Expert Interviews and Outlook for 
 Exhibitions in China 2021
by Daniel Yoo Chief Representative VDMA Shanghai

Expert Interviews and Outlook for Exhibitions in China 2021

In 2020 the world has been suffering under the current pandemic, which was triggered by the Covid-19 Virus. Safety Measures and lockdown restrictions have been implemented by governments worldwide. However, the pandemic is still at large, and countries are struggling with the virus. Trade show organizers worldwide have had some rough months behind them and currently it looks like that there is not much light at the end of the tunnel. However, in China there has been quite a positive development since last Summer. Under strict safety protocols, trade shows and exhibitions saw a comeback since end of June. The SEMICON China has been the first show in the mechanical engineering field to resurface. The SEMICON usually takes place in March and has been postponed like most other shows from the first half of the year. Unfortunately, due to the selected date the halls stayed pretty much empty. The new dates were set during the Chinese Dragon Boat festival, which is one of the major national holidays. A mixture of uncertainty and national holidays caused the SEMICON to be rather empty. However, just a week later shows like China Vision, Productronica and Electronica have emerged, and the halls were packed, besides the fact that it was mainly local visitors. In Shanghai, the main venues are the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC) and the Shanghai National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC). Both venues experienced a tremendous recovery since summer 2020 and were able to host many shows. International visitors were not able to enter China as the country still imposes heavy travel restrictions and it is almost impossible for foreigners to enter. 14 days quarantine (or more) is a deal breaker for most international visitors.

While other countries are still fighting with the virus, the global focus for exhibition shows has moved to China. VDMA China therefore has gathered a few experts from the exhibition industry to talk about the outlook for 2021. Daniel Yoo, Chief Representative of VDMA in Shanghai spoke to the experts to get a feeling on what is going to happen in 2021.

The first interview partner has been Michael Kruppe, the General Manager of the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC). Followed by Hans Stoter, Managing Director of Messe Nanjing, which is the China subsidiary of Messe Stuttgart and finally we have interviewed Xin Ye, Managing Director of ifm China. ifm has been a very active member at trade shows last year throughout numerous different industrial clusters. Therefore, it is interesting to hear the experience that ifm has collected during the exhibitions in China in 2020. 

1.Interview with Michael Kruppe – recorded on 25th of January 2021:

Daniel Yoo: Michael, first a Happy New Year to you and your family. I hope you will have a great year coming along. Last year we already did our first interview about your outlook for the exhibitions in 2020. Many things have happened since last year and now you can report and look back to what you have predicted a year ago. How was last year in terms of exhibitions in SNIEC, Shanghai but also China?

Michael Kruppe: With the force majeure declaration in February 2020 to close all venues, we were forced to stay on hold until end June. From February until May 2020, we were lobbying the government and at the same time developed, with all stakeholders, sustainable safety protocols. They were successfully implemented with the first show. In June 2020, Semicon was the first official show to have received the green light. In the following months, until end of 2020, we held 86 shows with approximately 3,5 million visitors without a single problem. The rest of China did also operate some shows, but certainly not as many as we could do in SNIEC. I do not have exact figures, but my guess is that other venues operated with an occupancy of probably only 20-30 percent.

Daniel Yoo: What was your highlight of last year’s exhibitions in terms of Mechanical Engineering related shows?

Michael Kruppe: Well, bauma China is not directly a mechanical engineering show but it is related. A show which fills the whole venue, is certainly a highlight, especially in pandemic times. Only 50 percent of the expected visitors could come, caused by new Corona cases, which happened in Shanghai just 2 days before the show started. That was unfortunate.

Daniel Yoo: From a VDMA point of view the bauma show is strongly related to mechanical engineering and is certainly a highlight for our association not only in Shanghai, but also in Munich, Germany, too.

The trade fair business was hit hard by the pandemic. How do you evaluate the capacity utilization of last year (2020) compared to the year before (2019)? I mean, the number of exhibitions and number of visitors in percentage?

Michael Kruppe: 2019 was the fifth consecutive record year for SNIEC. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, 2020 certainly meant a big drop. Compared to 2019 we roughly lost 50 percent of revenues. We are a huge venue, which means we cannot just close it down. Even with no shows we have a lot of maintenance and repair costs. Our monthly operational costs are very high. Our occupancy rate number dropped from 74 percent to 48 percent and our visitor numbers declined from 7.2 million to 3.5 million visitors for the whole year. Honestly, it could have been worse as compared to the rest of the world we were quite lucky since we were able to organize a few shows.

Daniel Yoo: Yes, that is true. In Europe and Germany, the exhibition industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. What was the biggest challenge for you? Were there moments of uncertainty? How did the safety protocols work out at the end for the shows in the venue?

Michael Kruppe: The biggest challenge was to make sure that not one single case would appear during an exhibition. Some shows like China Joy or China Beauty had up to 150.000 visitors in 3 days. Having 50,000 people onsite daily, is certainly a challenge. We invested in new equipment to screen temperatures, health codes and face recognition, to make sure every visitor is safe. Additionally, we increased the cleaning and disinfections cycles for floors and air conditions plus we provided hand sanitizers and made sure enough fresh air is ventilated through the halls. Finally, everybody must wear a face mask. I would say 99 percent adhered to it and the 1 percent that did not follow regulations, were kindly reminded by us to put the mask on.

In most cases the guests immediately put the mask on. We had a few minor incidents where guests were disobeying the regulations. We had to ask them to leave the venue or to buy masks in our service center. Those guests took the advice and finally bought masks at the service center to take part in the show.

Daniel Yoo: I guess there are always a few black sheep among the thousands of visitors. It is good to hear that your team was able to manage the situation professionally. May I ask what went well and what might need a little bit of attention for improvements in this year?

Michael Kruppe: All the protocols went well so far. The challenge is for larger shows to increase the speed of the screening process. Sometimes we had long waiting lines in the registration halls. This year we are trying to shorten the waiting lines to the minimum.

Daniel Yoo: How is your current outlook for 2021?

Michael Kruppe: According to our booking plan we are 15 percent behind 2019 which, considering the situation, is pretty good. However, recently we can see that more Covid19 cases are coming up in China, including Shanghai. This might put some shows in February and even in March under a risk. We are monitoring the situation daily. In our business we are relying on personal contact. Any news related to further spikes of Covid19 is really bad news for us.

Daniel Yoo: What can we expect in terms of trade shows in Shanghai for 2021 especially in the mechanical engineering Sector?

Michael Kruppe: Well, the same shows as every year will also be in SNIEC in 2021, so there is a certain plannability for such shows for the professional audience.

You must follow the show calendar which you can find online and from the trade show organizers.

Daniel Yoo: Will we see more international companies trying to book exhibition booths in China at trade shows compared to before?

Michael Kruppe: I do not think so. As traveling is still a problem, we see an increasing demand for domestic exhibitors or, for international companies which already have operations in China.

Daniel Yoo: Did the pandemic situation bring any changes/new trends to the trade fair business which will last? 

Michael Kruppe: There is a lot of talk about the so called on/offline or hybrid shows. I personally hate the word “offline” in this context as it absolutely does not come close to the meaning of personal communication and “face to face” to exchange. Certainly, if the virus continues, we need to adjust and only, and I repeat, only in such case we may see some hybrid shows. But it cannot replace the real show. Digital is fine, but there is not digital food or digital experience for many industries, plus the costs for such hybrid shows are enormous and people are not ready to pay for it.

Daniel Yoo: Thank you very much for the talk Michael. Your insights and expertise are certainly interesting for our members. Hopefully, we will be able to visit and take part in a lot of shows in your venue this year. I am wishing you and your teams much success for 2021 and the years to come.  

2. Interview with Hans Stoter – recorded on 25th of January 2021:

Daniel Yoo: Dear Hans, thank you for finding time to do this interview with us. You are active in the trade show business for many years internationally, but also here in China. How do you currently see the development of trade shows under the current framework of the pandemic? It would be great if you could give us a global perspective and your view on China. Which regions of China have potentials to further develop good shows in China?

Hans Stoter: I see the close connection between China and Europe in terms of shows, meaning 1 or 2 shows annually with national coverage and a host of regional shows. In the North, South, East or West there are always development opportunities especially for more specialized and regional shows in different industries. For national or international shows, Shanghai used to be the main city. However, now Shenzhen is fast becoming the only other 1st tier city for exhibitions especially in industrial technologies. All other cities have a more regional role but depending on economic development and government policies certainly have specific growth potential as well. Currently, China is the only country with growth potential for the global exhibition industry as China is the only country open for large-scale events and the only major economy with GDP growth.

Daniel Yoo: Yes, we also feel the high interest in shows related to Shenzhen. It will be interesting to see which shows will come out strong in the south in the future. Which industries will be on strong demand in China this year when it comes to exhibitions? And what kind of technologies do you think the Chinese industry is looking for?

Hans Stoter: I believe that exhibitions in most industries such as consumer goods and industrial products without a high innovation character will be quite stable this year. Growth is in innovative products, new & smart technology, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, environment, and specific service industries. This is where the big investments are made and stimulated by favorable government policies.

The easy answer related to your second question is all technologies needed for the transformation into an advanced manufacturing, environmentally friendly and innovative country. To be more specific, all technologies which offer integrated solutions instead of just the hardware. Connectivity and data are becoming increasingly important. Technologies for increasing productivity whether in agriculture, environmental protection, healthcare, manufacturing, or transportation/logistics are all in high demand.   

Daniel Yoo: Do you think that shows will be postponed or cancelled this year in China, or will it be (almost) risk free for organizers, exhibitors, and visitors? We are recently experiencing more Covid-19 outbreaks in different regions of China; do you think it will influence the exhibition shows?  

Hans Stoter: Currently, all shows are put on hold due to recent Covid19 outbreaks in the north of China and as precaution for Chinese New Year and the important Party congress early March. From different government departments, we have heard that larger gatherings will be restricted until the middle of March. If our industry can host shows again starting the middle of March, it will have little financial impact. If it takes longer, some shows will be postponed or cancelled this year. Confidence among exhibitors and buyers is high as proven after shows were allowed again since June 2020. The epidemic control measures by the government, venues and organizer have proven to be effective. Purely, international companies, speakers or visitors can be involved through hybrid show formats.

Daniel Yoo: Thank you Hans for the exchange. A lot of our members surely participate in the key industry and technology trends you have mentioned before. Let us see how the pandemic will develop in China. Hopefully, the trade shows will be able to take place from March this year. I am wishing you a successful year. 

3. Interview with Ye Xin – recorded on 25th of January 2021:

Daniel Yoo: Thank you very much, Ye Xin for sharing some experiences with our VDMA members. I see that ifm was very active in China at exhibition shows in 2020. What was your impression of the shows last year in China? Any highlight memories from your perspective?

Xin Ye: As we all know, a lot of trade fairs were canceled or postponed due to Covid19 in the first half of 2020. During that time, ifm has started to reach customers through all social media platforms, did videos and webinars. We are aiming to support our customers and being close to them anytime, anywhere.

In the second half of 2020, we have attended 6 shows bringing innovative ideas and solutions to the market. It was a big challenge with high a workload for all preparations and follow-ups, but we achieved it very well. Along with offline events, we brought the new power of live streaming and online broadcasts to the show, especially for those who cannot attend the fair. They could get familiar with ifm products and solutions online and have a live chat with our sales engineers and product managers if they had any questions. The IAS in Shanghai impressed me the most. Visitors have shown great interest in cutting-edge technologies and predictive maintenance. Our “mini factory” demo machine with process sensors have attracted great attention. Despite of the pandemic, ifm China had very good sales growth compared to 2019. This positive result reflects the true strength of our ifm team and trust from our customers.

Daniel Yoo: I know that ifm is active in so many different industrial sectors in China. Your products are being used in numerous industries in the market. From your talks and experiences from the shows of last year, which industries are currently doing well and which industries maybe not? Can you share some of your experiences you have made last year?

Xin Ye: ifm has a wide range of products, including digital sensors, but also industrial communication products, software as well as system solutions. They are key components for automation and digital manufacturing. Therefore, ifm products are widely applied in almost all industries, such as automotive industry, food & beverage industry, machine tools, conveyor technology, mobile machines and so on. ifm gained growth in all major industries, among which mobile construction machinery and machinery for wind-/solar energy gave us tremendous growth figures. In fact, our growth witnessed the government’s plan for new infrastructure. Sustainable growth is taking pace. From my point of view labor intensive industries and high pollution industries will have difficulties in the future. Luckily, those are not our target industries.

Daniel Yoo: Which regions of China are currently interesting? Are there any local shows or conferences that you would recommend attending?

 Xin Ye: We continuously expand into new regions in China, building up new sales and service locations to deliver better services to customers. Industry-specific shows as well as shows related to digital manufacturing are interesting for us.

Daniel Yoo: How did you perceive the visitor quality of the shows you have attended in the previous year?

Xin Ye: The visitor quality of the shows we have attended last year was good. We attended these shows in previous times, so we could already expect what it will bring to us. To attract the right visitors is always the main task of our show. We will constantly improve the visitor experience by implementing new exhibition concepts. Our aim is to continuously deliver clear and professional information, timesaving, and result-oriented visitor experience in coming shows.

Daniel Yoo: Will you be able to keep up the high-level of attendance at shows in this year? And which shows are going to be a highlight from your perspective?

Xin Ye: Yes, we will attend around 7-8 shows this year. CIMT and IAS will be the highlights.

Daniel Yoo: What do you have to say about the missing international visitors and what impact does it have on your participation at shows? How do you stay in touch with customers outside of China?

Xin Ye: As subsidiary of ifm in China, we entirely serve the local customers. Our goal is to provide the best products and services to our customers in China, so there is no impact about the missing international visitors. ”ifm-close to you!” is our motto. Customers outside of China get contacted and supported by ifm subsidiaries in the individual region. ifm presents all over the world with more than 70 subsidiaries and 7,300 employees in over 95 countries.

Daniel Yoo: Thank you very much for the time and the interview. VDMA wishes you a successful year and lot of good shows to come in 2021. 




















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