Top ratings for the world’s leading trade fair

Following its amalgamation with ENTSORGA, IFAT has celebrated a successful premiere and established itself firmly as the world’s leading trade fair for environmental technology. This is seen on the one hand in strong interest from visitors from abroad, their proportion rising from 33 % of the total at the last IFAT to 40 % this year (Fig. 1). And on the other hand in a broadening of the international spread among the exhibitors, with 37 % of the total coming from outside Germany this year, as compared to 32 % last time.

Over the five days of IFAT ENTSORGA, around 110 000 trade visitors from over 185 countries (IFAT 2008: 119 476 from 170 countries) came to the event. After Germany, the top ten countries of origin for visitors were, in order: Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Russian Federation, the Netherlands and France. Despite a fall of almost ten percent in visitor numbers, IFAT ENTSORGA still received top ratings in a survey of exhibitors and visitors: „What might at first sight seem contradictory, is explained by a shift in the visitor structure: fewer lower-ranking employees and more decision-makers from the higher echelons in the companies. This, too, is evidence that IFAT ENTSORGA is a dynamic trade fair undergoing change,“ said Eugen Egetenmeir, Managing Director of Messe München GmbH. The further rise in visitor quality was also praised
by the exhibitors at IFAT ENTSORGA: „In recent years we had a lot of sales partners and distributors in Munich, but this year we saw mainly international end customers who had come to the fair to find out about the main themes moving the sector at present,“ said Markus Kaiser, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors at KAISER AG Fahrzeugwerk.

In total, 2730 exhibitors from 49 countries (2008: 2605 exhibitors from 41 countries) presented their products, innovations and services on around 200 000 m² of exhibition space (2008: 192 000 m²) (Fig. 2). Never before have so many exhibitors from so many different countries been represented at IFAT ENTSORGA. Rolf Kummer, Managing Director of Tyco Waterworks Central Europe: „IFAT ENTSORGA is very strong internationally. At this event the customers can find all the latest products and developments in a single, compact display.“ A total of 96 % of the visitors rated the international spread among the exhibitors as „good to excellent“, and 98 % gave the same rating to the breadth and depth of the ranges on show, and to the presence of market leaders.

The next IFAT ENTSORGA takes place from 07.-11.05.2012.

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