The Gran Via exhibition centre hosted more than 50,000 trade professionals and over 1,000 companies
The real economy was championed at Barcelona Industry Week, which closes today at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via exhibition centre following a week of intensive activity with a marked international flavour, where eight events coincided with a focus on promoting innovation in industrial manufacturing processes and on supporting companies in their digital transformation. The trade shows of Expoquimia, Eurosurfas, Equiplast and IN(3D)USTRY, plus the IoT Solutions World Congress, the Smart Chemistry, Smart Future event, the World Congress of Chemical Engineering and the World Chemical Summit brought together more than one thousand companies, the same number of speakers and over 50,000 trade professionals from all over the world.
The director of In-House Business at Fira de Barcelona, Salvador Tasqué, highlighted the success of the event and the climate of normality that reigned in the halls of the trade show venue throughout the week, which was a hive of business activities and networking sessions. In this respect, he emphasised that ‘we managed to attract trade professionals from a wide range of sectors, all with an interest in learning more about the innovative and cross-cutting offering of the whole production chain: from raw materials, plastics and chemical products through to additive manufacturing, process automation, intelligent connectivity and the latest technologies for application in numerous industrial sectors.’
The Fira de Barcelona director also highlighted the importance of having organised one of the biggest international trade shows of business and knowledge thanks to the union of these eight events, in a clear commitment to providing companies and professionals with a framework in which innovation, technology and digital transformation played a leading role.
To be specific, the Internet of Things Solutions World Congress (IoTSWC) brought together 240 companies and 13,000 visitors from 114 countries, representing growth of 30% and 60% respectively compared to last year. The opinions gathered at the show and the number of stand bookings for the next edition in 2018 by leading companies confirm that this event on the applications of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is one of the world’s leading platforms for this booming technological sector. Meanwhile, IN(3D)USTRY From Needs to Solutions, the event dedicated to 3D printing, showcased case studies of companies that are successfully using additive manufacturing in their production processes. Attended by around 60 exhibitors, the show attracted more than 3,300 visitors.
At the same time, the shows and events associated with the chemicals, plastics and surface treatment sectors – Expoquimia, Eurosurfas, Equiplast, the World Chemical Summit and Smart Chemistry, Smart Future – jointly represented 700 companies and attracted more than 35,000 visitors. Held every three years, this is the biggest platform for applied solutions in the chemical industry in Spain, and the second largest in Europe.
The World Congress of Chemical Engineering, which was held for the first time in Spain this year, brought together more than 3,000 delegates from 80 countries, who discussed the applications of their activities in areas such as energy, water, food and nutrition, and health and wellbeing. The Congress ended with the Declaration of Barcelona in support of research and technology to improve people’s lives.
Barcelona Industry Week – organised by Fira de Barcelona with the collaboration of the Zona Franca Consortium – originated with the aim of amalgamating various events with similar synergies under its umbrella every year in order to attract professionals from different sectors and help companies in their transition towards Industry 4.0.
Barcelona, 6 October 2017
