Trade Show Daily

With 137,000 visitors, the recent concurrent staging of MEDICA 2008, 40^th World Forum for Medicine, and COMPAMED 2008, International Trade Fair for Components, Parts and Raw Materials for Medical Manufacturing (including the MEDICA Congress and the German Hospital Congress), closed to the same results as the previous event in 2007. “Despite the worldwide financial crisis MEDICA and COMPAMED have confirmed their leading rank as the World Forum for Medicine. The year with the highest number of events ever in the history of Messe Düsseldorf has ended very satisfactory,” commented Wilhelm Niedergöker, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf. The 4,313 exhibitors from 67 countries at MEDICA 2008 presented the complete spectrum of new products, services and processes for use in physicians’ offices and hospitals.

MEDICA 2008 also confirmed its reputation as the sector’s leading event for decision-makers. Almost 90% of the trade visitors were involved in relevant investment decisions, while 70% had decision or co-decision making authority. Exhibitors confirmed the attendees’ high willingness to invest. “Especially during a credit crunch, investments are closely examined. The visitors at MEDICA and COMPAMED therefore took a particular interest in efficient processes for streamlining treatment processes. With many of the innovations presented, considerable savings can be achieved,” explained Wilhelm Niedergöker.

Just fewer than 40% of the visitors at MEDICA 2008 came from countries other than Germany. On the exhibitor side, 70% of the companies were from outside of Germany. The leading foreign exhibitor nations were China (377 companies), the U.S. (355), Italy (332), Great Britain (246) and France (210). The number of U.S. exhibitors includes 166 companies displaying their products within two successful U.S. Pavilions, organized by Messe Düsseldorf North America.

The MEDICA Congress 2008 again provided a wide spectrum of medical education programs in form of training courses, seminars and discussion forums. Participants were particularly interested in cardiovascular medicine, diabetes and dementia. “Also high in demand were the courses offering hands-on training with new medical devices, such as

ultrasonic devices or microscopes. The seminars on palliative medicine, which were newly incorporated into the program, were also very popular,” noted Dr. Julia Rautenstrauch, Secretary General of MEDICA – German Association for Interdisciplinary Medicine.

“Quality has its price!” was the main theme of the 31^st German Hospital Congress. About 1,800 participants from hospitals and the health care policy sector obtained information on hospital-related issues specifically concerning the recent structural change within the German health care system.

At COMPAMED 2008, 519 exhibitors (compared to 450 in 2007) presented an impressive array of products and systems, such as new materials, components, packaging solutions and complex processes in the field of micro technology. A total of 15,000 of the 137,000 trade visitors at MEDICA and COMPAMED 2008 were particularly interested in these exhibits. COMPAMED 2008 featured the first U.S. Pavilion – with the latest technology presented by nine U.S. exhibitors. A major topic at the COMPAMED Forum was all aspects of product development.

The dates for the next MEDICA staging are November 18 – 21, 2009 (COMPAMED: November 18 – 20, 2009) in Düsseldorf, Germany. For further information on visiting or exhibiting at MEDICA or COMPAMED 2009, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com. Or visit the web site http://www.mdna.com

For the first time the selection of the UFI Operations Award was made by the participants at the UFI Operations Focus Meeting Gathered recently in Cologne the three finalists Amsterdam RAI, Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, and Messe Frankfurt GmbH made their presentations highlighting original and creative concepts on the theme Travel Accommodation.  And the winner is Messe Düsseldorf GmbH for their entry on the topic FairFairs Initiative,  fair hotel conditions for exhibitors during trade fairs.  The winning entry was based on a problem about hotel conditions during major trade fairs which were getting increasingly negative media coverage.  It was known that in certain cases discontent about the hotel situation had led certain leading trade fairs to move to different venues.  Messe Düsseldorf’s objective when the Program was started in 2004 was to guarantee fair hotel conditions for exhibitors at major trade fairs in the Düsseldorf region.  Measures taken included the creation of a trademark: “FairFairs Hotel”. A booking portal allows exhibitors to make direct bookings without paying any extra agency fees.  Hotels carrying this FairFairs logo agreed to provide clear pricing for a range of accommodations giving them priority reservation options.  A special cancellation policy, extra services, and professional payment terms made accommodations in these hotels particularly attractive for exhibitors.  Today 180 hotels providing 16,000 rooms participate in the program.  The FairFairs hotel initiative has shown itself to be an excellent approach to consolidating Düsseldorf as a preferred destination for exhibitors.

At the recent concurrent staging of wire China 2008, The All China - International Wire & Cable Industry Trade Fair and Tube China 2008, The All China - International Tube & Pipe Industry Trade Fair, 1,098 exhibitors showcased their newest technologies on 618,945 square feet of exhibit space to over 30,000 visitors. The shows closed at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre with satisfied exhibitor and visitors, filled order books and an encouraging outlook for good post show business.

As a trade show organizer our goal is for our customers to have a successful event.  We can only do so much to organize the even itself and to market it properly to gain the visitors needed.  However, a successful trade show also requires the exhibitors to prepare properly and to market their presence at the event.  We are always looking for ways to educate our exhibitors and I have found the Tradeshow Week Blogs to be very informative!  I invite all of you potential and current exhibitors to take a look at the information that they are giving.   Here is a link to all the available posts:  http://www.tradeshowweek.com/blogs.html

The new concepts of the shoe trade fair duo GDS International Event for Shoes & Accessories and GLOBAL SHOES leading trade show for sourcing - have been well received by both trade and industry. The majority of the exhibitors and visitors agreed that the new hall layout and reorganization of exhibit category locations has noticeably stimulated the trade fair business. According to preliminary counts, approximately:

• 33,000 buyers visited the shows (6,500 of those attended GLOBAL SHOES 2008)
• With these figures, both trade fairs closed almost with the same results as last year (33,500 visitors at the September 2007 event) and stood their ground despite the current tight market situation.
• A total of  1,269 exhibitors (820 exhibitors with just under 2,000 collections at GDS 2008 and 449 exhibitors at GLOBAL SHOES 2008)
• 40 countries present shoe fashion for Spring/Summer 2009 on 1.6 million square feet of exhibit space.

Two months before the start of MEDICA 2008, 40th International Trade Fair with Congress World Forum for Medicine, 4,217 exhibitors from 67 countries have reserved 1.2 million square feet of net exhibit space. The event will take place from November 19 - 22, 2008 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.

To date, 70% of the exhibitors are from countries other than Germany. The leading foreign exhibitor nations are China with 377 companies, the U.S. with 343 exhibitors, Italy with 326 companies, Great Britain with 243 companies and France with 205 exhibitors.

The number of U.S. companies includes 167 exhibitors displaying their products within the two U.S. Pavilions, organized by Messe Düsseldorf North America. From Germany, 1,233 exhibitors have signed up so far.

At the concurrently staged COMPAMED 2008, International Trade Fair - High Tech Solutions for Medical Technology, 513 exhibitors from 31 nations have booked 99,900 square feet of net exhibit space.

For further information on visiting or exhibiting at MEDICA or COMPAMED 2008, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com. Or visit the web site http://www.mdna.com

To make hotel and travel arrangements, contact TTI Travel, Inc. at (866) 674-3476; Fax: (212) 674-3477.

Messe Düsseldorf North America (MDNA) is part of the Messe Düsseldorf Group of Companies - one of the world’s largest organizers of international trade shows.

For a broad range of industries, we organize the right event in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Over 20 of Messe Düsseldorf’s shows are the most important in the world for their respective industries.

Please visit our homepage for a list of all our events: www.mdna.com.