May was the month of exhibitions. From May 18th to the 19th, we were in Hannover for the Tire Technology Expo, and from May 25th to May 28th at Autopromotec in Bologna. During the Tire Tech Expo, we were hosted by M.I.G. – MAE, while Autopromotec signed our first show as exhibitors.
Let’s start from the beginning and tell you about our experience in Hannover. As previously written in another post (https://vmrubber.com/en/blog-en/tire-technology-expo/), this expo gathers the major producers of machines, equipment and tools used to manufacture new tires. Hence, not specifically our market. Nonetheless, the show was interesting to learn how this business works considering we deal with it only marginally thorough the offer of the MAE bladders. We also exploited this time to seek new opportunities to offer our products to this customer base. As a pleasant surprise, we discovered that the show draws companies coming not only from the tire industry but from the rubber world. We connected with people with whom we are and hope we will start a collaboration. The show was well-attended, and visitors came from different EU and MEA countries. It was interesting to see how the market reacts to this post-pandemic and geopolitically unstable era, considering that the situation with raw materials prices and availability has worsened. The feeling is that companies are looking to reduce the supply chain, trying to find new sources closer to them as a response to the need to be more efficient. We would have found the same feeling in Bologna.
We spoke about Autopromotec in a previous post (https://vmrubber.com/en/blog-en/road-to-autopromotec-2022/), underlining how much this exhibition meant for us since it would have been the first one as exhibitors. We were aware that the event would not have had the same international presence as the pre-pandemic editions, but we would also have never expected it to be so busy! We hoped so, but the attendance exceeded our most positive forecast. We finally got the chance to meet many of our Italian customers, clients from the EU, MEA, and some from the Americas and Asia. The show also gave us the opportunity to promote our brand, our products, and us. It allowed us to realize that new players/companies had entered the market, and new partnerships were born.
The excitement that hit us when we arrived at the show’s venue and in our hall, ready to set up our booth, was beyond words. You could have breathed the magic atmosphere of expectation and anticipation of what was about to come. The first three days have been a sequence of meetings with new and known faces. Of laughter, handshaking, and hugs. Days of hard work but also celebrations. Exhibitions are tiring, but they allow us to leave our offices and desk and meet other people’s gazes. To talk about business and what happened in the last couple of years. Saturday then was the day for exploring. We left our booth to check out the ones from other companies and took some time to chat with people about all the small things we also enjoy because they inspire the sense of how much people needed to share and re-build those connections that felt thinner due to distance.
We would like to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to come and meet with us during these two shows, even if it was for just a “CIAO”. It was a pleasure and an honor to meet you all. We are now waiting to know what will happen in 2023 and if we will see you again in Bologna or somewhere else.