Integrating Frontier Technologies to Empower Sewing Machinery Innovation — CSMA Delegation Visits Hannover Messe

On April 20, the 79th Hannover Messe opened in Germany. To strengthen international technology exchange and help enterprises better understand and apply cutting-edge industrial technologies and innovations, the China Sewing Machinery Association (CSMA) organized a delegation to visit the exhibition and conduct on-site technical exchanges. The delegation was led by Chen Ji, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CSMA, with more than 20 technical leaders from 14 companies participating.

According to the organizers, this year’s fair, themed “Shaping the Future with Technology,” focused on three major areas: automation and digitalization, energy and industrial infrastructure, and research and technology transfer. The event brought together over 4,000 exhibitors worldwide, covering more than 400,000 square meters of exhibition space, and attracted approximately 130,000 professional visitors from over 150 countries to explore trends in industrial transformation and cutting-edge technological developments.

The delegation focused on visiting exhibition areas such as industrial automation, robotics and flexible automation, machine vision, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and digital factories. Members attended presentations and observed live demonstrations by leading international companies including Siemens and Beckhoff, covering technologies and applications such as collaborative robot control, intelligent sensing and data acquisition, digital twins, machine vision inspection systems, and equipment interconnectivity.

In response to key technical challenges currently under intensive development within the industry—such as flexible fabric handling, intelligent visual inspection and sewing, and autonomous mobile robot (AMR)-based material handling and distribution—as well as topics including optimization of end-to-end digital sewing solutions and the development of AI-driven intelligent sewing factories, delegation members engaged in in-depth discussions and technical consultations with exhibitors. 

Members of the delegation agreed that the visit significantly broadened their technological perspectives and clarified future development pathways, providing valuable insights and practical references for advancing digital and intelligent transformation within their enterprises. Chen Ji noted that the visit further strengthened the industry’s global technological engagement, creating important opportunities to integrate advanced technologies and promote collaborative innovation across the sewing machinery value chain. He emphasized that technological innovation remains the primary driver of industry development. As China’s sewing machinery industry enters a new stage under the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan, it faces the task of fostering new-quality productive forces and building a modern industrial system with global leadership, competitiveness, and influence. He expressed hope that the industry will continue to embrace global cooperation, actively integrate advanced technologies and resources worldwide, and inject sustained momentum into high-quality development.