The Tire Cologne – organiser reports “strong” show

After its cancellation in 2020, The Tire Cologne has made a long-awaited return. The trade fair took place in its namesake city this week, and organiser Koelnmesse says the strength of the 2022 event confirms its position as the “leading international platform of the global tyre and wheel industries.”

Figures released by Koelnmesse suggest that some 12,000 trade visitors from 100 countries attended the show and met with around 300 exhibiting companies and brands from 35 countries. The organiser reports that exhibitors at The Tire Cologne were “highly satisfied with the gratifyingly high visitor frequency, the internationality and the convincing quality of the trade visitors.”

“The Tire Cologne delivered impressively, as an international industry platform and in setting the course for the future,” comments Oliver Frese, executive director of Koelnmesse. “This is the perfect template for elevating The Tire Cologne 2024 to the next level.” The trade fair is scheduled to next take place between 4 and 6 June 2024. During a press conference held on the first day of this year’s show, Frese noted the clash of dates between The Tire Cologne and Autopromotec this year, commenting that the Koelnmesse team was “in intensive dialogue with our colleagues in Bologna to ensure this situation doesn’t happen again every two years.”

The Tire Cologne’s organisers celebrate the return of the trade show: (l-r) Ingo Riedeberger (Koelnmesse), Oliver Frese (Koelnmesse), Stephan Helm (BRV), Christoph Werner (Koelnmesse), Yorick Lovin (BRV), Michael Schwämmlein (BRV) (Photo: Tyrepress / Stephen Goodchild)

Visitors from Europe & the world

Commenting on this year’s show, Stephan Helm, chairman of the German association of the tyre and vulcanisation trade (BRV), said: “The industry so urgently needed the personal exchange and used The Tire Cologne to the fullest for networking and business. The mood was correspondingly euphoric during the three days of the trade fair.”

Around 60 per cent of those visiting the Cologne show came from abroad. The largest contingents of visitors to The Tire Cologne 2022 came from the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, France and the United Kingdom. Attendance from Israel, Morocco, the USA, Georgia and India was also strong. Decision makers also came to Cologne from the Far East, especially from South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan.

Approximately 300 companies & brands exhibited at The Tire Cologne (Photo: Tyrepress / Stephen Goodchild)

Conference & streamed presentations

The Tire Cologne 2022 also addressed the key subject of sustainability via fixtures such as the BIPAVER Global Retreading Conference (GRC), the Tire Recycling Forum, the ‘Boulevard of Sustainability’ event and the Zare end-of-life tyre disposal demonstration area.

Other important themes were discussed on the central Tire Stage, such as digitalisation and the future of mobility. Koelmesse reports consistent good attendance at all Tire Stage sessions, and these were also streamed lived. The entire stage programme is available as video on demand at the show’s website.