südback Review: International Exhibitors from 23 Countries PHOTOGALLERY

The 2016 edition of südback has once again built on the success of previous events, setting new records in terms of exhibitors, exhibition space and professionals in attendance, in Stuttgart, Germany.

The international presence at the fair is increasing, with almost 700 exhibitors from 23 countries, over 55,000 sqm of exhibition space, October 22-26. The proportion of professional visitors from overseas has also increased, rising to around 17% compared to 13% at the previous event in 2014. Foreign visitors were predominantly from Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, France, Romania, Hungary, Croatia and Slovakia. Visitors from a total of over 80 countries were registered.

More than 38,000 professionals – around 15% more than in 2014 – visited the trade fair, taking advantage of the opportunity to find out about new products and trends.

“The success of this trade fair is proof that the concept works, and provides us all with inspiration for the future,” stated Ulrich Kromer, president of Messe Stuttgart.

According to a visitor survey conducted by Messe Stuttgart, there was a significant increase in plans for investment. 41% of all visitors surveyed stated that they definitely intended to purchase or invest, compared to 32% in 2014. The majority of these (56% were intending to spend up to EUR20k, but almost a third mentioned larger sums of EUR50k or more. There was also a significant increase in the number of managing directors, company managers and operations managers among the guests – increasing by 5% to 32%.
Over three quarters of all visitors are planning to visit the event again in 2017. Almost 90% would recommend it to others, and 46% of all visitors predict that the specialist trade fair will increase in importance.
The next südback will be taking place from September 23 to 26, 2017 in the halls of Messe Stuttgart.