Reifen 2010 Reports Record Exhibitor Numbers

As Reifen 2010 draws to a close, organising company Messe Essen is hailing the event as a great success after the company announced that provisional results for the 26th Reifen event show a record 600 exhibitors from 42 countries and over 18,000 trade visitors attended the tyre, retread and vulcanisation related expo. With guests from 127 countries, the fair also set a record also with regard to the internationality of the visitors.

60 per cent of Reifen 2010 visitors travelled to Essen from abroad. International visitors came primarily from Europe (75 per cent), followed by Asia, Africa, America and Australia. 88 per cent of the total visitors are said to have been decision-takers. And the statistics say the show was good for business too, with a third of the visitors having already ordered something and nearly half of the visitors having prepared deals which they want to complete after the fair.

Those attending report that ecology and safety were the defining subjects at the show, just as Tyres & Accessories predicted back in April, following the change in product narrative witnessed in recent years. During the opening of Reifen 2010 Joschka Fischer, ex-Federal Foreign Minister, pointed out how important innovations relating to tyres are. And, as if in response, the exhibitors at the trade fair showed tyres with resource-conserving materials such as orange, olive or maize oil as well as tyre repair and retreading possibilities which make a contribution to extending the service lives of tyres. At its general assembly, the umbrella organisation of the European tyre trade and retreading associations Bipaver devoted itself to the ecologically optimum life cycle of a tyre from its production right up to the disposal.

Another important subject in Essen was the new EU tyre label. As from November 2012, tyres must be marked with indications about the rolling resistance, about the grip on a wet surface and about the rolling noise. At the fair, many manufacturers showed fuel-saving tyres with a decreased rolling resistance.

“Reifen was not only an ordering platform but also a worldwide contact exchange which permitted a large number of international contacts and discussions in a time-efficient way,” according to Frank Thorwirth, chairman and CEO of Messe Essen. “In each case, more than 60 per cent of the exhibitors and of the visitors came from abroad. Above all, our international presence and our worldwide marketing for the fair have led to even greater international attention which has been reflected in the even greater internationality on the exhibitor side as well as on the visitor side.”

Peter Hülzer, Executive Chairman of BRV, rated the success of the fair also as a sign of the emerging continuation of the upward economic trend. “After a difficult past year, the business climate has brightened up considerably. This upward trend has been confirmed at Reifen: The exhibitors registered a lot of incoming orders. At both national and international levels, the visitors were busy placing orders. I have never experienced such a good mood here. From Essen, very positive signals for our sector are being sent all over the world.”

Mario Apolloni, corporate communication and PR manager, Marangoni SpA commented: “We were able to register a distinct visitor plus at our booth. A lot of customers came to us from Europe, Africa, China and Eastern Europe. Our machines for retreading attracted particular interest.”

Of course the Tyres & Accessories team (together with colleagues from our German sister magazine, Neue Reifenzeitung) was out in force at the show. So, look out for coverage in future e-Newsletters and a complete review in the July issue of the magazine.

Related News:

• Reifen 2010 Opens with Record Numbers Expected

• What Will Reifen 2010’s 550 Exhibitors Bring to the Show?