METSTRADE Show opens its doors

The 2016 METSTRADE Show opens its doors today at RAI Amsterdam. The show is the world’s largest B2B exhibition in the marine equipment industry, registering record numbers: 1,471 exhibitors, extra 3,000 sqm of layout, 22,000-plus professional visitors, hundreds of people attending conferences during the whole week when the show takes place.
Amsterdam is actually hosting a real METSTRADE week, instead of a three-day show. Ahead of the official start of the show, on Monday November 14^th, the Global Superyacht Forum, the HISWA Symposium on Yacht Design and Construction and the Leisure Marine Sustainability Conference were in fact held in Amsterdam.
The traditional breakfast briefing with keynote speaker and circular economy expert Steven Beckers, and the announcement of the DAME Design Award winner are going to mark the official start of this year’s edition of the METSTRADE Show, which will feature an expanded show floor with brand-new hall where 168 companies will present their products.
1,471 exhibitors will attend the show: a significantly increased number, compared to the 1,385 in 2015.
The same encouraging growth is also seen at the three shows-within-a-show: the SuperYacht Pavilion, 265 exhibitors (224 in 2015); the Marina & Yard Pavilion, 64 stands sold out (49 in 2015); the Construction Material Pavilion, 45 (31 in 2015).
The program of the Show includes new innovative platforms to enhance the visitor experience. The Construction in Process stage will feature live presentations of how the materials showcased are used. Among the companies on display, there will be Resoltech, demonstrating a composite repair system allowing race sailors to make repairs in all weather conditions; and Gurit, with their SPRINT system to build weights with a controlled fibre/resin weight ratio.
The new METSTRADE Theatre in Hall 12 will provide more space for product presentations. The Pitch the Press event on Wednesday will feature 15 companies pitching products selected today by a group of international marine journalists to press and visitors.
For this year’s edition the InnovationLAB has been moved to Hall 6, to form a central hub of smart thinking with presentations by DAME Design Award and Boatbuilder Award winners and shortlisted nominees.
A panel discussion will be held this afternoon after the speech by architect Steven Beckers, focusing on sustainability and the boatbuilding revolution. Other speakers at the InnovationLAB include Els Zijlstra, creative director at Materia, the international platform for innovative materials, and trendwatcher and author Adjiedj Bakas. Nick Bice, director of boats and maintenance at the Volvo Ocean Race, will give an update on the status of the race and the progress made since last year’s talk on how suppliers are becoming partners in a platform of collaboration, efficiency and reliability. James Roy, yacht design director at BMT NIGEL GEE LTD, will examine the IMO Polar Code and Large Yachts while Carlo Ighina, R&D manager at the Azimut Benetti Group, will explain how the yachting experience can be enhanced by advanced research and technology.