Setting Standards

The next three months will see hundreds of thousands descend on the halls and showgrounds at events such as Bauma, Modex and CeMAT to name but a few. Preparation of such events clearly started many years ago as the evolution, development and innovation required of the tradeshow experience is imperative to attract such significant numbers through the door. So in this instance, the well-worn phrase of ‘If you are standing still you are going backwards’ very much applies.

Therefore it is satisfying and exciting to see the measures shows such as CeMAT are taking to ensure visitors, especially those from the overhead lifting industry, enjoy a worthwhile experience at this year’s flagship event in Germany.

“What makes us special? We are trendsetters, a platform for new technology and a window into the future,” a bullish Bernd Rohde, director of CeMAT events worldwide at Deutsche Messe told Hoist last month.. “CeMAT is international and business is international, and we are now seen as a platform for success.”

With that in mind, the director of CeMAT events worldwide at Deutsche Messe is anticipates around 50,000 visitors to attend from around 65 countries. According to Rodhe, CeMAT will maintain its product categories from previous events and as a result, it will place a particular emphasis on its ‘Move & Lift’ portfolio. “This has historically been the biggest and strongest area for us, while the crane segment in Germany is a multi-billion Euro business, so this is not changing. If anything, it is growing this year,” he says.

This expansion is realised in the introduction of the newly-designed display area known as the ‘Cranes & Lifting Equipment Pavilion’ that will be housed in Hall 27. Look out for our final preview of CeMAT 2016 in next month’s issue, where we will be placing a particular emphasis on the technological innovations that will be on show.

Elsewhere in this issue, we look at the global wind industry. As it continues to grow so does demand for lifting solutions inside the nacelle but intense cost pressure and tough offshore environments are presenting big challenges for manufacturers.

The past 12 months have been a peak period for the European wind industry with more new capacity installed than ever before. In just the first half of 2015 Germany, the UK and the Netherlands between them installed 584 new turbines with a capacity of 2342MW. Across Europe this brought the total installed capacity to 10,394MW from 82 wind farms in 11 countries.

Wind turbine maintenance is a critical aspect of successful operation of the growing army of wind farms. To get tools and equipment up to the nacelle which houses the generator, gearbox, drive train and brake, a service hoist has traditionally been fitted inside the hub. For more, turn to page 25.

I hope you enjoy the issue and thanks for all of your ongoing support.