"Dangerous Goods & Hazardous Substances" Trade Fair is Growing
Exhibitors and visitors left the Dangerous Goods & Hazardous Substances (GGS) trade fair satisfied and feeling positive about future developments, with the event in Leipzig coming to an end yesterday. The second edition of the trade fair further consolidated its position as the European industry's leading platform. In addition to the 30 per cent increase in exhibition space, there was a significant rise in visitors. 1,480 participants from Germany and abroad (2017: 1,060) came from 9 to 11 April 2019 to see 65 exhibiting companies' solutions, products and services for the transport of hazardous goods, storage and internal logistics for hazardous substances, and maximum safety for the handling of highly sensitive goods and substances. In the high-calibre conference programme, decision-makers, expert managers and safety officers from the various transport and logistics sectors were impressed with the practical demonstrations and conferences relevant to the industry.
"A harmonious concept and the broad commitment by the entire industry made the fair a complete success and highlighted its growing importance. Exhibitors made excellent use of the expanded presentation possibilities of the larger exhibition hall 2," said Markus Geisenberger, Managing Director of Leipziger Messe. He added that "the growing interest of trade visitors clearly shows that cooperation between Leipziger Messe and representatives of associations and exhibitors is now bearing fruit and encouraging expansion."
High Levels of Satisfaction and Broad International Reach
The results of the visitor survey confirm these assessments. According to the survey, 91 per cent of trade visitors would recommend the Dangerous Goods and Hazardous Substances Trade Fair to others. 88 per cent of visitors were decision-makers in their companies. More than half stated that they did not visit any other trade fairs apart from GGS. The wide reach of the event is underlined by the fact that every third trade visitor travelled over 300 kilometres.
"Compared with the first event in 2017, we recorded a significant increase, meeting trade visitors who knew exactly what they wanted; we were happy to encounter concrete demand for our products", enthused Andreas Neidhardt, Sales Manager at richter+heß Verpackungen.
Christian Kürpick, project manager of Remondis Industrie Service GmbH & Co. KG, was similarly satisfied: "We consistently had excellent technical discussions throughout the event, focussing particularly on the topic of hazardous waste, and with an emphasis on the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. We were able to present our capabilities in this field very well at the trade fair."
Top-class Conference Programme and Highly Popular Practical Challenges
The trade fair profited from the industry expertise of the European Association of Dangerous Goods Safety Advisers (EASA) and the German Dangerous Goods Association (GGVD) who sponsored the event and booked many of the speakers for the conference programme. The EASA, the European parent organisation uniting 25 national member associations from 20 European countries, held its annual general meeting and offered an international knowledge-sharing platform under the motto "Dangerous goods make the world go round" at the "European Dangerous Goods Days", to channel the latest expertise and guarantee excellent networking opportunities.
"It is already noticeable at the second event how the industry is merging into one big family. The fair is the only one of its kind in Europe, and is very important for the daily work of our members. We are thrilled to sponsor this trade fair", summarised Guillaume Le Coz, Secretary General of EASA, adding that: "Dangerous goods and substances are present everywhere in our daily lives. Here in Leipzig, the topic receives the necessary attention and we will strive to support awareness and growth in Europe for the trade fair."
The GGVD supplemented the trade fair with rotating blocks of lectures on specialist topics concerning the transportation of hazardous goods and various modes of transport. "Our presentations in the Forum were very well received, with tangibly increased engagement from the audience compared to the previous event. We were also able to hold very good discussions at our stand and make some important contacts," concluded Ralf Hiltmann, Vice President of the German Dangerous Goods Association. He was also particularly impressed by the response to the practical challenge, "Dangerous Goods Transport - Find the Errors": "Due to the huge response, we actually reached the limits of our capacity."
Further highlights of the conference programme were the "Hazardous Waste Disposal" forum of the Hazardous Waste Management Association of the Federal Association of Secondary Raw Materials and Disposal (bvse) and the 24th edition of the Leipzig Dangerous Goods Day.
Unmissable Networking Opportunity
The fascinating product presentations, the intensive specialist forums and the joint networking between participants make the Dangerous Goods & Hazardous Substances convention a profitable one. The Leipzig Trade Fair not only provided information and advice, but also sealed further collaborations. "The fair has reached the next stage of its evolution, and a constructive further development has taken place since last year. We were able to engage in many good discussions at our stand," said Michael Kriegel, Department Head at DACHSER Chem-Logistics Corporate Solutions, Research & Development. His conclusion: "A successful trade fair appearance for us. We'll be back for the next event."
Next Event Date
The signs are good for the next edition of Gefahrgut & Gefahrstoff. "We will take the substantial positive feedback from participants as an incentive to further develop, and consistently expand the trade fair. With the new trade fair date in autumn, the regular amendments to ADR and RID regulations can be discussed, and the associated demand for information can be fully met," says Matthias Kober, Project Director of Hazardous Goods & Substances.
The next Dangerous Goods & Hazardous Substances trade fair will take place from 24 to 26 November 2020.
About the Gefahrgut & Gefahrstoff Trade Fair
The Leipzig Trade Fair has, with Gefahrgut & Gefahrstoff, created an industry platform for suppliers and users that is unique in Europe. The trade fair's product profile brings together products and services for the transport, storage and internal logistics of hazardous materials with highly sensitive and safety-relevant requirements in the associated logistics chain. Visitors can receive proposals for solutions that increase the economic efficiency of their logistics processes and ensure maximum security at the same time. The second edition of the Gefahrgut & Gefahrstoff trade fair will take place from 9 to 11 April 2019 at the Leipzig Trade Fair. It is sponsored by the European Association of Dangerous Goods Safety Advisers (EASA) and the Gefahrgutverband Deutschland e.V. (German Dangerous Goods Association - GGVD).
About Leipziger Messe
Leipziger Messe is one of the ten leading German trade fair companies and one of the top 50 worldwide. It organises events in Leipzig and at various locations in Germany and abroad. With its five subsidiaries and the Congress Center Leipzig (CCL), Leipziger Messe is a comprehensive service provider covering the entire chain of the events business. As a result, customers and visitors voted Leipziger Messe - for the fifth time in a row - the trade fair industry service champion, in Germany's largest service ranking in 2018. The Leipzig fairgrounds comprise an exhibition area of 111,900 m² and an open-air exhibition area of 70,000 m². Every year, around 270 events take place – from trade fairs, exhibitions and congresses to events – with over 15,500 exhibitors and more than 1.2 million visitors from all over the world. Leipzig was the first German trade fair company to be certified according to the Green Globe standards. Sustainability is a recurring theme in the Leipziger Messe's corporate activities