The 22nd edition of the event is to take place on 6-8 June 2017

345 firms from 25 countries have already confirmed their participation in Ferroforma, where they will be showing their most innovative products and services in the fields of hardware, industrial supplies and DIY at halls 1 and 3 of Bilbao Exhibition Centre from 6-8 June. The claim of this year’s event is “revolution tools”, and as such the event will feature new, smart solutions and advanced commercial proposals designed to open up access to new markets and customers abroad. The commercial campaign is moving towards its final phase, and the final participation figures achieved in 2015 have already been matched.

To date the areas from which most firms have signed up are industrial supplies (20%), hand tools (19%) and locksmithery & ironwork (14%), followed by fixings, hardware & household goods and protective equipment. The event will also feature firms from the building supplies, portable power tools, woodworking tools, electricity & lighting, decoration, textile & dry goods, gardening and automotive accessory industries.

The countries that will be sending most firms are Germany, Italy, the UK, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, India and Turkey. Firms that have already confirmed their attendance include Condtrol, DWT, Umarex Verwaltung  and Weicon from Germany, Red Horse from Denmark, Master Lock Europe, Mob Mondelin & Norail from France, Griz Engineering Tools from India, Ambrovit, Keyline, Mobil Plastic, Nitty Gritty, Siderurgica Ferro Bulloni & Mabtools Italia from Italy, Central Lobao, Falual, Globallock Ferragens, Herculano Santos, Industria e Comercio de Calçado, Lusavoga and Tupais from Portugal, Caterpillar from the UK and Kale Killit Ve Kalip & Marpol Parlatici Sanayi ve Ticaret from Turkey.

Against a constantly changing background marked by the development of new technologies, the Spanish hardware and DIY sectors are currently enjoying a period of stability and growth, thanks to their commitment to R&D. In the online directory of firms for Ferroforma, exhibitors are now posting the innovations that are set to turn this event into a major showcase for trends. They include products such as double column automatic belt saws with 35º inclined arcs, triple, magnetic & mechanical coded cylinders, a mechanical pipe bevelling machine for preparing mechanical and orbital welding, torque wrenches, contact adhesive for overlapping EPDM and butyl rubber strips for waterproofing, proximity access control systems with wireless electronic locks, signage panels made of injected polyethylene with fold-down rubber bases, a quick-action tensioning system for stainless steel cable and quick-lock plugs made of technical plastic (POM, PVDF, etc.).

Innovation will also be a recurrent theme at the seminars at Ferroforma, for which highly interesting presentations are being arranged. The section on digitisation will feature the mountaineering goods store Barrabés, a pioneer in the digital transformation of small businesses and a leading exponent of e-commerce. The section on social networks will include digital marketing agency Internet República, among others, and the area devoted to the supply chain will feature a presentation by Grupo Cofares, Spain’s leading distributor of pharmaceuticals, which has developed a complex logistics management system similar to that used by high-tech firms. Finally, leading French DIY and house & garden equipment chain Leroy Merlin has also confirmed that it will be taking part in the e-commerce programme at Ferroforma with an analysis of its strategies in regard to the digital community.

Incorporating end customers into the domestic purchasers’ campaign

At the same time, given the positive outlook for commercial contracts, the campaign to attract visitors has intensified its efforts at home and abroad. A new feature on the domestic front is that this year the programme of invitations for purchasers will be extended to end customers, i.e. to staff of firms industrial supplies and hardware firms, who will be joining stockists, cooperatives, purchasing groups, associations and DIY superstores as the main targets of the campaign. To reinforce these efforts, the organisers of Ferroforma have strengthened their network of domestic agents in areas of priority interest such as Galicia and Catalonia and the adjacent provinces.

On the international front the campaign to promote the event is up and running through the Bilbao Exhibition Centre’s own agents abroad, networks of chambers of commerce and the offices of SPRI. Invitations have been sent out to the sector’s leading purchasers worldwide, as selected by exhibitors themselves. Forthcoming trips by staff from the Visitors Department will be focussed on Latin America, where there are meetings planned with businesses and associations, along with presentations for leading agents in the sector in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Argentina and Chile. Trips are also being organised for purchasers in Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana.

Source: Ferroform