15 Jun 2018
The recent UTECH Europe exhibition and conference held in Maastricht, The Netherlands has confirmed its reputation as the leading event for the global polyurethane industry by attracting more exhibitors and visitors than ever before.
The number of unique attendees increased by 13 per cent to 5,239, while the total footfall over the three days of the event increased to 10,113. Visitors came from across Europe and no less than 90 different countries globally.
“UTECH Europe has a long history as the polyurethane industry’s premier event and I am delighted that this year we attracted more exhibitors and visitors than ever before. By the end of the show more than 85 per cent of our exhibitors had already rebooked for 2021,” said Debbie Hershfield, UTECH Trade Show Director at Crain Communications. “I look forward to carrying this success on to our upcoming UTECH events in China, North America and Mexico.”
UTECH Europe 2018 attracted 206 exhibiting companies among whom there was wide praise for the event as the ideal platform to present polyurethane technology and innovations to buyers and influencers from across Europe and the wider world.
“UTECH Europe is the main show in Europe and one of the biggest global shows for the polyurethane industry,” said Villy Nikolaidou, Head of Global Marketing Communications, Polyurethanes, Covestro. “As the inventor of Polyurethane, we feel very much at home at UTECH. This year, we were once again delighted at the opportunity of sharing our latest thoughts on the key global challenges in the industry via our conference talks. Through our many customer interactions we heard what matters most to them and how our latest innovations, our digitalization efforts and our commitment to a sustainable future can add value to their business. UTECH Europe is really the forum that makes it all possible in our industry.”
In recognition of his achievements as a leader in the polyurethanes industry for over 30 years, Covestro’s CEO Patrick Thomas was inducted as the first member of the UTECH Hall of Fame after he delivered the UTECH Europe conference opening keynote.
Jon Penrice, Dow’s Vice President Polyurethanes, EMEAI agreed that UTECH Europe provided a unique opportunity to meet with its polyurethane customers and partners: “For Dow, UTECH Europe offers a great platform to meet and engage with our customers and to understand the marketplaces they serve.”
“One of our key drivers is collaboration,” Penrice continued. “We believe it’s the only way to develop meaningful innovations and sustainable growth, UTECH Europe is an essential part of that drive towards a full partnership, as it brings us all together for three days of genuine conversation, and allows us to openly discuss the challenges our customers face and how we can help overcome them. UTECH Europe has been an intense, yet rewarding experience. I’m looking forward to coming back in three years’ time.”
The fact that this year’s event was busier than ever was not lost on exhibitors like Ilse Vanden Brande, Business Communications Manager Europe at Huntsman. “The UTECH Europe exhibition and conference never disappoints and this year’s event seemed busier than ever. For the team at Huntsman, who travelled from around the world to attend the event, UTECH Europe 2018 was a chance to catch up with customers and colleagues and make new contacts across the polyurethanes industry.”
Lauren Kjeldsen, Head of Evonik Comfort & Insulation Business Line agreed that visitor numbers were noticeably higher this year, while also commenting that it is the quality of visitors that really marks the event apart: “With UTECH Europe predicted to be ‘bigger and busier’ than ever before, this proved to be the same for Evonik too as we showcased our largest ever range of catalysts, surfactants, release agents and performance additives to our industry. As always UTECH Europe is the perfect platform for us to present latest technical innovations as well as tailor-made product solutions. The event has the right mix of visitors, exhibitors and topics addressing the industries present and future challenges.”
Even exhibitors who have been attending UTECH Europe for many years were surprised by the numbers attending this year. Raffaella Curotti of SAIP Equipment said: “UTECH Europe 2018 has been a very successful show for SAIP Equipment. We were so busy on the opening day that we had to order another table and more chairs to accommodate the number of visitors to our stand. We have attended every UTECH Europe since the event began and this year has even better than 2015. We look forward to returning for UTECH Europe 2021!”.
“Hennecke had a very successful show at UTECH Europe 2018,” added Patrick Brüninghaus, Head of Sales, Metering Machines at the company. “The visitor numbers were very good and they came to talk to us about concrete projects that they are working on. This is the best show in Europe, attracting the right companies and people. The location is excellent and it is easy to get here.”
UTECH Europe returns to Maastricht in the spring of 2021. The next UTECH PU show in the global polyurethanes calendar is PU China 2018 taking place at Shanghai World Expo, China, 1 to 3 August 2018. The UTECH North America exhibition and conference returns to Charlotte, North Carolina, United States from 11 to 13 September 2018. UTECH Las Americas returns to the Centro Banamex, Mexico City from 10 to 12 April 2019.
