Firms react to leading position of Ferroforma

Hardware, D-I-Y and industrial supply specialists have reacted strongly to FERROFORMA's earning the top spot in the international calendar: 650 firms have already booked space for the next edition of the event.

These initial figures confirm the effectiveness of the change of strategy in presenting the event with a broad range of products and new ideas for the sector. With its position as the leading Spanish event in its sector and a benchmark on the European and world-wide levels thus reinforced, FERROFORMA will take place on 7th-10th March 2007.
A PLATFORM FOR INTERNATIONALISATION
The international profile of FERROFORMA is confirmed by the fact that 36% of the firms signed up for the event are be foreign, with a particularly strong showing from European firms. The countries represented include the USA, Germany, Norway, France, the UK and Japan.
In previous editions of FERROFORMA, foreign firms have accounted for close to 50% of the total. This ensures a strong international profile that makes the event an effective platform for firms seeking to begin to internationalise their businesses and for those seeking to consolidate their international positions.
FERROFORMA also offers a group participation scheme designed to help SME's access the event on special terms. Groups from Italy, China, the UK and France have already signed up under this scheme.
TREND IN SUPPLY
Traditional product families (locksmithery, tools, machinery, cutting, hoisting, pneumatics, etc.) will be represented at FERROFORMA by leading firms with major capabilities for innovation, and by new suppliers who bring with them new business opportunities. These products are aimed at professional users in the construction, manufacturing, woodworking and industrial maintenance trades, where the demands are tough. They have been the cornerstone of development for the hardware trade in all its forms for decades.
But as a reflection of trends in demand, FERROFORMA will also feature articles and services for home use, for wholesalers and for retailers (equipment for use in stores, management systems, networking systems, assessment, grouping, etc.). The significance of this emerging market segment lies in its role in helping firms renew their business and points of sale to adapt to the increasing demands for efficiency in the market.
Protection in the workplace is another growth area of FERROFORMA. This is in reaction to demand from all sectors of industry and construction, which has opened up major opportunities for distribution and growth of related products.
BRICOFORMA, A RANGE OF PRODUCTS FOR EVERYONE
Following its first appearance at the newly opened Bilbao Exhibition Centre in 2004, BRICOFORMA will once again be a reference point for home improvement and maintenance products (domestic hardware & household goods, painting, decorating & restoration work, bathrooms, plumbing & climate-control, electricity & lighting, woodworking & orderliness).
Once again this new event will join more traditional sectors in exhibiting articles for domestic use in a distinct area, comprising a showcase that is unique in Spain.
The layout of the event, with participants broken down by sectors and including the two distinct areas, currently looks like this:
- Industrial supply and construction: 28%
•  Tools: 21%
•  D-I-Y and home products: 20%
•  Locksmithery: 8%
•  Fittings: 7%
•  Machinery: 5%
•  Services: 5%
•  Protection in the workplace: 4%
•  Commercial equipment: 2%
LAUNCH OF THE CAMPAIGN TO ATTRACT VISITORS
The campaign to attract visitors to FERROFORMA 2007 began in June, and is still going strong both at home and abroad. Efforts to attract trade visitors have been redoubled in almost all regions of Spain. At the same time a programme for delegations of foreign purchasers is being co-ordinated through various commercial offices, the BEC's own network of agents and the offices of SPRI (Association for the Promotion and Restructuring of Industry), which are working with associations of distributors and importers in countries all over the world, focusing on forming top level delegations.