Exhibitors respond enthusiastically to new services at the october appointment
Bookings, which opened just three months ago, are going very well for Vitrum 2017, trade fair for machinery, equipment and systems for the processing of flat and hollow glass, glass and finished products for the industry.
The exhibition will run on 3-6 October at the Fiera Milano exhibition complex in Rho and is posting a significant increase in bookings from new and regular exhibitors versus the previous show.
This is also a positive time for the Italian market with companies shifting into higher gear after government incentives to update Italy’s machine inventory.
At the end of February, the square meters booked by 2015 exhibitors increased by almost 10%. These repeat exhibitors do not want to miss out on the special rate, 25% off, applied by Vitrum for any additional square meters over those occupied at the 2015 exhibition.
There will be numerous new companies exhibiting for the first time: almost one third of these businesses has never taken part in Vitrum. Several among these were interested in the new all-inclusive formula for new exhibitors. This option provides an interesting turnkey solution that includes a complete package of a 12 or 24 square meter stand inclusive of stand fittings.
The international reach of the exhibition has been confirmed with just under a half of the bookings coming from exhibitors who are not from Italy.
Among the new innovations available to exhibitors, the e-contact app is attracting a good deal of interest and is a tool, which is offered free, that allows real-time data to be collected on trade people visiting the stands.
This new tool is accompanied by the brand-new official Vitrum 2017 app for iPhones and Android smartphones, containing useful information (opening hours, services, how to get there, list of exhibitors, etc.) to make visiting the pavilions easier.
After being tested for a year, a complete version of the very popular Matchmaking tool is back again, allowing more business meetings to be held and optimized during the 4-day exhibition. By using this tool, trade people can search among their product categories of interest for exhibitors at the exhibition, source new opportunities and plan meetings. Visitors can use the tool to streamline and make the most of their time at the trade fair, and exhibitors can set up a schedule of appointments, after getting complete information on their contacts of interest from the very start.
The new promotional tools are also attracting a good deal of interest from exhibitor companies. From this year, they can add pictures, descriptions and company logos to their profile in the on-line catalog, but there will also be various kinds of advertising banners on a rotation basis for varying periods of time, to satisfy different promotional needs.
The Vitrum social media channels are also very popular, the ultimate platform where exhibitors can promote their attendance at the exhibition and immediately share this on Facebook and Twitter. The pavilion map, which will be distributed free to all visitors, also offers exhibitors an opportunity to highlight their participation by displaying their logo.
An important appointment in Vitrum’s busy seminar program is an afternoon session on government incentives to spur investments in new machinery (the Nuova Sabatini, IperAmmortamento and SuperAmmortamento and Tax Credits) as well as a meeting on glass products for the building industry, being staged in team with Assovetro.