The intensive campaign under way to attract domestic and foreign purchasers and the agreements reached recently with associations, purchasing groups and DIY centres are the salient features of the run-up to the 18th Ferroforma/Practical World International Hardware and DIY Fair, which is scheduled to take place on March 25-28 at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre.

A total of 770 firms from 27 countries have already confirmed their attendance at this, the biggest event of 2009 for the hardware, industrial supplies and DIY sectors.

The international outlook of the event and its value as a platform for internationalisation are evidenced by the wide variety of countries from which exhibitors, trade specialists and purchasing groups accredited as visitors will be coming. The top ranking countries in terms of the number of attendees as of this time are Germany, China, Spain, the USA, France, India, Italy, the UK and Taiwan. Other markets of interest represented will include Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Lichtenstein, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

The hardware, industrial supplies and DIY sectors will all be well represented at Ferroforma/Practical World, with a list of exhibitors that includes firms from all areas of activity. In terms of participation rates, the chief sectors at the event will be industrial supplies, construction and protection in the workplace (24%), hand tools (23%), hardware and home appliances (16%), locksmithery and fittings (11%), decoration, lighting, equipment and gardening (10%), fixings (7%), woodworking machinery and portable power tools (7%) and services (2%).

The exhibitors grouped under the “Ferroforma” banner account for 65% of the total, with “Bricoforma” making up the remaining 35%. All the latest innovations in the sector will be concentrated in the Bilbao Exhibition Centre for four days, giving manufacturers, agents, distributors, wholesalers, market makers and trade users the chance to see for themselves the latest products on the world market and gauge the latest trends.

The organisers of Ferroforma/Practical World have deployed an intensive campaign to attract visitors from home and abroad, which is now bearing fruit. 22,039 trade visitors have registered to date, and many front-line international purchasing delegations have confirmed their attendance at the event. Specifically, confirmations have been received from purchasing groups in Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Colombia Costa Rica, Egypt, France, Greece, Guatemala, the Netherlands, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malta, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela.

On the home front the groups and associations of purchasers that have confirmed their attendance include Grupo Cerrajero, Cecofersa, Ancofe (which brings together Coanfe, Coarco, Cofedal, Cofedeva, Coferdroza, Comafe, Las Rias and Unife), Fergrup (which represents Cifec, Cofac, Coinfer, Universa, Cofedas and Iruña), Fercodis, Gremi de Ferreteros de Catalunya and Leroy Merlin. The support of these groups for Ferroforma/Practical World, the only event of its kind in Spain, is one of its strongest points.

Finally, 15 agents spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula continue to work directly to attract trade visitors, particularly hardware merchants and wholesale/retail distributors, apprising them of the event and encouraging them to take part in it.

Ferroforma/Practical World 2009 will be the first edition of the event to be staged against the background of a partnership between the Bilbao Exhibition Centre and Köln Messe. Trade specialists are enthusiastic as they prepare with the event, which will offer commercial opportunities for participants at this difficult time.

In the words of Dario Alonso of Aghasa "Ferroforma in Bilbao and Practical World in Cologne are the world's leading hardware fairs, and on alternate years they each provide us with the best meeting point in the whole domestic and international hardware sector. Both Ferroforma and Practical World are more than just trade fairs and product exhibitions: they are reference points for those of us who work in the sector. Each year there is a before and after Ferroforma and Practical World. Attending these events is the best way of analysing the "before" and preparing for the "after""

John W. Herbert, General Secretary of EDRA (European DIY and Retail Association), which represents self-service establishments and superstores selling articles for construction, DIY and gardening, expressed the following opinion: "I visited Ferroforma two years ago, and was favourably impressed. I saw high-ranking exhibitors there that we had not seen anywhere else. I believe that in today's competitive world companies need to distinguish themselves from their competitors, and trade fairs such as Ferroforma provide them with the opportunity to do just that.".

Fernando Bautista, General Manager of COFAC, Spain's biggest association of hardware merchants, put it this way: "Ferroforma is an icon in our field. It was the first event of its kind in 1974, and it is still the main event for the sector as a whole, the place where all those who really have something to say, to offer and to purchase want to be. It is without doubt a must for all hardware merchants: that is certainly how our co-operative and our group see it.".

Dept of Communication, February 12, 2009