U.S. Exhibitors Have High Hopes
A+A 2015, the 30th safety trade fair in the series, kicked off Oct. 27 in the sprawling fairgrounds of Düsseldorf, Germany, with more than 1,800 exhibitors eagerly awaiting the crowds.
DÜSSELDORF, Germany – Dozens of U.S. exhibitors are participating in A+A 2015, the International Trade Fair with Congress for Safety, Security and Health at Work, which already has eclipsed the exhibit space of two years ago and is expected to set another attendance record during its 30th run here.
The American companies are exhibiting throughout #AplusA's nine halls, with some housed in Hall 3, near the fairgrounds’ south entrance, while others can be found in Halls 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, or 11, where the popular A+A Fashion Show of "corporate fashion" workwear takes place daily. Hall 6 is where both the "safe rescues at all highs and lows" show is taking place and the occupational fire protection and emergency management theme park is located. In Hall 10 is the ergonomics and corporate health plaza.
VelocityEHS (formerly named MSDSonline) is exhibiting in Hall 3 as part of the U.S. pavilion. Glenn Trout, the company's president and CEO, said this year he's attending A+A for the first time since 2007. One of the company's goals this time is introducing the VelocityEHS brand globally via a trade show that attracts attendees from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas, he explained a few days before A+A began.
"It's obviously a huge event. We won't be able to meet everybody – I can't imagine everybody walking through all of those halls," Trout said.
"MSDSonline is a fantastic brand, but it's not the best-known brand in Europe. We're making that change around GHS. We needed a brand name that was global because 25 percent of our revenue is outside of North America," he said, adding that chemical safety compliance is different from the U.S. model in many other markets.
"We're real excited about [being at A+A]," Trout said. “The last time we went there, we won quite a few contracts and some customers who are still with us. And one of the biggest ones was an American company."