Exhibition News

The first edition of Fastener Fair France took place at the end of November, at the Paris Expo – Porte de Versailles. It offered a soundly-organised, first time foray into a traditional and guarded French market, from which exhibitors reported mixed success.

With a total of 161 exhibitors from 15 countries – from which French companies accounted for close to half – Fastener Fair France brought together both large French groups and SMEs, plus a strong representation from Italy, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK and Portugal. Meeting the high presentational standards expected from a Fastener Fair event, companies with particularly eye-catching stands included Scell-It, Stafa Group, Nedschroef, Fastbolt GmbH, Lederer GmbH, Carlo Salvi SpA, ACTON SAS, Ambrovit SpA, Chavesbao and PROLIANS.

To go alongside the exhibition there were also business and networking meetings, and free to attend events. In show seminars from exhibitors and show partners included a presentation by Glomax on galvanic processes and weakening as a result of hydrogen contamination; Atotech focusing on industrial needs; and a seminar on markets by French distribution association Prismefix – emphasising the sector’s international nature. There was also a conference hosted by Transvalor on cold forging and assembly techniques.

Organisers Mack Brooks (France) Ltd, reported 1,500 visitors – predominately managers (33%), heads of department (21%), buyers (16%) and engineers (11%). Visitors were largely from the automotive, distribution, aerospace, mechanical engineering, hardware/DIY, agricultural machinery, maintenance/repair sectors. A large proportion worked for distributors/suppliers to users (31%) or wholesalers/suppliers to resellers (17%). Many manufacturers also attended the show (33%), as well as some users (19%).

Among the visitors were representatives from Airbus, Renault, Restagraf, Ligier Group, Dassault Aviation SA, Ariane Group, Würth Group, fischer, Bufab, Agrati Group, Arconic, Fontana Gruppo, Robert Bosch, Sika France, British Steel Ltd, RATP, Henkel France, voestalpine, and Voith Turbo. In all, 46 countries were represented, with 64% of visitors from France.

From speaking to exhibitors, a key factor in their participation was to specifically target the French market, which has a reputation of being a difficult market to enter. “France is a strategically important export market for us, so exhibiting served as a platform to meet both existing as well as new potential customers within the French market,” explains Ekkehard Beermann, managing director at Fastbolt GmbH. “Fastbolt is known for ‘fastener for distributors’ so trying out the Fastener Fair France seemed logical to us.”

Ekkehard continues: “As we exclusively sell to distributors we found the quality of the visitors in Paris to be excellent. The attendance on the first day between 11:00 and 15:00 was good, although the second day was a lot quieter. We had a good number of international visitors, however the percentage of domestic visitors on our booth was higher than Fastener Fair Italy and also Fastener Fair Stuttgart – both of which seem to be more international.”

“We had some productive discussions with existing customers, which will give us a great opportunity to develop more business in France in the future. As for new customers, we received a good number of new leads, but the success of these is always based on the weeks after the show, as you look to develop the relationships from contacts into buying customers.”

Another exhibitor looking to specifically target the French market was Stafa Group. “With hundreds of active customers in France, the French market is important for Stafa, which is why we exhibited,” explained Ivo Van Gool, sales director at Stafa Group. “The show allowed us to make contacts that we would not have had the opportunity to do otherwise. We also recently opened a commercial office in Belfort, France, and was able to talk to visitors about the new office and the opportunities for new business.”

French stainless steel distributor, ACTON, was very pleased with how the show had progressed. “Fastener Fair France was intense, short and efficient, just what we wanted,” stated Philippe Purgy, director at ACTON. “The main part of the visitors to our stand were current customers, but we also met some potential customers. Compared to Fastener Fair Stuttgart, the visitor profile was less international, but the number of visits was high. We had approximately 70% of French visitors, and 30% from Europe, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. We also met some suppliers from China and India.”

Industrial Recense exhibited with the aim to get feedback from the French market so that it could make forecasts on the market’s potential in the future. “Like all the Fastener Fair shows, France was very professional, with the whole sector represented,” explained Jose Luis F. Machado, commercial manager at Industrial Recense. “Being a first edition, we are satisfied with the show as it met our expectations. We had a small volume of visitors, but they were high-quality. We spoke to some interesting potential customers, but of course whether they will turn into orders will depend on a multiple of factors – the show was a good first step.”

Whilst the first day of the show was busy, particularly either side of lunch, the second day of the show was significantly quieter, which led to more critical feedback from some exhibitors. One commented: “We hoped to meet potential customers of different sectors (both the final consumers and the big dealers) and introduce ourselves to the French market. Unfortunately, we had very little visitors to our stand.”

Other exhibitors also commented on the lack of visitors but believed this was due to the time of year the show took place. “Having the first edition of the show so close to the end of the year was always going to impact visitor numbers,” stated an Italian exhibitor. “Also, it was only a few months ago that the successful Fastener Fair Italy took place and Fastener Fair Stuttgart is in March. Therefore, the number of international visitors who might attend would be lower. We had a few visitors to our stand on the first day, but the second day was very quiet.”

A French exhibitor also pointed to the ‘Yellow Vest’ protests as a reason for the low attendance. “French visitors were probably aware that every year in November there are troubles in Paris with national strikes in public transportation and public administration against the government policies. This year the ‘Yellow Vests’ protests probably stopped visitors from travelling to Paris to attend the exhibition. In my opinion it would be better to choose a different period of the year than November to organise the show.”

Being scheduled between Fastener Fair Italy and Fastener Fair Stuttgart, as well as at the end of the year, was always going to make it trickier for Fastener Fair France, especially as a first edition. Nevertheless, from the feedback we obtained from exhibitors, the show certainly attracted the calibre of visitors it was targeting, if not the numbers to please all exhibitors.

The organisers have announced that the next edition of Fastener Fair France will take place in 2020. That France is a key market for the fastener industry is not in doubt – nor that it deserves a professional exhibition. It is, however, reasonable to expect the event, while attracting international exhibitors, to focus its energies on attracting domestic visitors and not to emulate a ‘Stuttgart’. Finding the right space in an ever-busier fastener event calendar will also clearly be pivotal in helping the next edition succeed.