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Stuttgart/Salzburg – With 193 exhibitors from twelve countries, the second euroLITE, which took place between the 24th and the 26th June 2008 at the Salzburg Exhibition Centre (Messezentrum Salzburg), offered a representative overview of software tools, materials, manufacturing technologies and series-produced parts for implementing lightweight design ideas. 2,143 professional visitors from 16 countries gathered information on this comprehensive offering – a 39% increase on the first event. The highly qualified visitors, who included a large number of decision-makers amongst their ranks, meant that intensive technical discussions and many outstanding new contacts were made. This year, the lightweight construction forum, organised in cooperation with the Landshut Lightweight Construction Cluster, once again counted amongst the highlights of Europe's only specialist trade fair for lightweight design.
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"We always wait and see how a specialist trade fair develops. euroLITE has developed superbly, which is why we decided to participate this year, and our expectations were fulfilled. I believe this specialist trade fair also has the potential to grow even more – not least because the topic of lightweight construction is so important", says Cornelia Walter, Marketing Manager of the Salzburger Aluminium Group in Lend in Austria. The number of exhibitors at the second international specialist trade fair for lightweight design climbed by just under 51%, from 128 to 193. The net exhibition area at euroLITE registered an even more impressive growth, increasing by 100% to 5,000 square meters.
Complete process chain for lightweight design
The range of products of the exhibiting companies, spanning numerous industries and technologies, attracted 2,143 professional visitors from 16 countries to Salzburg, which is an increase of 39%. They were able to gather information on the entire spectrum of lightweight design – from the tools for design and simulation, through materials, prototypes, metal forming, connecting and surface technology to series production of lightweight components and systems for component tests. "As in the previous year, numerous exhibitors used euroLITE to present innovative developments", says Wieland Kniffka, Executive Director of H & K Messe GmbH, which organises the lightweight construction specialist trade fair together with the Salzburg Exhibition Centre (Messezentrum Salzburg).
High quality of visitors enables excellent contacts to be made
euroLITE 2008 impressed due to the number of highly-qualified specialists and decision makers in attendance. "We encountered a very interested specialist audience here. The visitors had gathered information in advance of the trade fair, came with concrete questions and wanted to see examples of how products could be used. Participating in the trade fair has paid off for us and we will be there again next year", reports Philipp Zach, Project Manager of Alulight International GmbH, Ranshofen. Iwan Wüst, Sales Engineer at Swiss firm Fritz Schiess AG, has also already decided to be an exhibitor again at the next euroLITE: "at such specialised trade fairs, you always reach a qualitatively very high-class audience. It was important for us to be here and we have achieved a good result from the trade fair". Tony Kimber, Sales Engineer at the British company Corex-Honeycomb, also readily expresses his satisfaction with the trade fair: "we are delighted at how the trade fair went for us and can take some very interesting enquiries away with us". Jochen Bieger, Marketing Manager at Netzwerk Carbon Composites e.V., which was represented with a shared stand, praises the quality of the visitors: "the high quality of the discussions and enquiries has surprised us. The visitors came with very concrete questions and a few had done some research via our homepage. Our expectation of finding new customers here at the trade fair has been fulfilled both for our member companies and for Carbon Composites e.V." Klaus-Werner Huland, Head of Baynat/BaySafe, Business Unit Polyurethanes, BaySystems Automotive at Bayer MaterialScience AG, gave a similar review: "we are very happy with the trade fair. We were able to have some very good qualitative discussions, although quantitatively there is still room for improvement".
Great reception for the lightweight construction forum
Another visitor magnet was the euroLITE lightweight construction forum, organised in cooperation with the Landshut Lightweight Construction Cluster. In a total of 26 lectures, well-known speakers from industry, research and academia addressed current solutions, new developments and the latest trends in materials, design and manufacturing technology. Some topics were attended by over 100 people. "However, it was not just the large attendance of the lectures that was encouraging, but also the lively discussions that took place after some of them and that often carried on outside the lecture room", explains Marc Bicker, Project Manager at the Landshut Lightweight Construction Cluster.
With a growth rate of 51% for exhibitors, 39% for visitors, 100% for net exhibition area and the increased internationalism of the event, euroLITE has made an important step towards establishing itself as the European specialist trade fair for lightweight design. This is also demonstrated by the fact that numerous reservations and provisional bookings have already been made for stand places at the next euroLITE, which takes place in Salzburg from the 23rd to the 25th June 2009.
