects of IGATEX as smooth as possible. According to him IGATEX has been a lifetime experience. It took monumental efforts to bring the level of technical services at par with the international exhibitions. The team of IGATEX visited other exhibitions to gain an insight to provided an optimal level of service for the exhibitors and visitors.

TEMSAD at IGATEX

Textile Machinery Manufacturers Association (TEMSAD) and Ladin Group of Turkey played a vital part in bringing 29 leading Turkish textile machinery manufacturers to IGATEX, which in itself is the largest single-country participation in any exhibition in Pakistan in the form of a Country Pavilion. Turkish textile machinery is gaining popularity in Pakistan, particularly in the fields of dyeing, printing and finishing.	Mr. Mustafa Sener, President TEMSAD with Minister of Industries, Mr. Liaquat Jatoi and the new Turkish Consul General, Mr. Musa Hayati Soysal
Mr. Cuneyt Alkan, President ALKAN Group (Centre) with Mr. Shahnawaz Khan and Mr. Nadeem Sarwar (right) of Magna Group of Companies	Mr. Vural Sagir, Secretary General TEMSAD with Mr. Hakan Gurel from ENTEMA and Mr. Ali Cakici,Chairman, CANLAR Machine Industry
Mr. Arda Ahmed Sezer from TUMKALIP at his booth	Mr. Recep Demir, Commercial Counsellor Turkish Embassy, Mr. Maqsood Naz of Olympia, Mr. Metin Daloglu of Tekst Machines, Mr. Zafar Iqbal, Olympia and Mr. Salim Avcu of Tekst Makina
Mr. Burak Ates of OTIMA with their representative, Mr. Sh. Mansoor, Textil Traders