TXCA & CLE 2020 Highlights Market Opportunities
Texcare Asia and China Laundry Expo 2020 (TXCA & CLE) gathered a total of 14,413 visitors and 122 exhibitors, before closing its doors on Oct. 16 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, according to a news release.
Despite the uncertainties that the global linen, uniform and facility services industry has faced in 2020, many participants reported an optimistic outlook in the Chinese market, particularly in light of emerging opportunities in fields such as medical laundry and automation. Helping attendees capture these opportunities, the three-day trade show presented the latest technologies and products from the linen, uniform and facility services industry and offered an effective business development platform.
Industry recovery was a key theme of this year’s fair due to the challenging global business environment caused by COVID-19. Consequently, the trade show’s product offerings closely matched growth sectors that are expected to thrive both during and after the pandemic, including medical laundry and sanitization solutions, as well as automation, digital technologies and intelligent laundry systems.
Exhibitors Focus on Automation and Intelligent Solutions
Following a challenging year, exhibitors were pleased to establish new business connections with a wide variety of buyers from across China and its various geographic regions.
“The pandemic has impacted the entire laundry industry, and a lot of new medical and sanitary equipment has been produced, forcing the industry to develop faster,” said Shi Xin Wu, general manager of Jiangsu Sea-Lion Machinery, noting the rising standards of domestic equipment. “We participate at TXCA & CLE every year. The fair helps the industry improve its technological standards, and as the range of domestic products is rapidly expanding, we feel the need to improve our brand image. This year, due to the pandemic, we have launched a range of environmentally friendly medical laundry and disinfection products under our ‘hygienic isolation design’ concept.”
Besides medical laundry, smart laundry factories were another popular discussion point during the show. “Our company is mainly involved in industrialized washing equipment for large ‘centralized’ laundry factories,” said Gavin Xiao, sales director for Herbert Kannegiesser GmbH. “We were able to demonstrate our technical strengths at the exhibition and reach our target customers, who are mainly large washing companies searching for the latest technological solutions.”
Industry Education Opportunities
This year’s industry education provided a forum for linen, uniform and facility services professionals to confer on developments following a turbulent year. At the heart of discussions was reform and development post-pandemic, as well as topics such as textile hygiene services. A recognition ceremony of outstanding dyeing and washing companies was held, while a ceremony acknowledging role model businesses during the pandemic also took place, the release noted.
Show attendees were able to network and exchange information, learn about the industry’s latest technologies and services, and explore the difficulties, challenges and new opportunities that have emerged amid the pandemic.
“Laundry services have been affected by the pandemic, but at the same time, the medical washing sector has received more attention,” said Pan Wei, president of the China Laundry Association, a speaker at the China Textile Hygiene Service Expert Forum. “In view of this, we organized a forum targeting professionals from the medical textile care industry. The audience members all represent big-scale domestic washing companies engaged in medical textile care services, as well as companies that are the backbone of the China Laundry Association. TXCA & CLA this year has built an interactive platform for professionals to network, and to promote new products and technologies. The fair is a microcosm of industry developments and a good barometer of industry change.”
To deliver its exhibition content to a wider audience, for the first time, TXCA & CLE implemented an “online + offline” experience. Live coverage of the fair, including product demonstrations and forums was broadcast on the official WeChat platform, allowing participants who could not travel to the show to keep up with industry developments. The two-day livestream attracted 8,297 views.
Extra Healthcare and Hygiene Precautions Implemented
The organizers implemented additional safety measures to ensure the health and safety of every participant. This included real identity pre-registration, entry checkpoints to verify the digital health code of all participants and onsite temperature scans. Frequent sanitization of facilities and distancing measures for seminar attendees also was implemented.
TXCA & CLE is an annual event organized by the China Laundry Association and the China Light Industry Machinery Association, as well as Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. and Unifair Exhibition Service Co. Ltd. The 2021 edition will be held from Sept. 27 – 29 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. For more details about the show, email txcacle@china.messefrankfurt.com or txcacle@unifair.com.
To read the full release, click here.