Too much of a good thing
8 October 2007It is with great excitement that I look forward to my latest visit to China tomorrow (Tuesday) for CeMAT Asia, which takes place at the Shanghai Int’l Expo Centre, Shanghai, from 10-13 October. But is a return to the exhibition ground just 12 months after the previous show overkill?
As I've said, I reckon the organisers have got it wrong by staging the event every year.
There's no doubting the potential of the Chinese lifting business - it is expected to achieve 25-30% growth this calendar year compared to last, and is expected to achieve 10-15% growth the following two years.
But its major trade show has yet to really gain international status. And this is a shame.
Organisers claimed to attract 80,000 visitors and 300 exhibitors - up from 274 the previous year - from 25 countries to last year's show, but visitor numbers were actually well down (some said by as many as half).
This year, organisers are hailing the show as "the major and professional platform in the Asia region." Exactly what that means is arguable.
German manufacturer JD Neuhaus and remote firm Itowa, from Spain, have opted to stay away from China and will instead exhibit at CeMAT India (coming up at the end of the year), while manufacturing giant Demag won't exhibit either.
Such an exodus wouldn't happen if the show was biannual.
As other trade shows have learnt, it's quality and not quantity that the international market values most.
