Premiere of WindEnergy Hamburg exceeds expectations

It was an ideal start for the new event, WindEnergy Hamburg, which came to a close on Friday after four exhibition days at the Hamburg Fair site. “It was simply fantastic,” says Bernd Aufderheide, President and CEO Hamburg Messe und Congress. “The industry accepted its new leading global expo right away. We have received congratulations from many exhibitors on this highly successful premiere. A great success for us,” he said in summary. “The companies clearly met the right customers and did good business. And the visitors were very satisfied.”

The new leading fair clearly demonstrated its international character – more than 33,000 trade visitors from all parts of the world were there, getting information on the latest products and services from 1,250 exhibitors from 33 nations. A third of visitors were from outside of Germany, including 24 delegations from 22 countries. “It was evident that Hamburg has gained the recognition of the companies and the trade visitors as the ideal location for the leading wind industry fair,” added Bernd Aufderheide.

The importance of the fair location was emphasised by Olaf Scholz, Mayor of Hamburg, who noted that “the Metropolitan Region of Hamburg is not only home to the top manufacturers of wind turbines and wind farms. A great many small and medium-sized companies also have their headquarters here and their resources for project development, installation and maintenance. There is no question about it – Hamburg is the capital of the wind industry. And that is underscored by the success of WindEnergy Hamburg. It is a good thing that this expo is being held with us here in the North.”

The major points which visitors liked about the event included the good opportunities to make international contacts here, the comprehensive presentation of innovations, and the attractions of Hamburg as the venue. There was a great deal of interest in energy storage technology, which was additionally presented at H2Expo industry fair, held in parallel to WindEnergy Hamburg. The expert presentations were also very well attended. As Bernd Aufderheide said, “the results showed that the focus on Energy Storage was exactly right here.”

A representative visitor survey conducted by an independent market research agency showed that half the visitors were from the decision-making level of their companies. The visitors at WindEnergy Hamburg showed equal interest in onshore and offshore. The main focus of interest was on wind turbine manufacturers, followed by research and development. The high level of expertise on the part of visitors was emphasised as very positive by a large number of exhibitors.

The success of this first WindEnergy Hamburg was confirmed by German and international associations of the industry. Gerd Krieger, Deputy Managing Director of VDMA Power Systems, said “it was undoubtedly the right decision to hold an international wind industry fair in Hamburg. Our members are more than satisfied with WindEnergy Hamburg 2014. It far exceeded our expectations throughout the event. It produced high-quality discussions with national and above all international customers. WindEnergy Hamburg 2014 has established itself as the platform for the international wind industry.”

Hermann Albers, President of the German Wind Association BWE, said “The industry presented the whole of its value chain at WindEnergy Hamburg. This is an industry with strong growth rates and ever increasing importance for the German economy and the German labour market. We are pleased with the great interest shown in the supporting events, run by organisations such as BWE, and with the good visitor figures, underscoring the importance of this exhibition in Hamburg, the Gateway to the World.”

Steve Sawyer, General Secretary Global Wind Energy Council – GWEC: “I think it has been a great show. It’s packed, and all the members I have talked to at their stands are happy they came here. Everybody seems to be happy with the exhibition. Hamburg is a nice city, I’ve enjoyed being here. It’s all easy to navigate. We have Indian governmental official delegations here, colleagues from Brazil, from South Africa, from Turkey, and of course the majority is the industry based here in Europe. So there is quite a good smattering of international participants.”

And Peter Becker, Managing Director Messe Husum & Congress, was pleased with the success of the premiere of WindEnergy Hamburg – “This high-quality international wind industry fair has been successfully established in Hamburg. At the same time, the team from Messe Husum has met with a very good response for HUSUM Wind 2015 – we are organising this industry fair with a focus on the German-language market in cooperation with Hamburg Messe und Congress. On 14 October we are also inviting wind pioneers and trailblazers, wind researchers and technology experts to the 25th Anniversary of HUSUM Wind.”

WindEnergy Hamburg will be held again in 2016 at the Hamburg Fair site, from 27 to 30 September.