With 665 exhibitors from 40 countries and about 12,500 trade visitors from 57 nations, Valve World Expo 2014, 9th Biennial Valve World Conference & Exhibition, closed in Düsseldorf, Germany to very positive reviews.
The halls were filled with activity where the exhibitors displayed the latest technologies, components and systems for the industrial valves and fittings sector on approximately 193,750 square feet of net exhibit space in three halls.
“An excellent trade fair – not just because we yet again were able to significantly boost the number of exhibitors and space sold compared to prior events – we’ve further optimized the connection between the expo and the conference. With marked visitor growth of about 18 percent to 12,500 trade fair guests, Valve World Expo is emerging as an impressive factor in our portfolio of plant and machinery trade fairs,” stated Joachim Schaefer, managing director, Messe Düsseldorf – event organizer.
Shorter distances for attendees and an optimal tie-in of the conference sessions with the expo made a lively exchange of theoretical and practical insights between exhibitors, visitors and conference participants possible.
Exhibitors reported good business results and praised the visitor quality.
“Valve World is the most important trade fair for us, which is why we always take part,” said Zuzana Kašná, head of marketing, Arako. “And we were once again very satisfied with Valve World Expo 2014. New potential customers visited us, and we already have new business enquiries. The trade fair gave us the opportunity to present new products and let people know that we’ve expanded our production capacity.”
Bomafa Managing Director Friedrich Appelberg agreed with Kašná.
“The significance of Valve World Expo as a trade fair is continually growing. Two exhibition halls turned into three this year. We were delighted to meet lots and lots of international customers, including numerous visitors from India and China. This will help to enhance our export chances. Plus, Valve World provides an excellent opportunity for deepening one’s network and finding new partners. It’s already clear now that potential customers will visit us after the trade fair,” he said.
Samson Public Relations & Technical Documentation Director Jürgen van Santen stated that he experienced a more “grown up” Valve World.
“The quality of the stands and exhibited products got even better. We think that the trade fair has at this point become a fixture in Düsseldorf. We’re very happy about seeing throngs of visitors at our stand. We welcomed many familiar faces, but also new ones. Valve World Expo presents an excellent opportunity for networking and image work. That’s why it’s important to always exhibit at Valve World,” explained van Santen.
Rogier van Oosterzee, sales engineer for Valves at Garlock, described Valve World Expo 2014 as a total success.
“We welcomed a lot of new potential customers. We always value good discussions. What’s important for us is that customers learn something while visiting our stand. Valve World Expo enabled us to present our product advancements. We’re thrilled we had such a successful participation,” he said.
About 75 percent of the visitors at Valve World Expo 2014 came from countries other than Germany, such as Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, France and India. Trade visitors from rapidly growing Asian and South American regions and from the Middle East also travelled to Düsseldorf. As a result, Valve World Expo 2014 confirmed its position as the leading international trade fair for industrial valves and fittings. In addition, two international spin-off trade fairs organized by Messe Dusseldorf and its subsidiaries in the U.S. and Asia have become firmly established and take place every other year in Houston and Suzhou.
About 76 percent of the trade fair visitors at Valve World Expo 2014 were executives while 28 percent were users of valves or fittings, 22 percent manufacturers and 16 percent distributors of valves or fittings as well as 4 percent distributors of other related materials and around 3 percent craftspeople.
The majority of the visitors were interested in valves and fittings (74 percent), followed by actuators and positioners (38 percent), valve components and parts (36 percent) as well as compressors (7 percent). Overall, about 98 percent of the trade fair visitors rated the expo and conference as excellent or good.
Held in Hall 4 for the first time, the Valve World Conference, organized by KCI Publishing (Netherlands), received excellent ratings from the about 400 participants. In order to achieve a closer connection between theory and practical applications, the conference was integrated into the trade fair hall. A total of 75 technical lectures discussed topics such as emissions, seals, castings, standardization, materials, inspections and new designs and presented new application solutions. Additional themes included control valves, maintenance, repairs, inspections and tests as well as emerging trends.
New was the two-day Pump Summit, which took place at the fairground’s Congress Center. Accompanied by a trade conference, the event featured presentations from pump technology experts.
The next staging of Valve World Expo and Conference is scheduled for Nov. 29 – Dec. 1, 2016 in Düsseldorf Germany. Next year, Valve World Americas Expo & Conference will return to Houston from July 16 – 17, 2015. Also staged next year will be Valve World Asia from Sept. 23 – 24, 2015 in Suzhou.
