The first edition of the fastener and fixing-focused trade fair Fastener Poland, which took place at the end of November 2017, will be followed by a second edition slightly earlier this year, over 16-18 October 2018.
Despite being a key territory for fastener manufacture in Europe, Poland has not been served with a trade fair of its own, until Elamed Media Group collaborated with trade fair specialist Targi w Krakowie to create Fastener Poland.
According to the organisers, up to 73% of exhibitors were from overseas, including China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Taiwan, the UK, USA and Italy. Visitor statistics were buoyant too – Fastener Poland and the co-located EUROTOOL trade fair – for machine tools and material processing – had nearly 11 thousand visitors, 26% of whom were from foreign countries. Visitors represented such industries as metal processing, automotive, joinery, construction, furniture and others.
The event featured new industrial fasteners and fixing solutions, construction fasteners, mounting and installation systems, as well as fastener manufacturing technologies and equipment for their storage and distribution. A Fasteners Congress complemented the trade fair programme, during which industry professionals presented innovative solutions in the use and application of fasteners and specialised tools.
“From the very first day of the Trade Fair both exhibitors and visitors were highly impressed by the event,” said Grażyna Grabowska, President of Targi w Krakowie. “The first of these because of the high attendance — the event was visited by professionals from all over Poland and by representatives of the industry from other countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and Italy — while the others appreciated the rich and comprehensive offer. The opening edition of the Trade Fair outgrew the expectations of the businesses exhibiting there. Everything therefore seems to point towards next year’s edition of the Trade Fair being even better, and with bigger stands.”
Marek Łangalis, Editor-in-Chief of FASTENER magazine, the co-organiser of the event, said: “The Polish fastener market is highly fragmented, with more than 1500 entities operating on it. Until today they had no single place of meeting. Together with Targi w Krakowie we decided to change this. We assumed that the first edition would be successful if at least 30 exhibitors come to Kraków. In the end the list closed with 110! This is surely the strongest proof of the enormous interest in FASTENER POLAND from both exhibitors and visitors.”
The organisers also provided a number of testimonials from exhibitors and visitors to Fastener Poland:
“I must admit, it was well worth coming and presenting our offer at the FASTENER POLAND Trade Fair,” said Zbigniew Rybak, Sales Chief at ALLTRANS Sp. z o.o. “The event was seriously welcomed by the industry, something confirmed by the number of exhibitors. The biggest advantage is the visitors that are directly interested in our offer and come to us with substantial proposals for cooperation.”
Łukasz Błaszczyk, Sales Leader at ASMET, said: “The FASTENER POLAND Trade Fair is a very interesting event. We came just as a test, to see the level of interest, and we have been pleasantly surprised, because there are so many visitors and exhibitors. Also, the organisation of the Trade Fair has been very good. We didn’t have any problems with the stand or parking. Obviously, the organisers have done a great job to make the event more than just a one-time-show.”
Germano Iseppi, Exports Manager at the Italian company FAR S.r.l., said: “This is our first time at the fastener technology trade fair in Poland, and I can tell that the event is very well organised and managed. We are satisfied by the fact that visitors know the industry and are interested in our products. We’re hoping to visit Kraków again next year.”
Laura Giersch, the exports manager at German fastener manufacturer IMS Verbindungstechnik GmbH & Co., said: “For the first time in the history of our company we are exhibiting at a trade fair in Poland. We have very positive impressions, the interest in our products has been substantial. It is clearly very important to be present at such an event — we have been meeting our current customers and acquiring new ones. It’s good!”