This represents a 48% increase on the number of visitors in 2007, the last time the show was held in Stuttgart.
There were 313 exhibitors at the show.
The visitors at COMPOSITES EUROPE 2009 came equally from the composites industry and application industries – in particular the automotive, aerospace, building and construction, ship and boat building, and wind power industries.
A survey taken by an independent market research institute during the fair found that more than 60% of the companies interviewed expect a pronounced increase in orders. Another 27% expect the economic situation to remain stable, while less than 10% of companies interviewed believe that sales will deteriorate further.
“One in three companies came to Stuttgart with concrete projects,“ says Markus Jessberger, Event Director with Reed Exhibitions Deutschland. "Almost 20% of these came with investment projects worth more than €200 000, another 17% had projects with a value in excess of €1 million."
AVK conference
The International AVK Conference, which opened the show on 26 and 27 October, attracted around 350 participants.
Once again, AVK presented its Innovation Awards for outstanding developments in the area of reinforced plastics. In the industrial category, Volkswagen AG and Dresden Technical University shared first place with the BMW Group; in the environmental category, the winner was DSM BV, while the university award went to the Department of Plastics Processing of RWTH Aachen (IKV). A special award was presented to cpm composite products mücke for the 'SplashCar.'
Pioneer Award
For its pioneering role in the field of natural fibre reinforced plastics the BioConcept Car project won the COMPOSITES Pioneer Award 2009. The cars developed by Four Motors GmbH from Reutlingen, Germany, compete in long-distance racing challenges.
(For further information see BioConcept Car wins COMPOSITES EUROPE award.)
COMPOSITES EUROPE 2010
COMPOSITES EUROPE 2010 will take place in Essen, Germany, on 14-16 September, alongside the Aluminium World Trade Fair and Congress.
