International growth

This trade fair, which is staged every other year alternately with the Cologne Hardware Fair/Practical World, will open its doors to this year’s visitors from 7 – 10 March 2007 with a comprehensive and international range of products. Industrial supplies, power tools, machines and housewares will then enjoy the spotlight for the four days of the event at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre. According to information from the organisers, a total of 1 208 exhibitors from 28 countries had confirmed their intention to participate by mid-January. They will occupy 927 exhibition stands altogether.
Diversity of ranges
The areas of hardware, industrial supplies and equipment, plus DIY, which will have its own “Bricoforma” space this year for the second time, will occupy all six halls of the Bilbao Exhibition Centre for this 17th edition of the show. The main sectors, listed according to their current proportion of bookings, are hand tools (26 per cent), industrial and building supplies (24 per cent), hardware and housewares (9 per cent), locks and fittings (9 per cent), fixings and fastenings (6 per cent), electric machinery (5 per cent), occupational safety (4 per cent) and decoration (3 per cent). Adding to this assortment are the products of exhibitors from the categories of shopfitting and office equipment, gardening, electrical and lighting, timber and storage systems, along with bathrooms, plumbing and air-conditioning technology. This comprehensive display of products is divided into individual sectors to help visitors get their bearings more easily. Each event attracts manufacturers, agents, wholesalers and retailers, decision-makers and users, who all come together to get acquainted at first hand with the most significant new introductions to the international market. A total of 24 133 visitors registered at the last Ferroforma-Bricoforma, 1 595 of them from abroad.
Increasing international shareFerroforma believes that its solid international position in this branch is reinforced this year by the new strategic timing of the fair within the calendar of events. “Bookings from 675 international firms in 27 countries, 437 of them with their own stand here, do in fact confirm the fair’s positioning as the outstanding European meeting place in odd years,“ is how fair boss José Luis Saitz explains the development. The organisers are assuming that the proportion of international exhibitors will increase by 39 per cent on the preceding event in October 2004. With Germany…