Autopromotec, the international biennial trade show for automotive equipment and aftermarket products, has announced key elements of its strategic promotion plan as it prepares for the 2019 edition of the event, scheduled to be held May 22-26, 2019, at the Bologna exhibition center.
For more than 50 years the event has enjoyed continuous growth, as demonstrated by the record numbers for the 2017 edition, according to show organizers. In 2017, Autopromotec hosted 1,599 exhibitors (plus 58 brands represented) and welcomed 113,616 professionals over the five days of the trade show. The last edition saw a significant increase in international participation as well, with a 14 percent increase in professionals arriving from abroad, for a total of 23,807 visitors from outside of Italy.
Autopromotec will benefit from the funding support of ICE (Istituto per il Commercio Estero [Institute for Foreign Trade]) as part of the program “Extraordinary Plan for products Made in Italy – Strengthening the great national events 2016-2018” promoted by the Ministry of Economic Development. With this financial support, show organizers will plan international missions in the months leading up to the 2019 event to foster the presence of buyers and institutional stakeholders from countries relevant to the automotive after-sales sector. More details about the countries involved will be shared in the coming months, Autopromotec said.
The Promotec company also announced a new agreement with the Emilia-Romagna Region for the “International Promotion of Autopromotec 2019 and the regional automotive and mobility aftermarket supply chain” that will take the form of a series of activities aimed at the international promotion of the trade show and of the entire automotive aftermarket supply chain.
Some of the upcoming initiatives planned for the international promotion of Autopromotec include organizing groups of buyers visiting the next edition of the event, which will feature the following markets: Germany, Vietnam, Thailand, Iran, Israel, South Africa, Russia and some South American countries (Colombia, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina).
In recent months specific projects also have been organized in Russia and South America – in particular in Argentina and Colombia – with the goal of creating collective areas for Autopromotec 2019. In addition, a road show in Turkey – a particularly strategic country, according to show organizers – sought to stimulate the presence of exhibitors and buyers through meetings with automotive associations, internationalization bodies and governmental and institutional organizations.
Finally, with the project “Autopromotec Follow Me – International Projects,” Autopromotec has coordinated a delegation of companies in the Italian automotive supply chain, which will exhibit in a 200 sq m collective area at the next edition of SEMA Show in Las Vegas, taking place Oct. 30-Nov. 2.
Other new projects are in the process of being launched and can be seen on the initiative’s dedicated website at www.autopromotec.com/followme.
“International missions are at the core of the strategic plan for the promotion of Autopromotec and its 2019 edition,” said Renzo Servadei, CEO of Autopromotec. “With the support of ICE and the Emilia-Romagna Region, we are engaged in critical international promotion projects, through which we intend to conclude a number of agreements with automotive after-sales agents in countries throughout the world.”