CENS Represented at 8 Global Trade Shows in May
2010/07/26 | By Judy LiCENS continued to participate in global trade fairs in May to promote its services and publications, and help Taiwanese manufacturers explore world markets.
The eight fairs on CENS' May agenda included the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas; Metaltech 2010 in Malaysia; Busworld Asia 2010 in Shanghai; 3P-Plas Print Pack Pakistan 2010; Lightfair Int'l in Las Vegas; China International SME Fair; Automechanika Middle East; and Kitchen & Bath China.
The National Hardware Show in Las Vegas is the leading hub for in-person sourcing, trading and learning for a variety of operators in the highly fragmented US$343 billion American “home after market.”
The show celebrates a rich history spanning 65 years of serving the home improvement market: From its early beginnings in New York during the post-World War II housing boom and eventual move to Chicago in the 1970s to today's current location in Las Vegas, the National Hardware Show continually evolves to meet demands at various levels of the home improvement business.
The National Hardware Show is the place for global manufacturers, associations, organizations to unveil new products, ideas and insights to wide ranging home improvement resellers, with media from all over covering the event.
This year, the show took place May 4-6 at Las Vegas Convention Center and saw a 20% attendance increase. “It's been a great show—real positive with a lot of great vendors,” said Brendan Sullivan, director of merchandising from ProGroup, the largest independent hardlines group in the U.S. with more than US$3 billion in annual distributor sales. “I've been going to the Hardware Show for many years, and I've been so impressed this year with the atmosphere, attitude and management of the show.”
“This is the third year at the hardware show. It is the only trade show to go to if you're in the lawn & garden industry,” said Larry Ford, vice president of sales for Bahama Towel. “We believe a lot of our success over the last few years is a result of the connections made at this show.”
Ed Several, group vice president & show manager, National Hardware Show, commented on the increase in attendance as an optimistic sign for the home improvement industry: “The significant increase in attendance, we believe, is an early indicator for the retail home improvement industry into the fourth quarter. With brisk order writing, retailers are looking to increase their inventory and bring the exciting new products they found at the show back to their customers in their local trading areas.”
The CENS booth promoted its own trade magazines, with CENS Hardware, Guidebook to Taiwan Hand Tools, and Taiwan Industrial Suppliers (TIS) capturing ample attention among visitors and buyers.
Metaltech is the venue-of-choice for professionals in the manufacturing sector in search of products, services and intelligence in the industry. The show is regarded as the perfect meeting place for product manufacturers to network and build business with customers and suppliers.
Metaltech 2010, held May 5-9 at the Putra World Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ended with most exhibitors reporting better than expected sales and business development, with deals signed to exceed an estimated US$187 million.
Dato' Jacob Dungau Sagan, deputy minister of Malaysia's International Trade & Industry commented: “The better than expected global and domestic recovery is reflected in the response to Metaltech 2010. The exhibition has attracted stronger participation from industry players to result in a 33% growth in floorage to 30,000 square meters. Some 55% of the 1,200 participating companies from 32 countries were foreigners, which is heartening and encouraging.”
David Wee, assistant manager of Winsaw Engineering Supplies Sdn Bhd said, “We are very pleased to be back at Metaltech 2010, which has been the platform for us to meet new customers and where we have been exhibiting for at least 11 years and seen our business grow.”
CENS sent a local representative to promote its trade magazines, with Taiwan Machinery and Taiwan Industrial Suppliers (TIS) attracting considerable popularity during the five-day event.
Debuting in Shanghai in 2001, Busworld Asia has been held for nine consecutive years, during which businesspeople have seen the rapid development of the bus building industry in China.
Not unlike years past, the latest and 10th Busworld Asia, held May 6-8 at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center, drew China's major bus builders, including Yutong Bus, Higer Bus, Huanghai Bus, Zhongtong Bus, Bonluck Bus, Golden Dragon, Young Man, etc. Also helping to drive the support sectors of bus building, Busworld Asia attracted over 230 domestic and overseas parts manufacturers, with the overseas suppliers coming mainly from France, the United States, Germany, Italy, Japan and Taiwan.
This year Busworld Asia again proved itself as the key trade event of its kind globally, with its reputation effectively raising the proportion of foreign buyers, particularly those from the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The CENS booth was manned by a local representative, who promoted the always popular Taiwan Transportation Equipment Guide (TTG) and China Transportation Equipment Guide (CTG).
3P Pakistan is an industrial show of significant collaboration among top players from the plastic, printing and packaging sectors in Pakistan. With such sectors being the fastest growing in the nation, 3P Pakistan has built enormous popularity amid international players who look to build business opportunities in this part of the globe.
3P—Plas Print Pack Pakistan 2010, held May 12-15 at the Karachi Expo Center, Pakistan, again set commendable example to forge new as well as stronger business alliances between Pakistan and the rest of the world through an interactive showcase of cutting-edge tools and equipment, synergy of allied services for more networking opportunities and, most importantly, attendance by quality trade visitors from everywhere.
Cited by the World Bank as “the top reformer in its region and in the top 10 reformers globally,” the Pakistani economy continues to grow commendably, partly driven by in the past fiscal year Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of approximately US$5.1 billion, raising its annual growth by 6.6% in GDP for the last five years.
Pakistan is a leading exporter of manufactured goods as well as textiles to buoyant markets as the United States, England, Germany, and the Middle East, also a sought-after market for exporters from China, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Japan.
CENS promoted a variety of trade magazines at its booth at 3P Pakistan 2010, including Taiwan Exports Guide to Emerging Markets, Taiwan Industrial Suppliers, Taiwan Machinery, and Taiwan Export Express.
Lightfair International
Lightfair International (LFI), the world's largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference, experienced its most phenomenal West Coast show in May: The 2010 event, which took place May 12-14 in Las Vegas, set a record with 22,000 registered attendees, up by 10% from that posted in 2008.
Boasting an exhibition area of 160,000 square feet and nearly 1,600 booths, the 2010 show featured 498 international manufacturers, of which 94 came from outside the United States. Visitors from 71 countries and every U.S. state discovered a heady mix of innovative product designs and introductions, technological advances and lighting solutions.
This year, LFI debuted a new pavilion, the Building Integration Pavilion, developed to complement the three established product-specific pavilions—the Daylighting Pavilion, the Design Pavilion and the Global Light + Design Pavilion.
The CENS booth was run by a local representative who promoted its trade magazines, with CENS Lighting proving quite popular with the visitors.
The China International SME Fair is not only the largest event of its kind in China, but likely also a veritable “department store” of trade events, being unique in its variety of exhibits to enable operators of every level to find and build business in one of the biggest markets globally.
Perhaps ideally suited as a one-size-fits-all platform for the countless small entrepreneurs in China, the China International SME Fair covers quality and branded consumer goods from a dozen industries, including clothing and textile; light industry; grain, oil and foodstuffs; medical and healthcare; electrical machinery and hardware; energy and technology; as well as chain stores.
This year and the fourth edition of the fair, held May 20-23 at the Suzhou International Expo Center, Suzhou, attracted over 500 Chinese SMEs who promoted products in about 1,000 standard booths, drawing over 50,000 visitors.
The variety of trade magazines from CENS served the event perfectly, with Taiwan Exports Guide to Emerging Markets, Taiwan Industrial Suppliers (TIS), Guidebook to Taiwan Hand Tools, Taiwan Machinery, CENS Furniture, CENS Lighting, CENS Hardware, Design and Innovation in Taiwan (DIT), and Taiwan Export Express attracting ample attention amid the visitors.
Automechanika Middle East is the event for the rapidly developing automotive aftermarket in the wider Middle East and Africa. The event covers the full range of parts for motor vehicles, as well as components for the drive, chassis, body, electrics and electronic groups, equipment for vehicle service and repair, bodywork repair and painting, tires, batteries and performance systems.
Automechanika Middle East 2010, held May 25-27 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center, Dubai, UAE, drew significantly more exhibitors and visitors. Also attracting more than 1,000 exhibitors, the event was considerably larger than last year's, with sizable attendance by international buyers from the Middle East, East and North Africa and Central Asian states.
“The Middle East region is one of the world's fastest-growing markets for automotive products,” said Ahmed Pauwels, chief executive officer of Epoc Messe Frankfurt GmbH. “Automechanika Middle East 2010 has further consolidated its position as the definitive trade platform for the industry in the region. The encouraging numbers reported at the show reflect well on the growth trends in the region.”
Europart of Germany displayed workshop equipment, auto spare parts, and brake disc testing equipment. “The show is excellent for us in terms of quality of visitors and results. We received a lot of inquiries and trade leads and a number of sales in different product segments,” said Gunnar Nielsen, area manager-Middle East and Africa.
CENS sent a local representative to promote its export-oriented publications, with Taiwan Transportation Equipment Guide (TTG) and China Transportation Equipment Guide (CTG) being the most popular.
Kitchen & Bath China is a trade fair for kitchen and bathroom furnishings in Shanghai, taking place alongside the International Building & Construction Trade Fair. The former is China's leading fair for household consumables, displaying products including cabinets, cupboards, filing systems, countertops, faucets, hardware, tubs & showers, sinks, sanitary engineering, toilets, etc.; and the latter giving a comprehensive overview of interior design, construction and planning of new projects or expansion of existing structures.
One business opportunity with more untapped potential in China is the toilet, though the nation has improved substantially in hygiene and technical standards of residential and public toilets in recent years. As such, suppliers of such equipment found this trade event the ideal platform to build clientele, especially considering toilets in China reportedly still are flushing away more water than necessary.
Also the two-in-one fair, held May 26-29 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, was the most important place to meet potential customers as planners, architects, distributors or installers.
Equipped with trade magazines that are fully compatible with the trade show, CENS found ample interested parties with its CENS Hardware, CENS Furniture, Guidebook to Taiwan Hand Tools, and Taiwan Industrial Suppliers.