International Firms Flock to Show
Visitors to the second edition of Material World New York, which runs Sept. 26–28 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, will be greeted with a more diversified exhibition of factories, technology vendors and, of course, fabric suppliers.
About 400 exhibitors will be on hand, which represents an across-the-board increase, said Tim Von Gal, executive vice president of Urban Expositions, which produces the show with the American Apparel & Footwear Association.
“You’re going to see a real mix of factories from all over world,” added AAFA President Kevin M. Burke. “It’s a great opportunity, especially for smaller and mid-size companies that don’t have a lot of resources to meet with these factories without [traveling overseas].”
New exhibits include a Taiwan Textile Federation pavilion, where more than 30 factories that produce natural and synthetic fibers as well as a variety of designs will be on hand. The organization also is staging a seminar on global logistics.
An African pavilion is also new and will highlight about 30 factories and companies from nations that participate in the trade-inducing African Grown and Opportunity Act. They will be highlighting fabrics as well as technology services such as CAD/CAM, grading, plotting and dyeing, The group also will put on a seminar on doing business with Africa.
Others exhibiting include factories from China, Korea, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Japan and Bangladesh.
“Companies are looking to have diverse sourcing strategies,” Burke said. “You can’t have all your eggs in one basket. You never know when the avian flu or political unrest will pop up somewhere.”
Technology suppliers will focus on emerging product lifecyle management programs, which allow companies to communicate via the Internet on production planning and development.
The aim is to bring products to market faster.
“Almost every executive I’ve spoken to recently expressed a need to be technology-proficient,” Burke said. “To be an efficient supplier to the retailer, they have to employ superior technology or else they fall back.
“Technology is always evolving, so they also have to stay on top of it.”
Vendors such as Blue Cherry, Gerber Technology, Lectra USA, New Generation Computing, PTC and Yunique Solutions will be among those highlighting PLM products in the Technology Solutions section of the show. A number of free seminars around the subject will take place as well.
In addition, vendors such as PAD System Technologies, TukaGroup and Optitex USA will be showcasing computer-aided design and 3-D applications for pattern-making and design.
The fabric exhibit will have a number of trend-forecasting seminars hosted by Pantone Inc., The Doneger Group, Trend Union, Promostyl and Neville Bean Designs.
Von Gal said the show would also see an increase in exhibits from home-furnishings vendors.—Robert McAllister
