4 June 2008 Final Report   Record results: Texcare International with more exhibitors, more exhibition space and a 17-percent jump in the number of visitors Decision makers from home and abroad delighted with the world's leading trade fair for the sector Modern textile care with a positive economic outlook Texcare International closed its doors after setting a new record on 4 June 2008. Altogether, 15,500 trade visitors from 80 countries made their way to Frankfurt am Main to see the wide range of products and services being shown by the 257 exhibitors – an increase of 17 percent compared to the last event in 2004 (13,330 visitors). Over one in two of all visitors came from outside Germany, which boosted the level of internationality from 46 to 52 percent. The top five foreign visitor nations were Italy, Belgium, France, The Netherlands and Great Britain. Particularly large increases in visitor numbers were registered from East European countries, such as Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as from the USA.  "Texcare International has further expanded its undisputed position as the world's leading trade fair for modern textile care. More exhibitors, eleven percent more exhibition space and an increase of 17 percent in the number of visitors provide impressive evidence of the global significance of this event", said Detlef Braun, Member of the  Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt. 85 percent of exhibitors said they had achieved their objectives for the fair. This was to be seen in the full order books, the numerous new business contacts made and the fact that over two thirds of visitors were the owners or top managers of their companies. 257 manufacturers (156 from abroad), including all international market leaders such as Kannegiesser, the Jensen Group, Lavatec, Pellerin Milnor, Alliance, Renzacci, Girbau, Multimatic ilsa, Miele and Ecolab, presented the complete range of modern textile-care products and services from laundry and dry-cleaning machines, via logistics and transport and finishing and ironing equipment, to linen hire and research. Elgar Straub, General Manager of the Garment and Leather Technology Association of the Association of German Machine and Plant Manufacturers (Verband Deutscher Maschinen und Anlagenbau – VDMA): "The expectations of exhibitors at Texcare International 2008 have been exceeded by a wide margin. The positive mood in the sector during the run-up to the world's leading fair for textile care was all-pervasive. One reason for this is undoubtedly the very good economic situation, which paved the way for investments in high-tech equipment. Another reason is the large number of orders placed during the fair. Once again, Texcare International 2008 represented the perfect business platform for the international laundry and drycleaning sector." 81.5 percent of all exhibitors rated the economic situation in the sector as being satisfactory to good. In 2004, the outlook was considerably more pessimistic when only two thirds of the companies took such a positive view. The change has been particularly noticeable in Germany. This year, 85.7 percent said the economic situation is satisfactory to good. Four years ago, the figure was just 62.5 percent. The percentage of companies with an optimistic outlook has also increased over the last four years – from 67.9 to 78.8 percent. Both international and German visitors rated the current economic situation as being satisfactory to good. While this result is similar to that of 2004 in the case of international decision makers, German trade visitors are considerably more sanguine about the economic perspectives this year (from 77 to 83 percent, as in the case of international visitors). 22 percent of trade visitors came from the laundry sector, 22 percent from the dry-cleaning business and 17 percent from the industry. Around 1,000 visitors were representatives of the laundry and workwear hire service and the health-care sector. Half of all visitors said they were primarily interested in the range of laundry machinery and equipment; 43 percent said they were focusing on detergents and 41 percent on machinery and plant for the finishing segment. 39 percent of visitors attended mainly to see drycleaning machinery and equipment. One in six visitors concentrated on textile hire services and 14 percent on machinery and plant for dyeing. Friedrich Eberhard, Vice President of the German Dry Cleaning Association (Deutscher Textilreinigungsverband - DTV): "Texcare International once again demonstrated its importance as the international market place for ideas and services in the dry-cleaning trade and an indispensable part of the sector. The vast majority of exhibitors and customers said they are satisfied with the fair and that their expectations have been fulfilled. The most important topics at this year's Texcare were: energy efficiency, environmental conservation and the linkage of mechanical units for greater efficiency and economy. We at the DTV are very pleased with the response from visitors and the strong commitment of exhibitors. The Texcare Forum was also given a good reception by all visitors and well attended." Klaus Jahn, General Manager of intex, Textile Service Industrial Association (Industrieverband Textil-Service e.V.): "The atmosphere at this year's Texcare International was very good. The trade fair once again demonstrated its position as the international platform for making and cultivating contacts. The good economic situation was clearly reflected by the fair, and the numerous international trade visitors were extremely competent. I had the impression that there were more trade visitors from East Europe. The constructive working relationship between the associations was to be seen in the success of the Texcare Forum, as well as in the founding of an informal worldwide forum for the associations. Texcare has not only lived up to its reputation as the world's leading trade fair for the sector but also increased it. The lectures given at the Texcare Forum also proved highly popular. On average, 565 participants per day attended the programme of lectures, which was organised under the auspices of CINET – International Committee for Textile Care – by Messe Frankfurt in cooperation with the German Textile Dry Cleaning Association (Deutscher Textilreinigungsverband - DTV), the Garment and Leather Technology Association in the Association of German Machine and Plant Manufacturers (Verband Deutscher Maschinen und Anlagenbau – VDMA), intex, Textile Service Industrial Association (Industrieverband Textil Service e.V.), the wfk Research Institute for Dry Cleaning Technology and the Hohenstein Research Institutes. Peter Wennekes, General Manager of CINET: "We are very pleased. The individual forums were very well attended with as many as 150 participants. Particularly striking was the large number of international visitors who came from a total of 24 countries. Thanks to the good working relationship with the associations and organisations involved, we were able to put together a comprehensive programme covering  the most important topics for all segments of the laundry and dryclearing sector." The next Texcare International will take place in Frankfurt am  Main in May 2012.  You will find more information, exhibitor statements and reproduction- quality photographs on the internet at www.texcare.com.
At present, the Exhibition Centre can boast 578,000 square metres of ground space with nine exhibition halls and a congress centre. The company is publicly owned with 60 percent being held by the City of Frankfurt and 40 by the State of Hesse.   Further information: www.messefrankfurt.com