R+T Asia 2018 attracted some 34,000 visitors to Shanghai, which represents a 10 percent increase in visitor numbers compared with the previous year. With 500 exhibitors and the same occupied exhibition space as 2017 (50.000² gross), it retained its position as the most important trade fair for sun protection systems and doors/gates in the Asia-Pacific zone. The number of international exhibitors of 13 percent just a few weeks after R+T, the World’s leading trade fair for roller shutters, doors/gates and sun protection systems in Stuttgart, proves that the trade fair has become a firm fixture in the sector’s events calendar.
The trade fair was dominated by the subjects of quality assurance and competitiveness vis-à-vis the European market. In the opinion of Dr. Christian Junkers, Managing Director of Junkers & Müllers (Germany), participation in R+T Asia is best explained by the increasing demand for high-quality products: “China is a growing market, especially in terms of domestic consumption. We’re sensing an increasing demand for high-quality, and particularly for European products, that we’re in a good position to cater for here, both for our Chinese and other Asian customers”.
Simon Ryckewaert, Export Manager at Building Plastics (Belgium) concurs that European products are in demand: “We’ve been operating in China for over a decade now, whereby some of our most important customers are architects, who appreciate and would like to install high-quality European products. Just last week, we supplied over a million euro worth of bespoke components for one project, each of which was painted and coated according to the customer’s wishes. It was lot of work, but definitely worth it!”
Yet R+T Asia is not just a popular hub for business in China: the international visitors from all over the Asia-Pacific zone demonstrate the event’s importance outside of China. Jeroen Abelen, Export manager at Vako (Netherlands) is enthusiastic: “Whilst China is only of limited interest to us, we meet with all of our Asia-Pacific customers at R+T Asia including those from New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore. We’ve taken account of the fact that fewer visitors attend due to the R+T in Stuttgart, but we’re still very satisfied. We encountered practically all of our customers at both trade fairs, which was really great”.
The Innovation Prize winners introduce themselves
In 2018, the organisers Messe Stuttgart and VNU Exhibitions Asia collaborated more closely than ever to implement the special InnovActionHub show. For the first time, the winners of the Innovation Prize from Stuttgart also introduced themselves in Shanghai. Burda Worldwide Technologies (Germany) and Serge Ferrari (Italy) took the opportunity to demonstrate their innovations to the Chinese market. The outlook to international innovations was completed by the brands Schenker Storen (Switzerland), and Zeitgeber (Korea).
As Jiri Burda, Managing Director at Burda Worldwide Technologies (Germany) reports: “After R+T and winning the Innovation Prize, the chance to present our heating, cooling and lighting systems here was a really interesting experience. As a company, we’re currently trying to establish ourselves in Asia and R+T Asia was the kick-off for our Asia-Pacific operations. The Chinese outdoor living and hospitality markets are, of course, of great interest to us. This was our first at R+T Asia, but it definitely won’t be our last!”
Accompanying Programme dominated by energy efficiency and security
The International Window and Door Summit (IWDS), whose motto for 2018 was think bigger & think better, is an established fixture within the R+T Asia framework programme. Energy efficiency was one of the most important subjects discussed during the sun protection section of IWDS. Michael Schneider, Managing Director of WAREMA Sun Shading Systems (Shanghai) talked about the socio-political importance of air quality and environmental protection in China today, and about the fact that China is now more advanced than Germany in the fields of passive and low-energy housing. Sun protection, he said, is always built in during construction rather than being installed retrospectively.
The conference day dedicated to the subject of doors/gates was dominated by the requirements for quality and security. The Chines gate-manufacturing sector is aware of the fact that addressing security requirements is becoming increasingly important in the bid to remain competitive. However, the implementation and long-term monitoring of uniform standards for the sector as a whole still presents a challenge.
Textiles was another subject of focus within the overall programme. Textile manufacturers from the Hangzhou region, which is dominated by the textiles industry and home to the majority of China’s curtain manufacturers, presented their wares in the Yuhang Home Textile Pavilion.
A special show dedicated to the subject of logistics and warehouse management in the gate-manufacturing sector was presented for the first time, which featured gate-solutions providers who cater to this branch of industry. Davide Zambolin, General Manager of KOPRON (Wuxi) Logistic Facilities states: ”Kopron Group attended the R+T Asia 2018 to promote our brand and further explore the Chinese and Southeast Asian market. It was extremely important to be part of the forum “China 6th Annual forum on Warehouse and Distribution Center Planning and Construction” concerning the trends of warehouse logistic business in China. We hope R+T Asia will grow better and bigger every year, in order to meet many more consumers in 2019!”
Next R+T Asia scheduled for February 2019
The R+T Asia 2019 will be held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) from the 27th of February to the 1st of March, i.e., a month earlier than usual. The Eastern China Show, a purchasing fair, will be organised to coincide with R+T Asia 2019.
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