During the course of its sixth edition, PaintExpo once again scored top ratings with regard to exhibitor and visitor numbers, as well as internationalism. The numerous RFQs, projects and orders brought to Karlsruhe by the 10,522 visitors who attended the leading international trade fair from 19 to 22 April 2016 provided for high levels of satisfaction amongst the 501 exhibitors from 27 countries. The visitors, in turn, were inspired by the comprehensive and representative offerings, as well as the concentrated presentation of all aspects of industrial coating technology.

“PaintExpo is the leading trade fair for the painting industry and it went very well for us. We hand strong growth in visitor numbers at the previous trade fairs too, but we had an even more significant increase in expert visitors at this year’s event. We established excellent contacts and were able to conclude initial deals directly at the trade fair”, reports Martin Weidisch, senior marketing specialist at J. Wagner GmbH.

At the end of the 4-day trade fair, similar levels of satisfaction were reported by nearly all of the 501 participating companies (6.8% growth as compared with 2014). The exhibitors came from 27 countries and foreign companies made up 31.5% of the total. They presented products and solutions for liquid painting, powder coating and coil coating on 144,600 square feet net exhibition floor space (a 6% increase).

With 14.8% more visitors for a total of 10,522, PaintExpo experienced considerable growth in these areas as well. 28% of the expert visitors travelled to Karlsruhe from outside of Germany. The best represented countries included Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Turkey. Expert visitors from 74 countries and all of the continents came to PaintExpo.

Numerous RFQs and Projects Thanks to High Levels of Decision Making Authority
In addition to their large numbers and the internationalism of the visitors from a great variety of industry sectors, above all their high levels of technical expertise and decision-making authority contributed to the good atmosphere at the event promoted by FairFair GmbH. This resulted in meetings for the discussion of concrete RFQs, projects and orders.

“We expected a lot from our initial participation at PaintExpo, and with regard to quantity our great expectations were even exceeded. The quality and the technical expertise of the visitors are a given at PaintExpo, and we knew about that already in advance. There’s no question for us that we’ll exhibit again in 2018”, sums up Holger Beiersdorfer, vice president for industrial products and application technology at Dürr Systems GmbH.

Stefano Negri, sales manager at Condoroil Stainless Srl. from Italy, also reports a successful trade fair premiere: “We were able to establish very good contacts, and we believe we’ve linked up with a number of future customers and sales partners at the fair – and not just in Germany or Switzerland, but rather from all over Europe including Belgium, the Czech Republic and Poland. It was really very interesting for us.”

Oliver Zanner from the marketing department at Freilacke Emil Frei GmbH & Co. KG is also entirely satisfied with the way things went at the trade fair: “We fielded considerably more leads than we did at PaintExpo 2014, and we’re anticipating very good post-event business. PaintExpo is our most important trade fair and we’ll definitely be back in 2018.” David Pellicer, managing director of Adapta Color S.L. in Spain, feels the same way: “We’ve exhibited several times at PaintExpo and this year’s event was the best ever for us with lots of visitors and interesting leads. PaintExpo is really the most important trade fair for our industry and we’ll exhibit here in 2018 too.” Michael Heinrich, vice president for general finishing sales at Eisenmann Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG sees things in a similar light: “The trade fair went very well for us. We had overwhelming visitor response and received lots of concrete RFQs. It’s already clear for us that we’ll participate at the next PaintExpo.”

“PaintExpo is the global showcase of the painting industry, which makes it an absolute must for Arsonsisi. For us it’s the most effective way to present our product range and new developments to the experts. We had large numbers of visitors at our booth and we’re very satisfied with our participation”, says Andrea Ortelli, export manager of the Italian paint manufacturer.

Fumihiko Kikuyama, general manager of the global marketing department for the coating equipment and engineering division of Asahi Sunac Corporation in Japan, also expressed his great satisfaction: “This was the first time we participated at PaintExpo and we found good potential partners, which was one of our trade fair goals. Beyond this, we got to know a number of potential customers. That was very good as well. We’re expecting good results from our participation at the trade fair. It’s good that we exhibited here.”

For Pablo Meeuwes, commercial manager at Göttert SA in Argentina, trade fair participation has yet another aspect: “This is the third time we’ve participated at PaintExpo and it’s always a good opportunity for meeting up with our partners and friends form all over the world. Furthermore, we can show international customers that we work together with leading German companies.”

The Global Information and Procurement Platform
The strong drawing power of PaintExpo for users around the globe results from its high concentration of companies from the field of industrial coating technology. This results in the world’s most comprehensive and representative offerings ranging from pre-treatment through paints, systems technology and application equipment, right on up to final inspection and packaging, which permits targeted and effective information gathering and procurement with minimal legwork.

Due to the fact that numerous exhibitors have already made firm bookings for their participation at the upcoming PaintExpo in Karlsruhe from 17 through 20 April 2018, growth can also be expected at the next event. In collaboration with Turkish partner Artkim Fuarcilik, FairFair GmbH will promote the 4th PaintExpo Eurasia trade fair for industrial coating technology in Istanbul from the 12th through the 14th of September, 2017. www.paintexpo.com