Almost 500 firms from 26 countries have confirmed that they will be exhibiting at Ferroforma-Bricoforma 2011, which is to be held on March 23-26 at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre. In a key year for the development of commercial operations and strategies, this international hardware and DIY fair is set to be a decisive event with a new look, focused more on the needs of the sector.
A policy of reasonable prices and new forms of financing have been the main features of the campaign to attract exhibitors, while as regards visitors the run-up to the event has been marked by the inclusion of end users, programmes for international purchasers and promotional packages.
Finally, as regards side events, Ferroforma-Bricoforma seeks to combine various formats in its seminars for hardware specialists and users of tools and other hardware products by featuring presentations, round tables, case studies of successful hardware businesses and demonstration contests for vehicle repair shops and specialist installers.
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION
FEATURING FRONT-LINE COMPANIES
Leading firms from the hardware, DIY and industrial supply sectors will be present at Ferroforma-Bricoforma in a high-quality edition of the event at which 51% of the participants will be non-Spanish firms.
Products and services from Germany, the USA, France, India, Italy, Japan, the UK and Taiwan among many other markets are proof of the high international profile of the event and its value as a platform for helping companies to internationalise.
49% of the products on show are from Spain, 31% from the rest of Europe, 5% from the Americas and 15% from Asia and the rest of the world.
The main sectors in terms of percentages of participants are hand tools and power tools (28%), protective gear and industrial supplies (23%), locksmithery and fittings (14%), hardware and home products (13%), fixings and construction supplies (10%), decoration, lighting, equipment and gardening (10%) and services (3%).
WORKING HARD ON THE PROGRAMME FOR PURCHASERS
The organisers of Ferroforma-Bricoforma are engaged in an intensive promotional campaign to attract visitors, especially purchasers, from at home and abroad.
Numerous groups of purchasers, sectoral associations, co-operatives, DIY centres and superstores are actively helping in this campaign, and will take part in the event in March. This line of action produced excellent results at previous editions of the event, and many organisations have already confirmed that they will be present at Ferroforma-Bricoforma 2011.
The programme to attract delegations of foreign purchasers has co-ordinators working in Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, El Salvador, the United Arab Emirates, the USA, France, Guatemala, the Netherlands, Israel, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Mexico, Poland, the UK, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Russia, Sweden, Turkey and the Ukraine.
The programme of delegations, the final results of which will be announced shortly, is one of the mainstays of the campaign to attract visitors, as it has drawn purchasers from all over the world to pervious editions of Ferroforma-Bricoforma. In 2009, for instance, specialists from 36 countries visited the Bilbao Exhibition Centre.
PROMOTIONAL PACKAGES FOR VISITORS
To make Ferroforma-Bricoforma as profitable as possible for visitors too, the organisers have set up special packages for trade specialists that include accommodation, meals, parking and accreditation at highly attractive prices. For further information see the website: www.ferroforma.eu
INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING
This participative ethos is also encouraged at Ferroforma-Bricoforma 2011 through other types of meeting and through networking. This, from one month prior to the opening of the event accredited visitors will be able to arrange meetings directly with exhibitors of interest to them via a new application incorporated into the website of the event.
The Bilbao Exhibition Centre supports the use of applications such as this because they maximise the potential for doing business at trade events, and their multiplier effects are felt before and after the event itself.
Department of Communication, February 2011
