BOLGNA, Italy — Nestled amid the centuries-old buildings of the Northern Italian town of Bologna, serious business is taking place for those in the global automotive aftermarket. Autopromotec, the 24th biennial exhibition of automotive equipment and aftermarket products, is being held this week – May 25 through 29 – drawing more than 100,000 visitors in total during the five-day event.

ICE – the Italian Trade Commission – has brought a delegation of roughly 60 foreign delegates to the event from all over the globe, including the U.S., Russia, Morocco, Egypt, India, Japan, Iran and Spain. The U.S. delegation included eight individuals from the U.S. government, media, aftermarket trade associations and buying groups. In 2009, some 17,000 foreign visitors attended Autopromotec.

The Italian Trade Commission, the government agency responsible for the promotion of trade between Italy and foreign countries, working in conjunction with AICA, the Italian Garage Equipment Manufacturers Association, which organizes Autopromotec, aims to draw more exhibitors and buyers from the North American market to the event each year. A large majority of the Italian companies exhibiting either already conduct business in North America or are looking to do so.

For this year’s event, Autopromotec features approximately 1,473 exhibitors, a record number that's up 2 percent from 2009, according to show organizers. Thirty-seven percent of exhibitors are from outside Italy, mainly from Germany, China and Great Britain.

The indoor/outdoor show spans 150,000 square meters with 11 exhibition halls of spare parts and equipment, new and retread tires, equipment and tools for body shops, vehicle lifts, diagnostic lines, tools and car care products for repair shops, engine overhaul equipment and the biggest global display of car wash equipment in the world. The largest part of the exhibition is the tools and equipment section, which comprises 56,000 square meters and seven halls.

Stay tuned for more highlights and photo galleries from Autopromotec 2011.

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