Lift Report

The elevator industry – seen at global scale, too – is actually just “one big family” and thus it’s no wonder that everyone attending the fair feels the very amicable and almost homey character of the event. One runs into old acquaintances – even though they’ve long since retired – while touring the halls, or sees familiar faces at the booths, or makes arrangements to get together in Mumbai or Langfang. The international “family reunion” can really take place anywhere!

From October 16 to 19, 2007, the clan gathered in Augsburg and set a great deal in motion. In the Trade Fair Corporation’s calendar of events, this is the affair that brings the greatest revenues for the region. The so-called indirect returns (i.e. all the turnover triggered by the event) bring more than 30 million euros into the tills at bars and restaurants, hotels and other businesses associated with this trade fair. And thus the interlift is an economic factor that is by no means to be sneezed at.

Fully aware of this fact, Dr. Peter Wengert, the city’s mayor, cast a major promise into the ring during the course of his address at the opening ceremonies. Beginning with a quotation by Marie Ebner-Eschenbach – “Faith moves mountains, and that includes faith in one’s own strength” – he surely did not intend to make reference to the keynote speech entitled “Moving Mountains”, delivered by Reinhold Messner. But certainly he saw this quote as the foundation for his pledge: “The next interlift 2009 will be opened in the new multifunctional trade fair hall.” His listeners received this promise with gratitude.

VFA-Interlift president Achim Hütter chided that he wanted this in writing, since unabated demand was being expected for 2009 – firstly for more floor space and secondly for better quality in the halls themselves. Visibly relieved, trade fair chief Heiko Könicke said only: “We’ve been waiting for this”. And project manager Joachim Kalsdorf said he would appreciate having a “binding commitment” by the summer of 2008, since preparatory work for 2009 had already been started. Now it is a matter of turning the mayor’s intentions into bricks and mortar. That doesn’t look like a simple task, since funding seems not to have been finalized. But what was that saying again? That’s right: Faith moves mountains!

This thesis was vividly illustrated by Reinhold Messner in his speech entitled “Moving Mountains”. Always in search of new challenges, and always learning through defeats and the failure of his undertakings, he often attained the objectives he had set for himself only on the second or third attempt. Undivided concentration on a single objective makes it possible to achieve almost anything, if one really wants to. This goal-oriented approach, worked out by Messner for rock climbing and conquering the world’s highest mountains almost alone and with neither oxygen nor a lot of material, can also be applied to many areas of everyday life. Everyone could use this as his or her recipe for success. Thus we hope that the construction of a new and more modern fair building will be assigned the utmost priority so that the interlift 2009 will be able to utilize the new facilities. In technical terms, completing the new hall by that time should present no problems.

The “family” character of the opening ceremonies was illustrated by the accolades for Werner A. Boehm, the retiring VFA-Interlift business manager. Achim Hütter, Heiko Könicke and Joachim Kalsdorf together sketched out Boehm’s intensive and invaluable dedication, representing the association particularly on committees in Brussels, standing up for industry interests and putting forward positions in committees. He achieved a great deal for the “world’s most effective industry association” and did so by applying Prussian virtues, Swabian diligence and Swiss perseverance.

The tour that followed immediately after the opening ceremonies made it quite clear that the industry is booming. A throng of visitors crowded into the trade fair buildings from the very first moment onward. They were happy to let themselves be lured into interesting discussions with the experts present at the booths. An astounding medley of languages buzzed through the halls. But that was certainly no surprise, considering that two of three exhibitors were from foreign countries and more than 50 % of the visitors were from outside Germany. The average share of foreign visitors at  international specialty fairs comes to just 25 %. This shows that the international character of the interlift has once again expanded. Anyone hoping to keep up with the world market simply has to be on site in Augsburg. It is the Chinese above all who seem to have realized this, since they had the greatest growth rate of all nations. With 52 exhibitors China now occupies third place, after Germany and Italy. The steep rise in the number of visitors ensued during the second half of the run of the fair. The numbers for the first two days were similar to those for 2005.

 

The good mood and the fair’s success were confirmed by a visitor poll. 500 surveys conducted by a public opinion agency on various days of the fair provided the necessary certainty for the results. Even though the interlift is not a fair where business is transacted directly, ten per cent of the visitors did sign sales contracts. Only four per cent had initially intended to place firm orders. And even though the share of visitors who are decision- makers in their firms came to 82 %, this happy situation is certainly understandable. In all cases, 89 % of the visitors see the interlift as the industry’s leading event and 86 % awarded the event an overall rating of “good” or “excellent”. Also of interest is the fact that 73 % of all visitors attended only the interlift to satisfy their information needs. This accounts for the large number of visitors (37 %) who make their investment decisions soon after the fair. That means, of course, that most exhibitors (86 %) have great hopes for post-fair business. The average attendance at the fair came to 1.7 days. Thus there was almost always at least one hotel stay involved and hostelries and restaurants were able to reap the expected yields from trade fair business.

Not only the visitor survey, but evaluations by exhibitors and industry associations, too, reflected a thoroughly positive mood. Particularly interesting were comments by Hanan Wang, the liaison officer for the Chinese delegation. In China the interlift is seen as a platform for a global appearance and that is why companies have to take part. At Augsburg Chinese manufacturers meet with partners from around the world and are able to boost their own business accordingly. Some of the firms were on hand for the second or third – and a few even for the fifth – time. They want to set new trends here. Some of them will not be participating in the joint Chinese pavilion two years from now. Instead they intend to appear with their own booths, presenting their products somewhere in the buildings, among the many other nations. The Chinese delegation will most certainly be even larger in two years, since all the exhibitors recognized the success of the fair and indicated that they would return.

 

The AFAG project manager for the interlift, Joachim Kalsdorf, is naturally quite glad to see the positive numbers and favorable evaluations. But he will most surely not be resting on his laurels in the future. Instead, he will be seeking and actively pursuing new ideas, since a standstill is tantamount to backsliding. In two years there will very likely be a joint Indian pavilion and other countries have al ready put in their bids for more space. For Joachim Kalsdorf the motto is: “After the fair is before the fair” and thus he will immediately start planning for the next event. As his supervisor says, “He has certainly been bitten by the trade fair bug”.

A trade fair is, of course, first and foremost a presentation of the range on offer by displaying prototypes at the manufacturers’ booths. The interested trade visitor wants to chat with competent experts, wants to see, touch and try out samples, and wants to collect literature so as to be able to make a quick and sure decision. This pretty much reflects the German mindset, however. The more international this fair becomes, however, the more those of us in Germany will have to adapt to international customs. In other countries and on other continents it is not so much the order (during or after the fair) that is the main thing, but rather making contacts. Contacts and discussions are possible not only at the booth, however, but at any time, in any place during the fair’s opening hours and in the evenings. The result is that the “social events” are becoming ever more popular and are used to intensify contacts. The interlift offers a large number of opportunities like this and they are well used.

The traditional kick-off is the gathering of the international trade press on the eve before the fair’s first day, after everyone has gotten beyond the stresses involved with setting up the displays. The VFAInterlift, the AFAG and Lift-Report had extended an invitation to a small restaurant in Augsburg’s “old town”. The press is always curious and always has something to talk about. That is why about 40 guests celebrated a heartfelt reunion. Otherwise, during the course of the fair, it is seldom that we have this much time for ourselves and that is why we would not want to be without this event.

The exhibitors’ evening on the first day of the fair drew 500 participants to the festively decorated Hall 8. The “2007 Round- Up” was, as always, a gathering point for trade fair participants. Exhibitors, employees and customers used this opportunity for exciting discussions. The international cuisine offered here took visitors around the entire world. Specialties from Bavaria, Italy, Spain, the USA and China were available for the guests’ delectation. One could feel the relaxed and lighthearted atmosphere since the first day of the event had been an unqualified success for almost everyone. The large number of participants from foreign delegations, from the international associations and from the trade journals was clear proof of the necessity and popularity of this event fl anking the fair proper.

On Wednesday morning the retirement of business manager Werner A. Boehm was celebrated at the VFA booth and in the Forum. Achim Hütter, as the chairman of the VFA, acclaimed Werner Boehm’s activities and unswerving dedication and stated quite unequivocally thatthe association’s reputation today and the recent rise in the number of members were both to the credit of Werner Boehm. The words of thanks offered by Joachim Kalsdorf, AFAG project manager for the interlift, were particularly touching. In-depth familiarity with the industry and his activity as Trade Fair Advisory Council chairman over many years made Werner Boehm indispensable for the interlift. What’s more, he had become something of a professional mentor for Joachim Kalsdorf. Visibly moved, Werner Boehm returned the compliments and thanks and made express mention of the superb cooperation and participation by everyone involved, without which many recent achievements would not have been possible.

The invitation issued by the Leipzig Chamber of Industry and Commerce to take part in a “Saxon Evening” at the Leipzig joint pavilion on Wednesday evening has become traditional. Here, too, every evaluation and assessment was positive and the optimistic trend was continued.

And on this evening, more frequently than otherwise usual, invitations were extended to “end-of-fair” parties at the booths. That is certainly a sign of the high spirits at the fair and the favorable economic situation in the background.

Thursday afternoon people got together for “Beer, Sausages and Standards” at the VDMA booth in Hall 6. The chairman of the VDMA trade group on lifts and escalators, Albert Schenk, greeted the numerous guests and reviewed briefly the activities carried out by the group. In addition to work in the field of standardization, he drew attention to the networks (regional elevator conclaves, juniors’ circle). Aside from this, the trade group is active on many committees at the European level, but that is the fundamental purpose of the association, after all: to pursue activities to the benefit of the members. This party at the Interlift will certainly become a traditional affair.

The “China Night” had its premiere on Thursday evening in Hall 8. A good 400 guests followed the invitation put forth by the CEA – China Elevator Association. All the officials in the Chinese lift industry were on hand. Zhang Lexian, general secretary of the CEA, speaking on behalf of all the numerous Chinese participants, sketched out a positive picture. The guests were also greeted by the party secretary and the mayor of Langfang, who extended a very personal invitation to Langfang for the World Elevator & Escalator Expo, April 22 to 25, 2008.

    

A mixed Sino-Bavarian buffet pampered visitors. We were guided through the intricacies of Chinese folklore by a dancing and singing troop. This event clearly enhanced the social events at the fair.

The excellent evaluations and assessments of the fair from all quarters are a fine basis for looking optimistically into the future – to the next interlift on October 13 to 16, 2009. Certainly the event will be larger than this year because the Chinese delegation has already requested more floor space and participation by Indian firms is to be expected. At the national lift expositions in Mumbai, India, in February of 2008 and in Langfang, China, in April 2008, and at the NAEC Convention in Dallas, Texas, USA, the following September, joint pavilions will be used to promote the interlift 09. Everyone, full of confidence, is striving for tomorrow.