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[November 2007]
COMPOSITES EUROPE Takes Off
Whether carbon, glass or natural fibres, the spectrum of materials available to manufacturers of composite products continues to grow. This was clear at the second COMPOSITES EUROPE show, which took place from 6–8 November, attracting 200 exhibitors from 20 countries to the New Messe Stuttgart exhibition centre. With 4,127 trade visitors (last year's figure: 3,700) the organisers say that COMPOSITES EUROPE is now established as an important international event in the composites industry. More than one third of this year’s visitors came from outside Germany, and of the international visitors one in ten was from outside Europe.
“The increase in the total number of visitors is great, but an even bigger success is the number of visitors coming from the application industries,” said Britta Wirtz, Director of COMPOSITES EUROPE, towards the end of the three-day show. The trade show grew specifically in the main end-use industries of reinforced plastics, such as automotive (with visitors from Daimler, Porsche, Mitsubishi and Skoda), aerospace (visitors from EADS, Boeing, DLR and Bombardier), as well as in the building and construction, and sports and leisure sectors. These results demonstrate that the show successfully reached its industrial target groups. Organiser Reed Exhibitions also reports success in attracting visitors from small and medium-sized companies which manufacture products for the marine, electronics and wind energy sectors.
Of these visitors, around one-third were interested in raw materials, one-third in semi-finished and finished products and one-third in the technology and services on display in Stuttgart. A significant percentage of visitors (60%) comprised engineers involved in R&D and managing directors.
The economic outlook for the composites industry is good. Nearly 65% of the companies surveyed during COMPOSITES EUROPE expect growth in the industry overall and 80% expect growth in their company's business. These are the same results shown by the AVK's statistics for 2007. The German Federation for Reinforced Plastics expects an average growth in production of 6% in the European composites industry. Growth is also reported for natural fibre materials.
Good marks for COMPOSITES EUROPE were given by both exhibitors and visitors. More than 83% of visitors rated the show as “good” or “very good.” The biggest compliment came from the exhibitors; at the end of the show 80% of the 2007 exhibition space had been rebooked for the next show.
“It is our aim to grow the exhibition space again significantly next year,” said Hans-Joachim Erbel, Managing Director of Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH. “COMPOSITES EUROPE is now established in the arena of European industry shows. Because of this growth, we have reserved halls 10/11 and 12 for COMPOSITES EUROPE 2008, which takes place on 23 to 25 September alongside ALUMINIUM 2008 in Essen, Germany.”
ENDS