Reifen China 2011 opens
Reifen China 2011 opened its doors today to increased exhibitor numbers over the 2010 edition, with the exhibition's space records reportedly having been broken back in May. Exhibits appear to be mainly dominated by large and medium sized Chinese and Taiwan-based tyre manufacturers with the addition of relatively small tyremakers, wheel firms and equipment manufacturers also in attendance. Some well known names in attendance include: Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., Ltd., Double Coin Holdings, Shandong Linglong, Cooper Chengshan Shangdong Co., Ltd., Nankang Rubber Tire Corp, Shandong Wanda Boto Tyre, Guizhou Tyre Co., Ltd and Shandong Hengfeng Rubber & Plastics Co., Ltd to name but a few.
One newcomer (the company was only formed in June 2010), is Daree Rubber Corporation – a subsidiary operation of the Daree Group petrochemical company owned by Bajie Hua. Like many newcomers before it the business has ambitious plans to produce millions of truck and bus radial tyres within two years of formation, followed by the addition of passenger car radials to the range later in 2012 (see review coverage for more details).
While official attendance figures for the opening day have yet to be released (and while there are two more days of exhibition left to run), despite the healthy amount of floor space covered by this year’s show visitors can’t help noticing that there appears to be less footfall than in previous years. One exhibitorsTyres & Accessories spoke to suggested that this could possibly be explained due to a kind of show fatigue in the domestic tyre market here with at least four exhibitions a year in China, including two annual shows in Shanghai itself. Seeking to distinguish their show in the competitive market environment, Reifen China’s organisers (Messe Essen) have pre-empted any potential slow down with “the successive launch of many promotional activities such as exhibits preview, online virtual booth, bulletin e-newsletters and more.”
Whatever the attendance turns out to be – and it will be very interesting to see the official figures when they are released – there clearly is demand for an exhibition. However, the long-expected competition for which show will last into the medium and long-term future appears to be hotting up. One not-so secret weapon Reifen China continues to have in its favour is the popular (and thematically related) RubberTech sister show that continues to run in parallel in a neighbouring hall at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre.
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