A review to Pumps & Valves 2002

After the three exhibition days of Pumps & Valves, organisers Fairtec heaved a sigh of relief after this tense ninth edition. "The present economic situation and the falling attendances at recent industrial trade exhibitions have made us push ourselves to the limit. The number of exhibitors did increase by 11% in comparison with the previous Pumps & Valves exhibition in 2000, but we could only wait for the reactions of potential visitors," says Mr Koen Damman, General Manager of Fairtec. "During the exhibition, there was a busy atmosphere with an increase in the number of visitors on the Wednesday in comparison with 2000 and the traditional highlight of the Thursday including the evening session. In the end, everyone can look back upon a successful edition with only a slight decrease in the number of visitors (5.7%). Whether this also represents a decrease in the number of visiting companies is still being verified."

Of the 10 seminars which were organised during Pumps & Valves, 3 have been recorded as absolute toppers with more than 90 participants in each case, namely:

1. WTCM: "Pressure Equipment Directive (PED)"
2. BEMAS: "Pump Maintenance in Fina Antwerp Olefins: Strategy and Results" and
3. WILO: "Rainwater recuperation for industry".

In addition, the other seminars, such as "Approach of valve maintenance in BASF Antwerp", for example, with 80 participants, also proved popular. Mr Dirk Bracke, Chairman of De Pompenkring, an organisation giving users of pumps and machines in the industry the opportunity to share experiences, took part himself in the seminar on "La problématique du pompage de liquids gazeux" ('The problem of pumping gas-liquid mixtures'). He thinks it is a good initiative to organise seminars on Pumps & Valves since it contributes to people's know-how, mainly because current subjects were on the agenda. He looked for his business connections on the exhibition floor in order to maintain contacts.

Stephan Muylaert, Sales Engineer, thinks the participation of Eekels Belgium is definitely amenable to repetition. "It is still too early to announce results. Our main reason for taking part was to be able to meet our existing clients in a different way. Our clients were there, so therefore we are satisfied. Our associate branch in Namur was also satisfied with the presence of French-speaking visitors," says Stephan Muylaert. Rudi Weyn, manager of Weyn Lauwers, found Pumps & Valves 2002 absolutely magnificent: "This edition was much better than the previous one. We were able to establish a lot more contacts because our precise target group was present. The visitors came purposefully in search of industrial articles. At present, we are working on the orders which were placed during the exhibition." This is confirmed by Patrick De Buysscher, delegate for Klaus Union Belgium. "It was very good for us to participate in this exhibition, in fact it is one of our best. The clients consisted of professionals, and even after having taken part in various editions of Pumps & Valves we have met potential new customers who were very interested in our products," says Patrick De Buysscher.

According to organisers Fairtec, lasting results for the exhibitors can only be gauged three months after the exhibition. All participants will then be given a detailed questionnaire. The answers are processed meticulously and internally and submitted to the advisory committee as the basis for discussing the organisation of Pumps & Valves in 2004.