Bricoforma-Ferroforma Opens European Window for Hardware Suppliers and Buyers

The Bricoforma-Ferroforma show, held biennially in the Spanish city of Bilbao, drew 30,248 attendees (28,921 domestic and 1,327 foreign) to the new Bilbao Exhibition Center on March 7-10, 2007. This was an increase of 53% from the previous show, making Bricoforma-Ferroforma one of Europe's most popular hardware and building materials exhibitions.

At last year's show, 1,314 exhibitors filled 994 booths covering a total of 40,000 square meters of exhibition space. Foreign exhibitors came from 27 countries, including the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Germany, Swaziland, Italy, Portugal, China, India, and France.

The organizer divided the show into six major themes housed in six separate exhibition halls: locks and related parts in Hall 1, household electronics, hardware, garden tools, and bathroom ware in Hall 2, hand tools in Hall 3, screws and fasteners in Hall 4, power tools, woodworking machines, building materials, and cutting tools in Hall 5, and industrial hardware in Hall 6.

In line with the global trend toward environmental protection, the show focused on quality building materials that were both fireproof and friendly to the environment. Industrial safety equipment and advanced testing machines were also major hits with buyers. Exhibitors from Taiwan, China, and India were especially effective in attracting attention to products featuring a good balance between competitive prices and quality.

The number of Taiwanese exhibitors at the show skyrocketed by 93% from the previous Bricoforma-Ferroforma to reach 89, with groups organized by the China Economic News Service (CENS) as well as the Importers & Exporters of Taipei and the Taiwan Regional Hand Tools Association. The CENS delegation numbered 38.

CENS passed out its own publications at the show, including the March issue of CENS Hardware and the Guidebook to Taiwan Hand Tools 2007, providing information on Taiwan's comprehensive hardware- and hand tool-manufacturing capabilities. This information proved highly useful to buyers, who were already well aware of the excellent reputation of Taiwanese products around the world.

The next Bricoforma-Ferroforma will be held at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre on March 25-28, 2009, once again opening a window for suppliers and buyers of do-it-yourself products and hardware.