BEIJING -- From today to Oct. 30 this year Deutsche Messe will again be staging two important trade shows at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC): PTC ASIA and CeMAT ASIA.

PTC ASIA is the world's second largest trade fair for power transmission and control, as well as for compressors, compressed air and vacuum technology. Around 1,300 exhibitors from 28 countries will be presenting innovative power transmission and control technology on a gross display area of some 58,000 sq m. This year the focus will be on energy efficiency and improving life-cycle costs.

CeMAT ASIA provides an arena for all products directly related to intra-logistics (materials handling and logistics). The major display categories at Asia's most important trade fair for intra-logistics range from industrial trucks, cranes and lifting equipment to handling equipment, storage systems, loading equipment, software and technology for every aspect of handling.

Exhibitors at CeMAT ASIA include the big manufacturers of forklift trucks such as Linde, Toyota, Jungheinrich, Komatsu, Heli and Baoli, forklift equipment suppliers and manufacturers Cascade and Kaup, handling equipment manufacturers Beumer and Knapp, crane suppliers ABUS, Demag and Kito, as well as suppliers of warehouse technology such as Dexion, Hanel, Kardex, OTL and SSI Schafer. More than 380 exhibitors are expected to occupy a gross display area of approximately 23,000 sq m.

Leading international fairs

Since 1991 Deutsche Messe has been organizing its own trade fairs outside Germany through its subsidiary companies. The main target markets have been China, Southeast Asia, Australia, India, the Gulf region, Turkey, the United States and Brazil.

Since the start of the new millennium we have actively pursued the idea of establishing the leading international fairs under the HANNOVER MESSE umbrella on foreign markets - and have been most successful in this endeavor.

Many of the exhibitors who have taken part in our events in Hannover (both German and foreign exhibitors) have since joined us on our overseas ventures because they trust the brand name and feel confident that we will deliver the same, consistent quality wherever we operate.

PTC ASIA was one of the first trade shows that we organized with our Chinese partners. Business in the Chinese trade show sector has developed remarkably well since then. We value the reliability of our Chinese partners and expect continued growth from both events.

Trade fairs always reflect the state of industrial development in the country where they take place. As one of the leading industrial nations China has quite clear needs and these determine the range of exhibits included in the trade fair program.

In today's China the demand for the kind of modern technology exhibited at our events is huge. Of course, China has moved on from being simply an importer of power transmission and control technology, and now ranks among the manufacturers of such plant and technology.

According to the VDMA (German Engineering Federation), Germany tops the list of exporters in the world power transmission sector with a 26 percent share of the market, followed by Japan (11.8 percent), Italy (8.2 percent), the United States (7.4 percent) and China (7.1 percent). Worldwide exports in 2007 were valued at a total of 41.4 billion euros (.8 billion).

As demand for improved logistics and cutting-edge logistics systems continues to grow in China, there is parallel demand for high-performance plant. Chinese industry is keen to improve efficiency in terms of order picking, quicker material throughput, shorter process times and production runs.

Supporting programs

Trade shows are not simply about exhibiting products. Every year we develop a new supporting program, along with special events and presentations, so that attendees can gain maximum value from their visit.

This year sees the debut of the special Automated Guided Vehicles Pavilion at CeMAT ASIA, where exhibitors will show the very latest driverless transport systems. The key advantages of automated systems include reliability and flexibility, or the adaptability of such systems to varying and sometimes difficult conditions. For instance, these systems can be useful in refrigerated storage and other areas where conditions are unpleasant or even hazardous for humans to work in.

For the first time the trade shows will be flanked by the Congress Logistics & ICT, which takes place on October 28 and 29. Top experts will speak on special branch-related solutions - for example, for the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries - and on innovative IT for logistics.

We expect that around 250 top-flight attendees with expert knowledge and a professional interest in logistics and ICT will come to the two-day congress from all over the world. The congress has been conceived and organized in cooperation with our partners to provide a forum for discussion that complements and extends the content of our trade shows.