Intermat 2018 to focus on EMEA market
Organisers to promote event in Europe, Middle East and Asia to attract more visitors, while also showcasing innovation with awards and thematic villages
The triennial Intermat exhibition in Paris, one of the biggest events in the global construction and equipment sector, is returning next year with a focus on the Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) market.
Isabelle Alfano, the new director of Intermat, which will be held from April 23-28, said she has chosen to put greater focus on the EMEA region and plans to attract more visitors from these areas by actively promoting the show in the region through tours and roadshows.
“The way we do it is, rather than having press conferences, we have meetings with the industry and we gather journalists, contractors, federations and exhibitors, and we explain what Intermat will be,” said Alfano in a statement from the organisers. “We also have speakers at these events, who give content and perspective to these different countries, explaining what the market will be like over the coming years.”
Intermat 2018 will be divided into four different activities – Earthmoving & Demolition; Roads, Minerals & Foundations; Lifting, Handling & Transportation; and Buildings & Concrete Sector – to make it easier for visitors to navigate the exhibition, enabling them to identify the areas they are interested in.
Another first is the Construction Observatory, a comprehensive study of 150 construction projects which will be given out during Intermat’s promotional tour, and will also be distributed during the event.
“It is a study of 12 different countries in the EMEA region, to give indicators of how the economy is going in these different countries (and) how the construction sector is organised. It is a study of the big construction projects in these countries – both current and upcoming projects to 2025/2030,” Alfano said.
Exhibitors and visitors will also benefit from other resources, such as lectures, round tables and a new match-maker service, which has been introduced for the 2018 edition. According to the organisers, the match-making is done through an online platform where visitors and exhibitors can connect and then organise meetings on site at the show.
Another new introduction at the upcoming event are the ‘thematic villages’ that focus on new technology. There will be four such villages, each attached to one of the four hubs of expertise. The Demolition & Recycling hub will have a Demolition & Recycling village; a Smart Road village will be attached to the Roads, Minerals & Foundations hub; the Lifting, Handling & Transportation hub will include a Start-ups village; and the Building Smart village will be part of the Buildings & Concrete Sector hub.
The purpose of the villages is to enable visitors to see some of the new technology that is working behind the scenes, building on Intermat’s history of promoting innovation. Further, the Intermat Innovation Awards, selected by a panel of industry experts, will celebrate the best in new technology for construction, with the winners announced in an awards ceremony in January.
“We had over 100 products presented for this edition of the Intermat Innovation Awards, which is more than what we had for 2015, so it will be a good edition,” said Alfano.
