The Italian Ceramic Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers’ Association Acimac is preparing to participate in two important events in Asia, the first in Bangladesh and the second in Thailand.
At the third edition of Ceramic Expo Bangladesh, an international exhibition to be held in the International Convention City Bashundhara in Dhaka from 24 to 26 November, the Italian delegation organised by Acimac will consist of ICF & Welko, Officine SMAC, Sacmi, System Ceramics and Tecnoferrari. Last held in 2019, the exhibition will host more than 300 ceramic manufacturers and suppliers from over 20 countries around the world. It is a particularly important event given that Bangladesh produced 100 million m2 of tiles last year but has the potential to produce more than 150 million. Moreover, the fact that the country is an emerging economy with a large ceramic industry, an increasingly specialised workforce and adequate natural gas supplies makes it a strategic partner for the Italian ceramic machinery suppliers.
The next destination will be Asean Ceramics Thailand, an international exhibition to be held in the IMPACT Exhibition Centre in Bangkok from 30 November to 2 December where Acimac will be organising a joint Italian participation in collaboration with the Italian Trade Agency ITA. Five Italian companies will be taking part: Essepienne, Expert Lab Service, Keran, Officine SMAC and Tecnocer Italia. Thailand is another expanding market which produced 148 million m2. In addition, the economic packages introduced by the government in 2020 with the aim of boosting GDP and shoring up consumer and investor confidence have led to strong growth in Thailand’s construction sector and created a sense of optimism throughout the country.
The two exhibitions are important events for the ceramic machinery suppliers given that both countries are part of Southeast Asia, the second largest export region for Italian machinery producers outside the EU. In 2021, the region imported EUR 272 million worth of machinery from Italy, 17.6% of the country’s total ceramic machinery exports (68.6% up on the previous year’s figure).
