Final report - Success came easy: ALUMINIUM sets new records

Major orders from the aerospace industry and expanding markets in the automotive sector: aluminium is the metal experiencing the strongest demand increases globally. The automotive and aerospace sectors are the driving forces propelling this sales bonanza. “The mobility of the modern age is made of aluminium”, says Christian Wellner, the managing director of the German Confederation of the Aluminium Industry (GDA), as he gets to the heart of the developments in the transport sector. Take the automotive industry, in particular: at 140 kg, the amount of aluminium that goes into each car built in Europe has tripled since just 20 years ago. At 160 kg, that share is even higher in the US. What’s more, forecasts call for continued growth, according to statements released by the industry association at ALUMINIUM, the sector’s largest trade fair worldwide.

New exhibitor and visitor records
The rising demand for this “white gold” also shaped the performance of this year’s ALUMINIUM, which, after the successful move from Essen to Düsseldorf two years ago, once again drew record participation. A total of 934 exhibitors (2012: 907 / +3%) from 50 nations put on display the entire production and processing chain – from smelting and processing to semi-finished and finished goods to recycling. At the same time, ALUMINIUM set a new visitor record. Counting 24,261 visitors (2012: 21,508 / +13%), the world’s leading trade fair experienced another massive increase.

International attendance rises to over 60%
“ALUMINIUM underscored its role as a global marketplace and recorded important gains, especially from abroad”, says Michael Köhler, event director of ALUMINIUM, at the end of the three-day event. The level of internationality – meaning the share of international exhibitors – climbed to 63% (2012: 59%). The corresponding value for visiting companies marked a new record high at 56% (2012: 53%). Today, nearly one in four foreign visitors comes from outside Europe – an absolute top value in the international trade fair business.

Excellent economic prospects
“ALUMINIUM 2014 reflects the rising interest in aluminium and aluminium solutions and shows us the brilliant future that lies ahead.” A majority of companies in the aluminium industry would currently share the feelings expressed by Oliver Bell, the executive vice president of Norsk Hydro ASA. The economic trend index tallied for ALUMINIUM by an independent and representative market research company on behalf of Reed Exhibitions came to the same conclusion. The results indicated that more than 60% of the companies surveyed expect demand to continue to increase, while 30% assume that the currently positive economic situation will at least hold steady. Only one in ten companies expects a moderate or slightly downward development.

US market perspectives
The US market, the aluminium industry’s third-largest global market with total industry sales of USD 35.0 billion, has grown by 4.7% annually since 2009, resulting in overall growth of 30% over the last five years. Here too, the automotive and aerospace industries are key growth drivers. In the automotive sector alone, the demand for aluminium in the US increased by 22.1% last year. (Source: IBISWorld Industry Report, July 2014).

“All indicators – key production figures, processing quantities and planned capacity increases – make it clear that demand will continue to grow rapidly in future”, says Hans-Joachim Erbel, CEO Reed Exhibitions Deutschland. Against this backdrop and thanks to suggestions from within the sector itself, highly specific planning efforts and preparations for an ALUMINUM USA event, targeted to take place next year, are proceeding, he added. “Such a trade fair means ALUMINIUM is closing a gap as part of its ALUMINIUM goes global strategy”, says Hans-Joachim Erbel. ALUMINIUM trade fairs currently take place in Düsseldorf, Shanghai, Mumbai, Dubai and Sao Paolo.

ALUMINIUM 2016 scheduled for late November
The next ALUMINIUM trade fair will take place from 29 November to 1 December 2016.
“An admittedly late event date, but unfortunately it was unavoidable because Messe Düsseldorf’s packed occupancy schedule for an exceptionally busy 2016 did not offer any other options for ALUMINIUM”, says Michael Köhler. From 2018, ALUMINIUM will return to its usual dates in October. The late 2016 event didn’t stop exhibitors from booking their stands, however. At the end of ALUMINIUM 2014, more than two thirds of all available areas had already been booked or reserved.

To download up-to-date images and obtain detailed information regarding the winners of the EUROPEAN ALUMINIUM AWARD, please visit www.aluminium-messe.de.

Note: The visitor, exhibitor and floor space figures of this trade fair are calculated and certified according to the uniform definitions published by FKM – German Society for Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics.

Statements on ALUMINIUM

“ALUMINIUM 2014 reflects the success of our material. Here we can see the multifaceted range of aluminium applications. Taking a look around the stands, you’ll find mostly applications from the transport, traffic and automotive sectors. My conclusion: the mobility of the modern age is made of aluminium.”
Christian Wellner, Managing Director, German Confederation of the Aluminium Industry (GDA)

“Aluminium is among the world’s fastest growing sectors when it comes to base materials. Forecasts are excellent. We’re using about 12 million tonnes in Europe this year, a value we expect to almost double in the next 30 years. This growth is reflected in this year’s trade fair, as well. A forward-looking sense of optimism prevails and results in great market forecasts and data. Above all, it’s the performance of the automotive sector that drives demand for aluminium.”
Gerd Götz, Director General, European Aluminium Association (EAA)

“We consider the ALUMINIUM 2014 trade fair a huge success. It reflects the rising interest in aluminium and aluminium solutions and shows us the brilliant future that lies ahead. Personally, I can’t wait for the next trade fair in 2016.”
Oliver Bell, Executive Vice President, Norsk Hydro ASA

“This edition of the ALUMINIUM fair has given us a very good opportunity to show our full product portfolio to all of our customers. We are really happy with how busy our booth was and we are really looking forward to ALUMINIUM 2016.”
Japer van Zon, Director Communications Europe, ALCOA

“It was yet another fantastic trade fair event here at ALUMINIUM in Düsseldorf. We had lots of visitors at our exhibition stand. We had a great week at the trade fair, so it was all totally worth it. It turned out exactly how we imagined: good talks, positive atmosphere. That boosts the market and gives us hope for the future.”
Dr. Martin Iffert, CEO, TRIMET Aluminium SE

“ALUMINIUM 2014 was a complete success for Sapa. The Düsseldorf location paid off because it’s close and because of the local industry, which has a long aluminium processing history. Looking at the customers and number of visitors, I can only say this: the slogan that describes it best is ‘quantity and quality’! It becomes clear that we can’t just speak about German visitors, as there’s also a very, very strong international presence. The challenge for our industry will be to create new markets – with the fantastic material that is aluminium.”
Jaques Podszun, Vice President Commercial, Sapa Extrusion Europe

“ALUMINIUM has developed into our main trade fair by now, and it’s particularly important for us because we meet all our important customers here.”
Dr. Andreas Noé, CEO, BWG Bergwerk- und Walzwerk- Maschinenbau GmbH

“Actually Zhongshan is the second largest aluminium extrusion manufacturer in the world and number one in Asia. We have a long-term cooperation with plates globally and we are the global player with the plates. We join the exhibition in Brazil and Shanghai and also here in Germany, as well as other shows. We did have good results from this exhibition and now we hope to get even better results from the outside.”
Roy Luo, Director of International Business Department, Liaoning Zhongshan Group Co., Ltd.

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