Visitors and exhibitors have had to wait four years for this edition of PaintExpo - almost half a decade. At the same time, it was difficult to assess how the event would go right up to the start of the show - especially in view of the fact that some other major trade shows had ended decidedly subdued even a few months earlier. But as difficult as the timing of PaintExpo was in 2020, this time it obviously had the right date. Shortly before the start of the show, relaxations of the Corona measures ensured that wearing masks was henceforth voluntary. From the first day of the fair, visitors and exhibitors alike took advantage of this regained freedom. It did indeed take some getting used to to suddenly being able to look into the unveiled face of the person you were talking to again - and, above all, to better understand what was being said acoustically in the hustle and bustle of the trade show. Possibly just this freedom of movement - even if one can question it from view of the infection control quite - gave a dynamic buoyancy to the meeting, which would not have been to be expected in view of the actually still extremely challenging surrounding field from supply problems up to exorbitant energy costs - actually. Many of the 430 exhibitors drew a very positive conclusion at the end of the fair, also and in particular with regard to the contact quality. The exhibition aisles were always well filled and clusters of visitors regularly formed at many booths, yet visitor numbers will probably not match Paintexpo 2018. Official figures are due to be released on May 4.
Trend topics such as sustainability, increasing efficiency and many product premieres were the focus of the visitors, whose industries ranged from contract coating, the automotive industry and vehicle manufacturing to mechanical and plant engineering, the plastics processing industry and the electrical and furniture industries. The range of products and services represented a broad spectrum of the industry - from surface treatment, coatings and painting systems to final quality assurance.
In the exhibitor survey, the exhibitors largely drew a positive conclusion from their participation in the trade show. Promising new customer contacts and concrete project agreements dominated the discussions at the trade show booths. In some cases, orders were even agreed directly on site. The date for the next PaintExpo in 2024 has already been set; it is to be held as usual at Messe Karlsruhe from April 9 to 12, 2024.
CB
Read the detailed follow-up report in the upcoming issue of mo (issue 6 / 2022) or online here!
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