Reifen China still a ‘popular ordering and information platform’

The fifth Reifen China exhibition which took place in the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center on 22 – 24 November 2011 reportedly “registered a plus in all the sections”, according to show organisers Messe Essen and the China United Rubber Corporation. Official figures released by the two companies show that 11,255 trade visitors (20 per cent more than in the previous year) from 77 countries were present to order and obtain information about everything to do with tyres, wheels and garage equipment at the trade fair. And this emphatically answers the question posed by Tyres & Accessories preview of the show – Will 10,000 attend Reifen China this year?

In fact the latest figures show that 124 exhibitors (up 9 per cent) from 12 countries showed what their product ranges had to offer. In addition, the trade fair’s attendance was bigger than ever before apparently with more leading tyre manufacturers that before, covering 12,000 square metres (21 per cent more than in the previous year). The garage equipment and wheel rim sections were also said to have been extended as well.

According to the show organisers, these figures emphasise that Reifen China is “firmly established in the Asian market as an important ordering and information platform; within just a few years, it has developed into an indispensable date for the sector.” Furthermore exhibitors stated that they were generally very satisfied with the course of the fair. For example, substantially more international purchasers were represented at Reifen China; in addition to visitors from the Asian region, it was particularly guests from Russia, the Middle East and South Africa who placed more orders.

In addition the “Car Drifting Performance” drew attention as the show offered visitors the possibility of testing tyres in extreme conditions on a course on the outdoor site. 

The trend was clear from the start. On the first day Reifen China 2011 opened its doors to increased exhibitor numbers over the 2010 edition, with the exhibition’s space records reportedly having been broken by pre-orders back in May.

Who was there?

By the second day, Reifen China’s organisers were already confident enough to begin publishing preliminary figures. The unaudited number of visitors attending the first day of this year’s Reifen China exhibition in Shanghai is said to have set a new record, with around 5 per cent more attending the show than in 2010. Combined initial figures for both Reifen China and RubberTech, which is run in parallel in neighbouring halls, show that 5512 visitors attended the opening day of the show compared with 4300 in 2010. More than a fifth were said to have been “international” visitors.

Exhibits appear to have been 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 included: 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 following articles in the Tyres & Accessories January issue review coverage for more details).

Despite the healthy amount of floor space covered by this year’s show – and indeed perhaps because of it – anecdotally visitors can’t help noticing that there appears to be less footfall than in previous years. One exhibitor Tyres & 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) 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 happens next, there clearly is demand for a tyre exhibition here in China. Indeed, off the top of my head I can think of four that are running annually. 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. These synergetic effects were once again guaranteed by Rubber Tech China and there are no signs of this or the other successes reported stopping any time soon.