IE expo China 2019: Demand for environmental technology in Asia scales new heights

China is focusing more than ever on environmental and climate protection. IE expo China 2019, which took place from April 15 to 17 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), showed this all too clearly. During the three days of the event, 73,097 trade visitors from 58 countries and regions caught up on the trends and technological innovations in the Asian environmental technology sector.

“IE expo China is the largest, most innovative and highest-quality environmental protection exhibition in Asia. It brings together all the relevant stakeholders in an industry that is so crucial for our society.” With these words, Zhao Lijun, President of China Environment Chamber of Commerce opened IE expo China on April 15. And the performance figures at the end of the fair reflect this praise. “The 73,097 trade visitors mean an increase by ten percent,” said Jiang Gang, Managing Director of the organizer Messe Muenchen Zhongmao. “With 2,047 exhibitors, IE expo China exceeded the 2,000 mark for the first time and grew by 16 percent—and thus enters new dimensions.” In terms of exhibition space, Asia's leading trade fair for water, waste, air and soil grew by 17 percent to 150,000 square meters.

The largest increase was seen in the waste management, environmental monitoring and air pollution control segments that increased by 58, 32 and 25 percent, respectively. “This once again shows how strong the influence of current government initiatives such as the modernization of the waste and recycling management industry or the Blue Sky Protection Campaign to improve air quality is on the environmental sector,” commented Jiang Gang on the trade show development. According to Zhou Guomei, Party Committee Secretary of the International Environmental Cooperation Center, the mood in the industry is correspondingly positive and China’s demand on international technical exchanges and cooperation is enormous. Especially the “Belt and Road” campaign would require the support of high-quality enterprises and their modern water and waste technologies.

A great leap in quantity and quality

This year, IE expo China has not only convinced in terms of quantity, but also quality, as Cai Huijing, Deputy General Manager of SIIC Environment Holdings Ltd. confirmed: “This is our first participation in IE expo China with our Shanghai Pavilion. The show is much more influential and larger than expected, and the professionalism as well as the interest of the many visitors has been overwhelming.” Li Huaizan, Marketing/Technical Sales Director of Saint-Gobain PAM China shared that opinion: “At IE expo China 2019, the overall response of the visitors was very good. We have met old partners but also many new customers.”

In three days, visitors from a total of 58 countries and regions came to the 13 exhibition halls. Most of them came from Asia—a fact that is reflected in the top ten countries and regions, which were Mainland China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan China, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Germany, India and Thailand (in this order). Further, the trade fair featured exhibitor pavilions from Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Shanghai China, Switzerland, Taiwan China and the US that showcased new environmental products and technologies.

Parallel to the trade fair, the over 400 speakers of the supporting programs provided insights into current research results, technical developments and future challenges, such as the “Technical Exchange Forum of Urban Smart Drainage Pipe Network”, the “Workshop on Municipal Waste Segregation and Low-Carbon Development 2019” and “Comprehensive Utilization of Tricky Bulk Industrial Solid Waste and Dangerous Industrial Solid Waste Reclamation”. Another highlight of the technical supporting program was the first Sanitation Vehicle Demonstration: in the outdoor area, seven leading companies in the environmental sanitation sector demonstrated new sanitation vehicles, including trucks and municipal vehicles that not only work efficiently but also environmentally friendly.

Next event in April 2020

The date for the next IE expo China has already been set: from April 21 to 23, 2020 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. “But before that, the Chinese environmental technology sector can enjoy two more IFAT trade fairs in the country,” said Christian Rocke, Exhibition Group Director of the worldwide IFAT network at Messe München. The first edition of IE expo Chengdu with a focus on western China will take place from June 27 to 29, 2019 in Chengdu, the southern Chinese IE expo Guangzhou from September 18 to 20, 2019 in Guangzhou. Rocke concluded: “With these three solution platforms, we want to actively drive environmental and climate protection in China and, together with our exhibitors and partner associations, promote the use of technology and the transfer of knowledge.”

More information at www.ie-expo.com.