Exceeding Expectations

The ­European Coatings Show 2009 was the 10th edition of this top international event for the coatings community since 1991. This year the exhibition took place in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg, Germany. Despite the worldwide problems of key customers such as the building industry and ­motor industry, the event proved the dynamic innovative power of the manufacturers of raw materials and technologies for laboratory, production, testing and measuring.

806 exhibitors (2007: 838) from 42 countries (2007: 43) represented a slight decline in numbers, but this was more than compensated for by the recent growth of 6 % in the net display area (2009: 27,490 m2; 2007: 25,890 m2). The leading exhibiting nations this year after Germany (346 exhibitors) were China, Italy, The UK, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium. The European Coatings Show (ECS) occupied six halls of the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg for the first time and so presented a bigger event than ever for the 19,756 visitors. This made a spacious layout and many impressive stands possible, which allowed better distribution of the flows of visitors and created a pleasant atmosphere for talks. "ECS 2009 will stick in everyone's mind as a very special event. The long-term basis for this success is the trust of the exhibitors, visitors and congress participants in the responsibility of the event partners Vincentz Network and Nürnberg Messe," says Richard Krowoza, Exhibition Director at Nürnberg Messe.

Good Marks from Exhibitors and Visitors

The result of ECS 2009 clearly exceeded the cautious expectations circulated before the event due to the general economic conditions, short-time working and reduced travel budgets. Exhibitors and visitors were agreed on the predominantly positive assessment of ECS 2009. 93 % of the exhibitors were satisfied with the overall success of their exhibiting activities and 96 % of the visitors were satisfied with the products and services at the exhibition.