U.S. fabric and yarn manufacturers find commitment in Mexico to increased trade

Seventy-one U.S. manufacturers of fabrics and yarn participated in Textile '93, the second major U.S. textile exhibition in Mexico. The show was held May 11-13 at the U.S. Trade Center, a U.S. government-owned exhibition facility in downtown Mexico City. The exhibition was organized by the Office of Textiles and Apparel in the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration, in cooperation with the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service.

Exhibitors reported off-the-floor sales of $3 million and projected total sales of $47 million over the next 12 months from contacts made at the show. Exhibitors reported over 2,000 sales leads from the 2,400 trade visitors who attended.

Products exhibited included all types of woven and knit apparel fabrics; greige fabrics; home furnishing fabrics, including fire retardant fabrics, blackout fabrics, commercial and residential drapery lining, and upholstery backing; industrial fabrics for various applications, including automotive; and yarn for all applications.

One Reason for Success

One reason for the exhibition's success is the Mexican government's commitment to increased trade with the United States. The Mexican government has taken steps to open its market to competition from the United States and the rest of the world. Worn clothing is the only textile product which now requires an import permit, as opposed to several hundred textile products only a few years ago. The maximum import duty on textile products is 20 percent, and most fabric and yarn duties range from 10 to 15 percent.

Another reason that this exhibition was well received is the prospective North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Clinton Administration hopes to send a NAFTA package to Congress in time for it to become effective Jan. 1, 1994. U.S. textile exporters realize that NAFTA will mean increased access to the Mexican market and a greater volume of trade between Mexico and the United States.

The show hours, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., were ideal for the Mexican business community, since they fell between the traditional lunch and dinner hours. This left the morning and early afternoon hours free for individual appointments with trade visitors and prospective Mexican agents and representatives.

The exhibition was inaugurated by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, John D. Negroponte; Robert Miller, Trade Center Director; and Jorge Marin Santillan, President of the National Chamber of the apparel industry. Press coverage of the opening ceremonies was extensive; it included over 30 representatives of major media organizations, including newspapers, trade magazines, and radio and television stations. Several exhibitors who were new to the Mexican market used the representative finding service offered by the Office of Textiles and Apparel and the U.S. Trade Center. This service enabled exhibitors to arrive at the show with prescheduled appointments during the morning and early afternoon hours before the show opened. Some 197 Mexican companies were contacted by the Trade Center staff on behalf of exhibitors who requested this service and 140 appointments were held with prospective business representatives. These appointments resulted in many candidates for future business relationships.

Exhibitor reaction to the event was enthusiastic. "Excellent" and "fabulous" were only some of the adjectives used by participants to describe the show. The overall reaction was best articulated by Hans Jessen of John Wolf Decorative Fabrics, a longtime trade show veteran: "The Office of Textiles and Apparel, Market Expansion Division, and the U.S. Trade Center in Mexico did an outstanding job. I could not have asked for anything more or better." Barry Koski, Highland Industries, said "I was particularly impressed with the Department of Commerce staff support and the quality of the business visitors to the show." Tom Whitham of Synthon Industries said, "we are a small family-run company and this show was the perfect vehicle for us to enter the Mexican market. All our expectations were met." Carmen Aristy of Lancot Arlen Fabrics said "this was a fantastic show and very well organized." Morton Kallor of Raytex Fabrics added, "we were very pleased with the traffic and the appointments arranged for us by the U.S. Department of Commerce personnel. We will definitely be at next year's show."

The Industry Representatives

Industry representatives at Textile '93 were: Bradley Wurst of Alice Mills Inc.; Peter J. Hegarty of American Textile Export Company (AMTEC); Bruce Sturman of American Micrell, Inc.; Joe Rosenfeld of Ametex Fabrics, Inc.; John Dragonetti of Avondale Mills, Inc.; Amber Brookman of Brookwood Companies Inc.; Pamela Ellsworth of Burlington Klopman Fabrics; Peter Triolo of Burlington Madison Yarn; Victor Saltiel of Charles Samelson/Chatelane; Saul Gutberg of Cleyn & Tinker International Inc.; James Raleigh of Clinton Mills Sales Company; Richard Futterman of Concord House, Division of Concord Fabrics; Ted Rabel of Covington Fabrics; Benjamin Gonzalez of Cranston Print Works USA; Rick Rogers of Dan River, Inc.; Deborah Newberger of Dana Mills Inc.; Joe Murray of De-Sales Trading Company, Inc.; Francisco Amador of DuKane Fabrics International Inc.; Lee Malcolm of Duralee Fabrics Ltd.; Karen Deniz of Dyersburg Fabrics Inc.; Antoine Tabry of Elfa International Inc.; Bruce Weintraub of Fabric Resources International; Barbara Isasi of Fame Fabrics/Spektor Export Corp.; Robert Smith of Glen Raven Mills, Inc.; Carlos Zaidenwter of Guilford Mills, Inc.; John Tyson of Highland Industries, Inc.; Henry Deutsch of Hobbs Bonded Fibers; Thomas Isasi of Hoffman Mills; Joel E. Schlecter of Horizon Textiles Corp.; Steven Huber of Huber Textiles Inc.; Gary E. Hughes of Intimate Touch, Inc.; Joseph Brodie of JBJ Fabrics, Inc.; Dan Menichella of Joshua L. Baily & Co. Inc.; Hans Jessen of John Wolf Decorative Fabrics; Carmen Aristy of Lancot Arlen Fabrics, Inc.; John Conroy of Lee Fashion Fabrics, Inc.; Jon Adelman of Lida Inc.; Lawrence Fink of Magna Fabrics Inc.; Joe Lee of Mainzer Minton Co., Inc.; Mary Lynn Landgraf of Mann Industries, Inc.; Jack Vartivarian of Marcotex; George Todd of Milliken & Company, Speciality and Industrial Business; Joe Sammartino of Milliken & Company Greige Fine Goods Businesses; John Murphy of Milliken & Company, Specialty Industrial Business; William Alper of N. Erlanger, Blumgart & Company; Sumner Goldman of New England Bias Binding Co., Inc.; Mark Edelstein of Omega Textile Corporation; Steven Marrandino of Opp and Micolas Mills Inc.; Beth Hunt of Precision Fabrics Group, Inc.; James C. Gutman of Pressman-Gutman Company, Inc.; Joseph Romano of Rae Trading Corp./Rodan International; Morton Kallor of Raytex Fabrics, Inc.; David Borowka of Reeves Brothers, Inc.; Lawrence Novick of Reltex Fabrics, Inc.; Stanley Fradin of Rockland Mills; Paul M. Mahoney of South Carolina Elastic Company; Steve Adair of Southern Phoenix Textiles, Inc.; Heather Stewart of Spectrum Fabrics; Gus Barrera of Springs Industries, Inc.; Michael Lint of Stonecutter Mills Corporation; Richard Sarmiento of Stretchlon Industries, Inc.; Porter DePiro of Sunbury Textile Mills, Inc.; Robert McRae of Swift Textiles; Thomas J. Whitham of Synthon Industries; Martin Tandler of Tandler Textiles Inc.; Bill Kenny of The Kent Manufacturing Company; Don Kilgore of Uniblend Trading Company; Mason K. Banks, Jr. of Unifi, Inc.; Alvin Rosenberg of United Merchants; Hank M. Herbst of West Point Pepperell; and Julio Morales of the Yarnell Fabric Corporation.

Textiles '94 is scheduled for May 24-26.

Wastewater Equipment Is Big Market in ASEAN

The wastewater treatment equipment market in the ASEAN countries reached US$470 million in 1992, and is expected to grow from 10 to 25 percent annually through the rest of the decade. According to a recent report, this market presents lucrative opportunities for American companies, which are very competitive in the wastewater treatment industry.

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which includes Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, is the fastest growing region in the world, with gross domestic product growth rates averaging over 7 percent in the past decade. This growth will continue to swell demand for effective wastewater treatment equipment.

The report was prepared for the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Energy and Infrastructure, and for the U.S.-ASEAN Council, under the Private Investment and Trade Opportunities (PITO) project funded by USAID's ASEAN Regional Office. Contact John Goyer, (202) 289-1911, for more information.

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