International Materials Handling Trade Fair Draws 53,000 Visitors

CeMAT, Europe’s largest materials handling trade fair, drew an estimated 53,000 visitors from 65 nations when it was held last month in Hanover, Germany. More than 4,000 innovations were showcased during the event.

Dr. Andreas Gruchow, a member of the trade fair’s organizing board, said CeMat officials were pleased with the success of this year’s event.

“Staged under the slogan of ‘Smart, Integrated, Efficient’, this year’s CeMAT demonstrated that high-tech logistics is essential for virtually any business which wants to remain viable and competitive,” Gruchow told Modern Materials Handling. “CeMAT represents a booming industrial sector and this year yielded 1.7 million business leads. That is a significant increase compared to 2011 (the last time the event was held). Our exhibitors are very satisfied and have closed deals worth millions of Euros.”

About a third of the event’s exhibitors came from outside Germany. Of these, about 70% came from Europe, 13% from Asia, and 9% from the US. The top 15 visitor nations other than Germany were the Netherlands, UK, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, France, the US, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, South Africa and China.

CeMAT won’t be held again until 2016, when it will once again be hosted in Hanover. It will run May 31 until June 3.