In the run-up to the international trade fairs wire® and Tube – once again held at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre from 16th – 20th April 2018 – Friedrich-Georg Kehrer, global portfolio director metals and flow technologies at Messe Düsseldorf, gives us an overview of what visitors can expect at the shows.
What’s new at the world’s leading trade fairs for wire, cables and tubes in 2018?
“As before, the two number one trade fairs in their industries will occupy 16 exhibition halls, mapping the entire spectrum. They will cover wire manufacturing and finishing, process automation, measurement and control engineering, cable technologies, tube manufacturing and processing, raw materials, the raw material trade, pipelines, OCTG technology, profiles, pre-used machinery and plastic tubes.
There will also be enough space for further specifications and applied technologies, and of course Industry 4.0 will definitely continue to determine the course of the two fairs. We’ll be welcoming over 70,000 trade visitors on those five days, and we’re expecting to see the entire professional world coming to Düsseldorf again.
What’s new is the hall layout. The southern section of our exhibition centre will be extended towards the Rhine, comprising the future Hall 1 and thus a new, light-flooded southern entrance area as the dominant feature, looking towards the city centre. This is why wire 2018 will be held in Halls 9 to 16 and parts of the temporary Hall 18, while Tube will cover Halls 3 to 7, 16 and 17, as well as parts of the temporary Hall 18. It means that Hall 16 will form a transitional area and interface between wire 2018 and Tube 2018.
In addition to the southern, eastern and northern entrances, there will be a temporary entrance in Hall 17. The shuttle buses will be serving all four entrances.”
What will be the main emphasis in the various halls?
“For wire, Halls 9 to 14 and part of Hall 16 will focus on wire and cable machines, wire and cable production and trade and glass fibre technologies. Hall 13 will put the emphasis on mesh welding machines and spring making technology. Hall 15 will feature connection and fastening technologies, and the adjacent Hall 16 will have a section entitled ‘Meet China’s Expertise’.
This section has proved its worth in the past and has again been requested by our Chinese exhibitors who want to present their innovative products in a compact and manageable area, within one hall.
Tube manufacturing, profiles and the tube trade will feature in Halls 3, 4, 7 and 16. Tube metal forming will be presented in Hall 5, and tube processing machines in Halls 6 and 7a. Plants and machinery will be showcased in Hall 7a, whereas Halls 16 and 17 will be about tube accessories. Profiles will be presented in Halls 3 to 7a and Halls 16 and 17.
China’s Tube exhibitors will also occupy Hall 16. Although the two Chinese groups will share the same hall they will occupy different sections within it.”
How are the two events being effected by the global economy?
“Despite various global crises in recent years, the entire industry is currently experiencing a global boom. It’s an economic climate that encourages investment, not just in Europe. Considerable sums of money are being invested in infrastructural projects, construction and the automotive industry in south-east Asia, in some South American countries and in parts of Africa.
The German economy, too, has been booming for a number of years now. Private households are increasing their consumption, and the building industry is benefiting from the trend among many Germans to build their own houses. Rising exports have led to a higher gross national product.
The wire, cable, pipe and tube industries are playing major roles in all this. We are therefore optimistic about spring 2018, and we have already recorded a good number of registrations – over four months before the trade fairs.
Even at this stage, therefore, the registration figures are persuasive. wire 2018 currently has a net occupancy of around 65,000m2. So far 1,120 exhibitors have registered, coming from 50 countries (as of November 2017).
Tube has so far attracted 794 exhibitors from 46 countries, with a net space of around 48,000m2 (as of November 2017).”
Has there been a shift in the countries where exhibitors and visitors come from?
“Our strongest exhibitor and visitor countries in 2018 will continue to be our European neighbours, although there are also many overseas companies. The most strongly represented exhibitors at wire and Tube are from Italy, the UK, France, Turkey, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Poland and Germany. Many of the overseas exhibitors come from the United States, India, Taiwan, South Korea and China. We are expecting around 70,000 trade visitors over the five days.
Most trade fair visitors will be coming from major production and consumer countries, such as Italy, Belgium, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Russia, Turkey and Germany. We’re also expecting an increasing number of expert visitors from overseas, including the United States, Brazil, India and China.”
Will joined Fastener + Fixing Magazine in 2007 and over the last 15 years has experienced every facet of the fastener sector - interviewing key figures within the industry and visiting leading companies and exhibitions around the globe.
Will manages the content strategy across all platforms and is the guardian for the high editorial standards that the Magazine is renowned.
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