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Editorial
„If you visit an event to learn about new products and technologies, you have done a bad job"
(quotation from the PU industry)
8 fairs, 5 conferences and 3 forums in total (more or less) around polyurethane in 4 weeks, that really keeps you busy. There are good events and some, I don't even want to talk about. Most of them are titled with my favourite vogue word "international", so I ask myself the question: How many exhibitions, conferences and (very popular in the moment) coating shows are really needed. Everything is so international, that you meet the same exhibitors and the same visitors and (more or less) hear the same presentations. No wonder, as almost no company has as many different innovations per year as there are possible events available. So I finally come to my conclusion: Probably only the organizers are getting benefit out of this.
Here is a little appeal for our readers: We would highly appreciate it, if you inform us which fairs and conferences have been useful for you as a polyurethane marketer.
Of course there are some well established events going on in 2009. For example the exhibition quartet for the plastics industry: ArabPlast (Dubai, 10th - 13th January, 09), INTERPLASTICA (Moscow, 27th - 30th January, 09), PLASTINDIA (New Delhi, 4th - 9th February, 09) and CHINAPLAS (Guangzhou; 18th - 21st May, 09). What a pity for me - from 31st March to 2nd April 2009 UTECH Europe 2009 at Maastricht, in the Netherlands and the European Coatings Show at Nuremberg, Germany are taking place at the same time. A lot of companies will be represented at both fairs, but smaller firms don't have the necessary capacity to do this. As FAPU will co-exhibit at UTECH (booth No 1170), I will not be able to attend ECS, which I regret very much.
"Imitation is the best form of flattery." That's not like it sounded, when we received new information from Crain Communications. There is another new show - even imitating the PU China logo - that has been announced for the polyurethane industry: 2009 PU China, in September 2009 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, with the reputed assistance of API and other well-known organizations. Crain Communications likes to dissociate from this and wants to point out, that the next "original" PU China will be held in 2010.
As we come to the year 2010, all signals are already set now to "Go!" for the 2010 American Coatings Show & Conference. Following its successful June 2008 premiere, the next event will take place April 12-15, 2010 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C.
And, at the end, a little tip: It is worth looking at our event calendar; as at least the answers to some of the questions I have been asked would be self-evident. Furthermore, all our subscribers to FAPU will receive our wall calendar with important events listed for 2009.
Birgit Harreither
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