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AUTOPROMOTEC
Autopromotec:
Key International Exhibition for the Retreading Sector
The 28th edition of Autopromotec, the biennial international exhibition of automotive equipment and aftermarket products, ended successfully on Sunday, May 26, 2019. The event brought together in Bologna the entire vehicle assistance sector in a five-day event (22-26 May 2019) dedicated to recent market developments, technological innovation, specialisation and professional training. Autopromotec has also traditionally been a key event for the retreading industry, due to the Italian Retreaders’ Association AIRP’s relationship with exhibition organiser Promotec srl.
Overall the organisers reported another year of growth for the event. In total 1,676 companies chose Autopromotec as a showcase to present their products and services, with a 4.4% increase in the number of participating companies compared to the previous edition, in 2017. Of these, the share of foreign companies was 43%, for a total of 53 countries represented. The event, which took place throughout 17 halls and 5 outdoor areas, with a total exhibition area of 162,000 m2, attracted 119,108 professional operators, up by 4.85% compared to 2017. The show also demonstrated an increasingly global outlook with an 18% share of foreign professionals and the presence of more than 100 delegates from 32 countries.
As one might expect, the event witnessed also a strong increase in digital activity: in the first five months of 2019, the Autopromotec website recorded 234,868 single visitors (+28.3% compared to the same period in 2017), for a total of 2,476,314 pages viewed (+25% compared to the same period in 2017). The number of users who followed the 2019 edition of Autopromotec live, interacting
actively on social profiles, was also remarkable.
Renzo Servadei, CEO of Autopromotec, commented the results of the 2019 edition of the event as follows: “The technological level of all the exhibiting companies confirmed what analysts had previously announced: technology, technical information and training are the ingredients of a recipe that will lead automotive aftermarket companies towards the challenges of a future that is already here. New fuels, driver assistance systems, a new concept of mobility and increasing environmental awareness are important challenges, but also opportunities for those who will be able to make the most of them. Autopromotec provided many useful indications on how to plan one's own future as well as future generations”.
All of this augurs well for the continued success of Autopromotec as an event for the automotive aftermarket, also for the tyre sector in general, where the show is well supported by a mix of tyre manufacturers and wholesalers, without falling into the trap of being overwhelmed by Chinese contract manufacturers and brokers.
However, for our sector – the retreading sector – Autopromotec is faced with the same difficulties as every other tyre related show around the world – how, in an increasingly digitalized and connected world, do you make it attractive for suppliers to display their goods and equipment on an exhibition stand and attract buyers to visit?
Hall 19 has always been a key hall for retreading at Bologna, those who are old enough to remember will recall how the hall consisted completely of suppliers from the retreading industry, whereas
nowadays the retreading-related stands are interspersed with companies from other sectors Several key suppliers were not exhibiting, among then Bandag, Kraiburg, Galgo and Marangoni ( although the latter’s equipment subsidiary TRM was there), and the show missed these participants.
None of this is Autopromotec’s fault – it is simply a reflection of a changing approach to exhibitions within the retreading sector. It’s getting more expensive for equipment companies to exhibit machinery than previously, and there is now a plethora of regional markets to choose from. In addition, companies are looking at different ways to communicate with the market, so exhibition organisers are looking for additional ways to attract
which featured a variety of topics of interest to retreaders, including the perennial issue of how to cope with the influx of Chinese tyres, how retreaders can make better use of marketing techniques to increase sales, and how retreaders can benefit from the trend towards automation in the retreading sector. It also featured an illuminating keynote speech from Harjeev Kandhari, the new owner of UK retreader Vacu- Lug, who talked about his reasons for investing in the retreading sector at a time when the market is under pressure.
Inside the exhibition hall a number of product review sessions were incorporated onto the Retreading Business stand, offering exhibitors an additional way of promoting their products to the retreading sector.
16 Retreading Business
retreaders to exhibitions. Autopromotec is no exception in this regard. In addition to hosting the annual BIPAVER General Assembly the organisers teamed up with Retreading Business to organise a number of new activities designed to make the show a more inclusive experience for retreaders.
Most notable was the first edition of The Future of Retreading Conference, covered extensively in this issue of Retreading Business,
Retreading Business now looks forward to working with the organisers to bring an additional and wider variety of attractions to Bologna for the 2021 event.
The organizers of Autopromotec are also already looking to the future, and the dates of the next edition of the fair have already been defined: the 29th edition of Autopromotec will be held from the 26th to the 30th May 2021 in Bologna.
Innovations from
Vipal at Autopromotec
Vipal showcased a number of innovations at this year’s Autopromotec show with the company focusing on three fundamental pillars: partnership with local retreaders, the Circular Economy, and the brand’s global
presence.
In particular, the company launched a number of new tread patterns, namely the VL160, VT540, VT110, VT240, DV-MT and VM540 treads, which were prominently featured. In addition to these treads, which were