The Hannover buzzwords: ‘Pleasantly surprised’

Attendance is up and spirits are high at 2009 Hannover Fair.

By Bob Vavra, Editor, Plant Engineering April 22, 2009

Exhibitors headed into the 2009 Hannover Fair with uncertainty whether attendance would approach past years. As another day of perfect weather broke over the fairgrounds, however, any trepidation seemed to disappear.

Crowds were strong Tuesday and booth managers I spoke with had the same response when I asked how the show was going.

"We’re pleasantly surprised," said Olaf Marshall at Bosch Rexroth . "We had more leads on Monday than we did at the same time a year ago."

Bosch Rexroth has an impressive stand at the show, concentrating their focus on safety, energy efficiency and open standards for electric motors and controllers.

Bosch Rexroth made two major splashes at this year’s fair: They were a finalist for the Hermes Award, presented for international innovation at the show’s opening, and they had a visit from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and South Korean prime minister Han Seung-soo.

The two heads of state also visited ABB ‘s stand where they reviewed technologies that maximize the output from renewable-energy plants and integrate their production into the grid.

Merkel and Han were met at the stand on the opening day of the Hannover Messe trade fair by ABB Chairman Hubertus von Grünberg and Peter Smits, head of ABB in Germany and manager of the Central Europe region. The German Chancellor was given a similar tour last year.

"The fact that the Chancellor has visited ABB’s stand in Hanover for the second year running indicates that our focus on energy efficiency and lowering environmental impact is the right one," Smits said.