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Thanks to high prices on the global markets, Russia’s metallurgy industry is in a strong financial position. According to the German Office for Foreign Trade (bfai), the country’s seven biggest steel companies alone racked up combined sales of USD 25 billion in 2006, producing USD 8.5 billion in profits. Apart from company acquisitions abroad, the steel smelters and aluminium businesses are investing at home, above all, in new plants. The need for upgrades remains high and experts predict that growth in investment will continue in the double figures for the coming years.
The robust industry climate was impressively reflected at the trade fairs Metallurgy-Litmash, Tube Russia, Aluminium/Non-Ferrous 2008. The metal and tube trade fairs staged concurrently at Moscow’s ZAO Expocentr fairgrounds in Krasnaya Presnya from 27 to 30 May 2008 attracted some 8,800 experts from all corners of the Russian Federation and its neighbouring countries as well as an enlarged contingent of attendees from further afield. Overall, around ten percent more visitors attended than at the previous event in 2006. The event has established itself as the leading platform for trade as well as for forging contacts in the Russian foundry, metallurgy, aluminium and tube industries. The organisers are Messe Düsseldorf, its subsidiary Messe Düsseldorf Moscow OOO and Russian partner Metalexpo in close cooperation with the Frankfurt-based Verband Deutscher Maschinen und Anlagenbau (German Engineering Federation – VDMA) and the International Tube Association (ITA), in addition to key domestic and international industry associations.
Spread across a net exhibition area of roughly 4,650 square metres, 316 exhibitors showcased their innovations at the event. The companies hailed from 22 countries. The majority of them, 165, came from outside Russia and the remaining 151 from the host nation. Officially backed joint presentations were put together by Germany, Italy, Austria and the People’s Republic of China.
The participants were unanimous in their accounts of a successful trade fair run characterised by lots of new customer contacts and unwavering willingness to place orders. Juliane Krause from the Fachverband Thermoprozess- und Abfalltechnik, Giessereimaschinen, Hütten- und Walzwerkeinrichtungen im VDMA (associations for thermoprocessing equipment, waste treatment and recycling technology, foundry machinery, metallurgical plants and rolling mills within the VDMA) put it in a nutshell: “Metallurgy-Litmash, Aluminium/Non-Ferrous 2008 clearly shows that Russia is one of the world’s growth markets not only for metallurgy and rolling mills but also foundries and thermoprocessing.” Phillip Knight, Executive Secretary of the International Tube Association, also had plenty of praise for the event: “Excellent organisation, technical support and an impressive number of visitors have made this Tube Russia a significant advance from 2006.”
The concurrent staging of two thematically related fairs was a source of further synergies for exhibitors and visitors. Messe Essen was responsible for Schweißen & Schneiden Russia 2008, which featured 67 exhibitors from ten countries and their plant, materials, processes and services from the world of welding technology. What’s more, Metalloobrabotka, the 10th International Exhibition of Equipment, Instruments and Tools for the Metalworking Industry, also opened its doors between 26 and 31 May. Messe Düsseldorf was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) with organising the official joint national participation in Metalloobrabotka, which was backed by the Verein Deutscher Werkzeugmaschinenfabriken (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association – VDW). The Düsseldorf-based trade fair company also coordinated the Swiss joint presentation on behalf of the Verband für die Maschinen-, Elektro- und Metall-Industrie (association for the Swiss engineering, electrical and metal industry and associated technology-oriented sectors – Swissmem). These two countries alone were represented by 139 companies and occupied some 5,800 square metres of net floor space.
During Metallurgy-Litmash, Tube Russia, Aluminium/ Non-Ferrous 2008, many companies already indicated their interest in participating in the next event, which will kick off in Moscow from 12 to 15 May 2009 in tandem with wire Russia 2009.
