WIN - World of Industry exhibition in Istanbul divided to two exhibitions

• Interview • South-East European INDUSTRIAL Мarket - issue 5/2006

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The Assistant General Manager of Hannover-Messe International Ufuk Altintop comments WIN Fair news and Turkish positions in Eurasia

This year for the first time you organize two different fairs, which cover topics of past editions of World of Industry Fair. Could you please tell us more about both shows and your expectations for them?

Due to the incredibly high interest shown by exhibitors, visitors and institutions, the show has been restructured. In order to meet best the needs of our exhibitors WIN has now been divided into a series of theme categories.

In it’s 6th year WIN – World of Industry will take place in two phases:

•WIN – Phase 1 will take place between 24-28 February 2007 and include the following topics: Machinery, Welding, Surface Treatment, Materials Handling and

•WIN – Phase 2 will take place between 8-11 March 2007, including the topics: Automation, Electrotech, Hydraulic & Pneumatic.

The combined synergy of the two phases of World of Industry is expected to attract even greater numbers of qualified global attendees. If the success of last year’s fair is an indication (91.557 attendees from all over the world) we think that WIN 2007 will exceed all expectations.

Why at the end you have decided to split WIN to two different fairs?

Our main targets were mainly to create a more specialized pool of visitors to each week, to prevent competition from stripping out specialized topics from WIN. At the same time we have targeted to increase the international profile of the event as a regional icon.

How do you see the role of both fairs for the region of South-Eastern Europe? Do you also pay special attention to the neighboring countries and how is this applied?

Hannover-Messe International Istanbul is hosting a total of 11 trade shows within its portfolio, of which some are organized by joint-ventures established with local trade fair companies. Hannover-Messe International Istanbul - active in the Turkish market since mid-eighties – is the leading international trade fair organizer with the support of 70 representatives word wide.

The representatives of Deutsche Messe AG are very active in the region of South-Eastern Europe and have very good relations with NGO’s and companies in the related sectors. This advantage makes our fairs even stronger and more international in the region.

Important international fairs are supported by DTM – Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry for Foreign Trade in Turkey. WIN is the leading industrial fair and attracts many visitors especially from neighboring countries.

Would you give us more information about Turkey and its position in Eurasia?

Due to its central geographical location between Europe and Asia, Turkey is an attractive country for production and has enormous sales potential in its huge, dynamic and emerging markets. According to a study of ABN Amro the Turkish economy will triple its size in the next 20 years. The prospects of EU full membership and a new IMF stand-by agreement will boost the process of reforms further on.

Considering its key role in the Eurasian market for companies exporting to this region, Turkey offers excellent business opportunities. The European market is already saturated for many product lines whereas Turkey still provides a huge potential. The existence of an emerging market with a dynamic and young population leads to an increasing demand for new production techniques and technologies.

With its growing economy and young population, Turkey and the Eurasian Region promise significant opportunities for foreign manufacturers. Turkey is considered as a “bridge” between West and East Europe and Asia. With its close proximity to both continents, Turkey also offers an ideal trading platform.

New technologies find an increasing demand and are quickly introduced into the market in order to meet global requirements. While in many developed countries new technologies have to replace the previous ones step by step, Turkey, an emerging market, implements state-of-the-art systems from the beginning. Turkish customers use the same technical standards as European countries and demand products and services of high quality and reliability.

Turkey welcomes companies mainly from Europe, Asia and provides business opportunities for sales and production in a wide range of industry sectors (see the frame).