IFAT Closes on Strong Note

Strong attendance and a collection of more than 2,700 exhibitors characterized the IFAT Entsorga event that was held in Munich, Germany, from Sept. 13-17, 2010.

According to Messe München GmbH, organizers of the event, international attendees accounted for 40 percent of the approximately 110,000 attendees. IFAT ENTSORGA estimates that attendees from more than 180 countries came to the five-day event.

After Germany, the top 10 countries of origin for visitors were: Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Russian Federation, the Netherlands and France.

There were fewer overall attendees compared to IFAT’s 2008 event, but Messe München says it received positive feedback from both exhibitors and attendees. “What might at first sight seem contradictory, is explained by a shift in the visitor structure: fewer lower-ranking employees and more decision-makers from the higher echelons in the companies,” says Eugen Egetenmeir, Managing Director of Messe München GmbH.

“In recent years we had a lot of sales partners and distributors in Munich, but this year we saw mainly international end customers who had come to the fair to find out about the main themes moving the sector at present,” says Markus Kaiser, CEO and chairman at exhibiting company Kaiser AG Fahrzeugwerk. “No other trade fair compares with IFAT ENTSORGA.”
 
In a survey conducted after the event, 91 percent of the exhibiting companies rated the international spread among the visitors as “good to excellent,” and 92 percent gave the same rating to the quality of visitors, according to Messe München’s news release.

In total, IFAT ENTSORGA had 2,730 exhibitors from 49 countries.

The next IFAT Entsorga takes place from May 7 to May 11, 2012.