The European exhibition for fuel retailing, fuel logistics, car wash & car care Stuttgart, Germany, 14-16 June 2016 - By Nick Needs
It’s always exciting when the market gets together for an industry event, especially for those who have worked so hard to make it happen, namely the organizers, sponsors and most importantly of all in this case, the exhibitors. Following on from a successful first UNITI expo in 2014, the anticipation for the next chapter is at fever pitch for most of those taking part and with a car wash area double the size, a changed focus for the shop show and with a variety of industry seminars taking place in the exhibition hall, the organisers are confident there is even more to see and do this time out.
Enlarged car Wash area
From press releases last year it became clear early on that the biggest objective for UNITI expo 16 was for the organisers to significantly grow the car wash area and by all accounts Elmar Kühn, Hauptgeschäftsführer for UNITI and his expo team have achieved this by doubling the floor space from 2014. I asked Elmar though, about the marketing aspect of the car wash section and particularly if he thought there would be many visitors coming to see the exhibits from outside Germany. He said “On the visitor marketing side we have clearly addressed the international carwash sector through specialised international media and direct marketing activities. We are very optimistic to see a high number and quality of visitors, national and international, which will satisfy our international and German carwash exhibitors”.
Admission is FREE
Well there will certainly be enough of those to see with all the leading car wash manufacturers present and there are seminars which can be booked on the day. From talking to people in the industry, it seems the car wash exhibitors are hoping more than anything that the message has got through to international markets that Automechanika is not the only exhibition in Germany having a major focus on the car wash business. For anyone still making their mind up I would point out also that admission to UNITI expo is free, as opposed to Automechanika, which isn’t.
Changed shop concept
Much attention has also been centered on another part of UNITI expo by the organisers, to try and realize the full potential of the convenience retailing hall within the context of the show, which is primarily for domestic visitors. This is the brainchild of Walter Mangold, working alongside Elmar, who as a retired Director of Lekkerland, a major shop wholesaler in Germany, feels that there is definitely a place for domestic non fuel retail items amongst the international forecourt equipment mix. I asked Elmar what had been done to change things since the 2014 event, which in fairness had left Walter with more questions than answers. He commented “Based on the experience we have gained and valuable feedback from exhibitors and visitors, we have refined and further developed several areas and aspects of the show. The Shop & Convenience section for example, has been converted from a ‘product show’ to a ‘concepts and innovations show’. It will profit from extensive visitor marketing campaigns we have carried out in Germany, including national and international media co-operations”.
Pre registration figures are up
Of course, most eyes at UNITI expo 16 will be on the international retail fuel equipment stands, many belonging to companies which are erpec delegates and readers of erpecnews and erpecnewslive. We wish everyone taking part enormous success over the three days. If you have a booth, you can be sure that one of us from McLean Events will almost certainly be paying you a visit. Following Elmar’s much publicised interview earlier in the year in which he made a commitment to “considerably increase” visitor numbers for 2016, I asked him what his final prediction is for the number of unique visitors for 2016. He was obviously keeping his cards close to his chest when he answered amongst other things. “I don’t think it is appropriate to predict exact visitor numbers, but after the event, we will be happy to publish the exact figures”. He did say though that pre registration figures were up.
International visitors
On the subject of international visitor marketing Elmar added “Specifically outside Europe we have made great progress. We expect high class delegations from Latin America and we can see many registrations from Asia, Middle East and Africa. We’re looking forward to an impressive increase of visitor numbers from outside Europe, which will of course be published to the press after the event”. Everyone taking part will welcome more international visitors, especially those from Asia and Latin America which were parts of the world attracting a limited audience in 2014.
2018 and beyond
From a personal perspective, having worked on the UNITI expo launch back in 2014, I must say I was disappointed to hear the news from Elmar that UNITI expo will be staying in Stuttgart and Germany for the foreseeable future, with 2018 dates already announced as being 15 -17 May 2018. Those who share my views that an international retail fuel equipment exhibition should ideally move around the key cities of Europe, may possibly also share my disappointment on hearing this decision, but then again if Stuttgart can truly demonstrate itself in 2016 as an effective international hub for visitors, not only from Europe, but also from the rest of the world, then perhaps maybe it deserves to be UNITI expo’s resting place.
For a full list of exhibitors, a programme of the seminars and details of how to register, you’ll find everything you need by clicking on www.uniti-expo.com
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