Kehrer: Tube 2018 will be the greatest show of ever

“The positive development of Tube and the progressive growth that has never stopped, not even as a result of the crisis, derives for this edition from the well-established recovery at European and world level”, the administrator of Messe Dussedorf, Friedrich Georg Kehrer, begins his presentation of Tube2018 with absolutely positive notes. “There is no more steel superproduction – continues Kehrer – as happened two years ago, investments in oil and gas pipelines, one of the focus markets for our fair, are on the rise. In reality, the growth of the sector derives for the most part from tube roducers, retailers and accessories manufacturers “.

A half-positive review, that of Kehrer, which starts from a very different economic situation from that in which the last Tube was held, in 2016, to tell of a fair, needless to say, growing: “In Dusseldorf we will not only talk about metal pipes, but also those in plastic, glass, ceramic materials and cement. Above all, the fact that there are numerous exhibitors who will bring plastic pipes is important to bring more visitors “. It is precisely the visitors’ theme that is particularly close to the heart of Messe Dusseldorf to confirm the development of a trade fair and to show that the choice to spread the presence, bringing Tube to the four corners of the world, has been a winner, not only because has allowed to easily reach new markets, but also because it has enhanced, in terms of the number of visitors, the mother fair: “In 2016, visitors were 31304, coming from Europe, but also from India, from Ukraine and from Turkey, but the figure does not contain the so-called visitors inside the fair, ie the exhibitors of Wire who visit Tube, estimated at around 30%. The success of Tube also contributes to innovations in the automotive sector, in which weight reduction is constantly pursued: man of the components that were filled up a few months ago are now hollow, so that they are, in essence, tubes. The expectations for visitors are in line with those of the last few years, with a small growth and over 70 thousand stand out “.

For those who want to visit the fair there are great opportunities on the web: “Tickets online – emphasizes Kehrer – have a reduced cost compared to those purchased directly in Dusseldorf”. The Tube is also showing growth in the presence of exhibitors: “Since 1988 the increase has been constant – confirms the managing director of Messe Dusseldorf -; in 2016 we hosted 1277 exhibitors from 51 countries for an exhibition area of 51183 square meters. Currently (at the time of going to press, editor’s note) the reservations speak about 1000 exhibitors for 52624 square meters. The goal is to reach 1,300 exhibitors, not least because the national pavilions only communicate exhibitor data only few days before the opening. The growth of around 3% was affected by the reduction of the space available for the works on new Hall 1, with Halls 1 and 2 totally demolished, only partially offset by Hall 18 “.

It’s Italy? As always in the foreground: “We have some exhibitors in less 164 against the 173 of the last edition, but with an increase in the exhibition area, from 9800 to 10608 square meters. Italy is essentially the second customer for Messe Dusseldorf “. Unlike in other major fairs, Messe Dusseldorf does not organize conferences and moments of confrontation on the sidelines of the event: “It is a precise choice – Kehrer responds -; we believe that our customers want to focus exclusively on the fair and on new contacts. For this reason we have chosen not to dedicate spaces defined to Industry 4.0, but to let every company exhibit directly on the stand as it interprets the digital revolution “.