Dazzling performance and encouragement from all sides
Success on all levels
Rewarding balance sheet
September 2008: The leading construction machinery manufacturers, suppliers of treatment and preparation technology, suppliers of auxiliary equipment and service providers agree:
The seventh stone quarry demonstration exhibition steinexpo 2008 that took place from 3 to 6 September was a success! Close on 250 exhibitors were delighted by the successful discussions with well-versed trade visitors. They in turn praised the comprehensiveness in portraying complete processes, as this trade fair had to offer last in 1996. The increase in the total participation of exhibitors and brands by about 16% and visitors by about 35% (a total of 43 280) compared to 2005 is a well-deserved result of the successful conceptual work done by the organisers.
Vibrant growth: steinexpo 2008 proofed itself through the comprehensiveness of its offering. Here operators experience demonstrations based on real conditions and have valuable trade discussions with exhibitors on an equal footing. (Photos: Geoplan/gsz)
This year’s fairground of the Niederofleiden stone quarry hosted a great show on a total surface area of approximately 200 000 square metres. With that we have increased the allocated areas at steinexpo 2008 with approximately 35% compared to 2005. For the first time since 1996, all levels of the stone quarry have again been occupied for the fair events. Roughly 120 000 square metres (gross) were fully used as demonstration areas. In comparison: At the 2005 steinexpo, successful in its own right, a total of 70 000 square metres were used for demonstrations. Unadulterated action at the collective building machinery manufacturers demo on Area C as well as the individual demos on Area B attracted scores of visitors. The processing machinery laboured away on Areas A and D. Crushing and sifting processes for the preparation of basalt aggregate material, building rubble, asphalt and excavation provided enthralled trade visitors with live results.
The organisers envisaged a slight increase in visitor numbers compared with the 32 200 at steinexpo 2005. The trade fair finally closed with 43 280 visitors and, with that, an improvement of 35%. That still does not equal the top performance of 1996 when roughly 46 000 visitors were counted, but it shows the continuing growth in the approval rating of steinexpo by the market. The approximately 14 710 visitors on the Saturday was particularly surprising. This number may perhaps not sound so surprising on a day that was also and specifically open for visitors from the region. However, what pleased the exhibitors was the fact that an extremely high percentage of trade visitors still showed up on this last day of the fair. Raw material and building material companies from all over Germany chartered buses for their employees in managerial positions and for many machine operators and used the Saturday to visit the trade fair without loss of production time.
The high satisfaction rate among exhibitors is already clear from the assessment of the exhibitor questionnaires, which is still underway. The high trade visitor share of about 90% receives special praise. The exhibitors in the pavilions are unanimous in their satisfaction with the response this year.
The flexibility shown by the organisers Geoplan GmbH has also been singled out for special recognition, which made the processing of applications on very short notice possible. Even on the Thursday before the start of the trade fair, right in the middle of the set-up process, a further 50-square-metre area was sold on such short notice. The construction and planning team of the Technical University Clausthal ensured on orderly course of action in all the setup and exhibition phases, and professionally integrated such surprises into the unning
processes.
Confirmation of the desired international character
By the expansion of the East European focus regions to also include Southeast Europe, the international visitor attraction has shown marked growth compared to previous events. Because of numerous measures implemented by the organisers and the technical and conceptual underwriting associations, first and foremost by the VDMA Association of German Machinery and Plant Manufacturing as well as the European Aggregates Association UEPG, the international awareness of the steinexpo has been taken to a new level. This development was supported by a much higher presence of international trade media representatives at the fair and the multilingual website www.steinexpo.de. International guests from Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Mongolia, China, Turkey, Italy, Russia, the Balkans, etc. regularly referred to these sources or also to the direct approaches via the associations in the respective countries. The latter is a significant result of the international networks of the VDMA and the UEPG.
The raw and building materials industry has a different rhythm to the building sector
Yes, that is indeed the case. The building sector has again started to complain. Construction machinery manufacturers already felt the dip in the economic upswing too. However, the raw and building materials sector, including the building material recycling industry, indeed requires a different evaluation in this regard. “This specialist industry is ticking at a completely different beat – here there is still activity. In this respect the steinexpo has clearly redefined our perception of current market behaviour,“ one of the exhibitors correctly summed up the general opinion. The ongoing investment trend was also mirrored in the opinions of almost all other exhibitors. Hardly anybody left the trade fair with empty hands. The high level of trade visitors, the concrete enquiries and the astonishingly high number of new contacts were mentioned and praised repeatedly. Thereby a definite change in investment behaviour in the industry was distinguished. Lifecycle considerations, also over and above the standard wear resistance, environmental aspects and fuel and energy savings formed the focus point of decisions. This approach was mirrored in the tailor-made offers of the exhibitors.
Exciting add-on events, such as the European Truck Trial races from Thursday to Saturday attracted additional visitors from Germany and neighbouring countries. A trucking company from Zittau mentioned at the farewell demo of construction machinery on Saturday afternoon: “We actually came for the Truck Trials. We did not realise that the fair itself was so interesting. We are coming again in three years – regardless of whether the steinexpo takes place with or without the Truck Trials.”
That it will take place “with” is indeed the wish of both sides. The trade fair manager, Dr. Friedhelm Rese, has realised the value of the happy combination of the two events as much as the leadership circle of OVS GmbH, the company responsible for the Truck Trial events. Hermann Schmitz, executive sports commissioner, in the run-up to the awards ceremony of the race in Niederofleiden, praised the excellent interaction in the preparation stages and made an appeal for its continuance.
Expansion without diluting the core offering
The extensive demonstrations of loading and transportation equipment, apart from the fact that all leading brands from these sectors registered for steinexpo 2008, also added a completely new element. The practical situation already shows that more and more companies in the raw materials industry use powerful trucks with special superstructures for abrasive bulk materials and with the corresponding motorisation, complementing the fleet of dumpers and dump trucks as far as possible. For the first time a truck from Langendorf was deployed in the collective transportation demonstration while other top brands, such as Volvo Trucks, MAN and several other truck body builders were represented in stationary exhibits. Even the IAA Nutzfahrzeuge (Utility Vehicles) fair, taking place three weeks later, did not keep the exhibitors present, who incidentally expressed their satisfaction at the closing, from participating.
This surely opens up a field that will be transformed from an opportunity factor to a planning factor within the framework of the next steinexpo, also in terms of demonstration. In conclusion, the fair manager Dr. Friedhelm Rese again specifically praised the commitment of the technical and conceptual partner associations as the vehicle through which the positive development of the trade fair has been dramatically advanced. In retrospect, steinexpo 2008 has set a milestone that will become the benchmark for the next event in 2011. What is certain is that the event partners and exhibitors equally want the steinexpo, and with that, the very special stone quarry event because of its long-lasting experience value.
Date of the 8th steinexpo: 31 August to 3 September 2011
Steinexpo 2008
steinexpo 2008:
Dazzling performance and encouragement from all sides
Success on all levels
Rewarding balance sheet
September 2008: The leading construction machinery manufacturers, suppliers of treatment and preparation technology, suppliers of auxiliary equipment and service providers agree:
The seventh stone quarry demonstration exhibition steinexpo 2008 that took place from 3 to 6 September was a success! Close on 250 exhibitors were delighted by the successful discussions with well-versed trade visitors. They in turn praised the comprehensiveness in portraying complete processes, as this trade fair had to offer last in 1996. The increase in the total participation of exhibitors and brands by about 16% and visitors by about 35% (a total of 43 280) compared to 2005 is a well-deserved result of the successful conceptual work done by the organisers.
Vibrant growth: steinexpo 2008 proofed itself through the comprehensiveness of its offering. Here operators experience demonstrations based on real conditions and have valuable trade discussions with exhibitors on an equal footing. (Photos: Geoplan/gsz)
This year’s fairground of the Niederofleiden stone quarry hosted a great show on a total surface area of approximately 200 000 square metres. With that we have increased the allocated areas at steinexpo 2008 with approximately 35% compared to 2005. For the first time since 1996, all levels of the stone quarry have again been occupied for the fair events. Roughly 120 000 square metres (gross) were fully used as demonstration areas. In comparison: At the 2005 steinexpo, successful in its own right, a total of 70 000 square metres were used for demonstrations. Unadulterated action at the collective building machinery manufacturers demo on Area C as well as the individual demos on Area B attracted scores of visitors. The processing machinery laboured away on Areas A and D. Crushing and sifting processes for the preparation of basalt aggregate material, building rubble, asphalt and excavation provided enthralled trade visitors with live results.
The organisers envisaged a slight increase in visitor numbers compared with the 32 200 at steinexpo 2005. The trade fair finally closed with 43 280 visitors and, with that, an improvement of 35%. That still does not equal the top performance of 1996 when roughly 46 000 visitors were counted, but it shows the continuing growth in the approval rating of steinexpo by the market. The approximately 14 710 visitors on the Saturday was particularly surprising. This number may perhaps not sound so surprising on a day that was also and specifically open for visitors from the region. However, what pleased the exhibitors was the fact that an extremely high percentage of trade visitors still showed up on this last day of the fair. Raw material and building material companies from all over Germany chartered buses for their employees in managerial positions and for many machine operators and used the Saturday to visit the trade fair without loss of production time.
The high satisfaction rate among exhibitors is already clear from the assessment of the exhibitor questionnaires, which is still underway. The high trade visitor share of about 90% receives special praise. The exhibitors in the pavilions are unanimous in their satisfaction with the response this year.
The flexibility shown by the organisers Geoplan GmbH has also been singled out for special recognition, which made the processing of applications on very short notice possible. Even on the Thursday before the start of the trade fair, right in the middle of the set-up process, a further 50-square-metre area was sold on such short notice. The construction and planning team of the Technical University Clausthal ensured on orderly course of action in all the setup and exhibition phases, and professionally integrated such surprises into the unning
processes.
Confirmation of the desired international character
By the expansion of the East European focus regions to also include Southeast Europe, the international visitor attraction has shown marked growth compared to previous events. Because of numerous measures implemented by the organisers and the technical and conceptual underwriting associations, first and foremost by the VDMA Association of German Machinery and Plant Manufacturing as well as the European Aggregates Association UEPG, the international awareness of the steinexpo has been taken to a new level. This development was supported by a much higher presence of international trade media representatives at the fair and the multilingual website www.steinexpo.de. International guests from Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Mongolia, China, Turkey, Italy, Russia, the Balkans, etc. regularly referred to these sources or also to the direct approaches via the associations in the respective countries. The latter is a significant result of the international networks of the VDMA and the UEPG.
The raw and building materials industry has a different rhythm to the building sector
Yes, that is indeed the case. The building sector has again started to complain. Construction machinery manufacturers already felt the dip in the economic upswing too. However, the raw and building materials sector, including the building material recycling industry, indeed requires a different evaluation in this regard. “This specialist industry is ticking at a completely different beat – here there is still activity. In this respect the steinexpo has clearly redefined our perception of current market behaviour,“ one of the exhibitors correctly summed up the general opinion. The ongoing investment trend was also mirrored in the opinions of almost all other exhibitors. Hardly anybody left the trade fair with empty hands. The high level of trade visitors, the concrete enquiries and the astonishingly high number of new contacts were mentioned and praised repeatedly. Thereby a definite change in investment behaviour in the industry was distinguished. Lifecycle considerations, also over and above the standard wear resistance, environmental aspects and fuel and energy savings formed the focus point of decisions. This approach was mirrored in the tailor-made offers of the exhibitors.
Exciting add-on events, such as the European Truck Trial races from Thursday to Saturday attracted additional visitors from Germany and neighbouring countries. A trucking company from Zittau mentioned at the farewell demo of construction machinery on Saturday afternoon: “We actually came for the Truck Trials. We did not realise that the fair itself was so interesting. We are coming again in three years – regardless of whether the steinexpo takes place with or without the Truck Trials.”
That it will take place “with” is indeed the wish of both sides. The trade fair manager, Dr. Friedhelm Rese, has realised the value of the happy combination of the two events as much as the leadership circle of OVS GmbH, the company responsible for the Truck Trial events. Hermann Schmitz, executive sports commissioner, in the run-up to the awards ceremony of the race in Niederofleiden, praised the excellent interaction in the preparation stages and made an appeal for its continuance.
Expansion without diluting the core offering
The extensive demonstrations of loading and transportation equipment, apart from the fact that all leading brands from these sectors registered for steinexpo 2008, also added a completely new element. The practical situation already shows that more and more companies in the raw materials industry use powerful trucks with special superstructures for abrasive bulk materials and with the corresponding motorisation, complementing the fleet of dumpers and dump trucks as far as possible. For the first time a truck from Langendorf was deployed in the collective transportation demonstration while other top brands, such as Volvo Trucks, MAN and several other truck body builders were represented in stationary exhibits. Even the IAA Nutzfahrzeuge (Utility Vehicles) fair, taking place three weeks later, did not keep the exhibitors present, who incidentally expressed their satisfaction at the closing, from participating.
This surely opens up a field that will be transformed from an opportunity factor to a planning factor within the framework of the next steinexpo, also in terms of demonstration. In conclusion, the fair manager Dr. Friedhelm Rese again specifically praised the commitment of the technical and conceptual partner associations as the vehicle through which the positive development of the trade fair has been dramatically advanced. In retrospect, steinexpo 2008 has set a milestone that will become the benchmark for the next event in 2011. What is certain is that the event partners and exhibitors equally want the steinexpo, and with that, the very special stone quarry event because of its long-lasting experience value.
Date of the 8th steinexpo: 31 August to 3 September 2011
Geoplan GmbH
Josef-Herrmann-Straße 1-3
D-76473 Iffezheim
Tel.: +49 (0)7229-606-30
Fax: +49 (0)7229-606-10
Attachments
steinexpo_2008 (JPG)
■