PaintExpo registers strong growth in number of exhibitors, visitors and participating countries

Oberboihingen – With a respective growth of over 14 percent, the 5th leading international trade fair for industrial coating technology held from 8th to 11th April 2014 reached new records regarding the number of exhibitors and visitors. However, PaintExpo didn’t just score on quantity but also quality. The 9,167 visitors from 70 different countries came to Karlsruhe with targeted requests and concrete projects and orders, and were overwhelmed by the range on show.

With the best results ever since it came into being, PaintExpo 2014 in Karlsruhe (Germany) underlined its leading position as a global information and procurement platform for industrial coating technology. 469 exhibitors (14.4 percent more than in 2012) presented products and solutions for wet painting, powder coating and coil coating from 8th to 11th April 2014. They came from 27 countries, with 28 percent of exhibitors coming from abroad. The net exhibition area was 12,634 square meters – a growth of 21.4 percent. “PaintExpo has really developed well. As a high percentage of visitors come from all fields of industrial coating technology, they are able to obtain information about all the different areas. And that’s really well received. We were able to make excellent new contacts and nurture existing ones. When we take part again in 2016, we’ll have even more staff at our booth to cope with the growing number of visitors,” said Bernd Dispan, Sales Manager of Grimm Pulverlacke GmbH. With an increase of 14.2 percent, the 5th leading international trade fair for industrial coating technology also registered a record number of 9,167 visitors. 26.6 percent of professional visitors came from foreign countries. In total, 70 countries (63 countries in 2012) from all continents were represented.

Professional visitors with major decision-making powers, concrete tasks and a willingness to invest
The event organized by FairFair GmbH didn’t just make an impression because of the quantity and internationality of its visitors but also because of its quality. Due to the high levels of specialist and decision-making competence, exhibitors noted that discussions were very specific. “We took part in PaintExpo for the first time this year. Thanks to the many interesting contacts and concrete requests for new coating machines made by visitors from various branches, such as the automotive, cosmetic, aerospace and general industries, we are more than pleased with our appearance at the trade fair and will definitely be exhibiting again at PaintExpo in two years’ time”, reported Tomás Miranda happily, Industrial Engineer and Project Leader at the Spanish company Sidasa Engineering.

The business area of Clean Systems Technology at Dürr Systems GmbH also had a successful first appearance at PaintExpo: “The trade fair went very well for us. We had lots of interesting discussions and were able to establish some good contacts that may lead to projects.  Visitors came with specific requests and that was exactly what we had been hoping for,” said Thomas Scheiring from the company’s sales department. Markus Koenigs, Marketing Communications Manager of EMEA, Powder Coatings, Axalta Coating Systems, is also more than pleased with the way the trade fair went: “Over the years, PaintExpo has become more multi-faceted and international.

Compared to other trade fairs, here we get to meet lots of really high-quality professional visitors. We wanted to present our company and skills in the field of industrial surface coating to such people and were able to surpass this aim by a long way. We had lots of interesting and targeted discussions, some of which I’m sure will result in orders.” Oliver Voigt, Sales Manager of Cefla Finishing Europe, talked about some contracts that were concluded directly at the trade fair: “Our appearance at the trade fair was a real success. We made numerous new contacts. Also in the fields of robot applications, printing and digital printing, we had many discussions and closed new deals. That was even the case for product areas that we hadn’t even exhibited here. It’s extremely probable that we will be coming back to PaintExpo in two years’ time.” This is a certainty as far as Martin Weidisch, Marketing, J. Wagner GmbH, is concerned: “You can really tell that PaintExpo has developed into the industry’s most important meeting point. The public has become even more professional and international and the number of visitors coming to PaintExpo has gone up. Visitors have major decision-making powers and are prepared to invest again in process optimization equipment, with the result that we were able to close some good deals at the trade fair. We’re already looking forward to PaintExpo 2016.”

Maximilian Hauck from the sales department at Kaeser Kompressoren also talked about how successful the trade fair was for him: “This was the first time we’d exhibited at PaintExpo and we’re really pleased not only with the quantity but also with the quality of professional visitors attending. It was also good that we were able to establish contacts with suppliers at the trade fair.” Exhibitors in the field of pre-treatment were also delighted by the amount of interest shown by visitors, as reported for example by Patrick Schmidt-Dobrowolny from Technical Sales at NABU Oberflächentechnik: “The visitors are using established pre-treatment systems but are looking for alternatives in order to become more environmentally friendly. As a result, we had quite a number of in-depth discussions and I’m sure that some of those contacts will develop into business relationships. I think that our company has benefitted from taking part in the trade fair”.

Karlsruhe as trade fair location for PaintExpo confirmed
Both exhibitors and visitors appreciated the location of the trade fair. “We’ve been exhibiting at PaintExpo since 2006 and are impressed every time. Not just because of the quality of professional visitors. The organization and location are excellent, too; experience has shown that the trade fair is within easy reach for visitors from faraway countries. Installing and disassembling processes are stress-free - parking, too” said Sascha Schmidt, Sales Manager of TQC GmbH. Tony Wilkinson, CEO of The Aerogen Company Limited from England, not only enthused about the success of exhibiting at the trade fair for the first time but also about the surroundings: “We were taken by surprise by the internationality of the visitors who came to Karlsruhe from Europe, South America and Asia. We were also delighted with the organization and location of the trade fair. We like the pleasant atmosphere here and will definitely be attending the trade fair in two years’ time.”

The next PaintExpo, leading international trade fair for industrial coating technology, will be held in Karlsruhe from 19th to 22nd April 2016. Due to the fact that the exhibition will be held during odd years in the future, just this once the next PaintExpo after that will be taking place a year later from 4th to 7th April 2017. As of 2019, subsequent leading international trade fairs for industrial coating technology will be held again every two years. Because the location is so well received by exhibitors and visitors alike, contracts with Messe Karlsruhe have been extended ahead of schedule right up to PaintExpo 2025.