Elmia Subcontractor: A positive mood with a focus on business

Elmia Subcontractor 2014 was characterised by a positive atmosphere all round plus masses of productive meetings. Many significant deals were made at the fair, including many between the exhibitors themselves.
“The fact that business meetings are held throughout the entire supply chain gives the fair a very special dynamism,” says the fair’s project manager Karla Eklund.

Sweden’s new Minister for Enterprise and Innovation, Mikael Damberg (Social Democrat), was the fair’s opening speaker. He stressed the importance of more export, innovations and investments for a stronger future.
“Elmia Subcontractor is hugely important to the industry,” he said. “It is here that subcontractors find out what’s happening in the market. This is also where discussions are held about the industry’s next steps. We must now consider how we can take up the baton in order to develop the next generation of industry.”

Elmia Subcontractor, which will celebrate its 40^th year in 2015, this year marked the 10^th anniversary of its matchmaking service, Subcontractor Connect. Since being launched, the event has matched companies in almost 10,500 meetings for a total value of over 1 billion euro.
“One of the fair’s guiding principles is business benefit. I’m very proud that we, together with Enterprise Europe Network and the Scandinavian Automotive Supplier Association, have created such a successful, profitable and appreciated event,” comments Elmia Subcontractor’s project manager Karla Eklund.

This year’s fair had a future focus, emphasising innovations and new technology. The fair featured Sweden’s biggest conference ever on additive manufacturing (3D printing), with 250 delegates. Some of the world’s biggest authorities on this highly topical subject spoke at the conference.
“I was impressed by Elmia Subcontractor,” said the keynote speaker, Terry Wohlers. “It is a well-organised and well-attended fair that I believe is very important and rewarding for Swedish industry. I hope I can come back next year.”

Elmia Subcontractor’s inspiration and knowledge arena, Subcontractor InnoDex, now in its second year, also proved it is here to stay. Many designers, design engineers, and product developers came to the fair especially to visit InnoDex, with its exhibitions and seminars.
“I think it’s terrific,” commented Petter Lithén, a design engineer at Nufotec Design. “This kind of

arena can hatch a lot of new ideas and open people’s eyes to new technology. It makes you think in slightly different ways and not be so locked into what is actually possible to do industrially.”

On Friday the head of Tesla’s Scandinavian operations, Peter Bardenfleth-Hansen, came with a team to source suppliers to what is currently the world’s fastest-growing vehicle manufacturer. The Russian car giant AvtoVAZ also attended. Purchasing director Erik Barenthein gave a appreciated presentation about the opportunities for Swedish suppliers in Russia. He also seized the chance to visit a number of exhibitors at the fair.
“The fact that many large companies come to the fair looking for new contacts and suppliers is terrific proof of the exhibitors’ high quality,” comments Karla Eklund. “I am very satisfied with this year’s event and would like to thank all the participants for an incredibly well-implemented fair. I now look forward to welcoming everyone back to our 40^th anniversary event next year.”

The next Elmia Subcontractor will be 10–13 November 2015.

Voices from the fair:

“Elmia Subcontractor is hugely important to the industry. It is here that subcontractors find out what’s happening in the market. This is also where discussions are held about the industry’s next steps. We must now consider how we can take up the baton in order to develop the next generation of industry.”
Mikael Damberg, Sweden’s Minister for Enterprise and Innovation

“At such a fair you primarily want to update yourself on what’s happening. There is a lot of knowledge in such an environment and we place a high value on coming here.”
Johan Lindqvist, Strategic Purchasing Director, Volvo Buses

“If you’re looking for new suppliers, Elmia Subcontractor is an excellent place to start. The very latest technologies and innovations are also here. A person seldom leaves here empty handed.”
Jesper Frykestig, Purchasing Manager, Autoliv Sweden AB.

“The electronic segment has gained more and more room at Elmia Subcontractor, which is very good because there are fewer dedicated electronics fairs now. Elmia Subcontractor has become the only fair I choose to visit. I always find interesting innovations here and I can contact companies that are important players for me.”
Fredrik Marcus, Production Engineer, Tobii Technology

“This is an excellent way to meet as many of our existing suppliers as possible at one and the same place. It lets us have many efficient and productive meetings. We have also looked at some new potential suppliers – the range of offerings at the fair is incredibly broad. Elmia Subcontractor is an important trade fair for our industry.”
Anette Högback, Purchaser, Kablageproduktion AB

“This is the best fair in the Nordic region now. You meet the right people – owners, CEOs – the decision makers, quite simply. It’s also an incredibly efficient meeting place. You can never visit with as many customers as you can do here.”
Björn Karlsson, Sales Manager, Weland Lagersystem

“Elmia Subcontractor means a lot to us. It’s the only fair we exhibit at. You simply have to be at a fair like this.”
Anna Sandberg, Vice President and Logistics Manager, Gnosjö Automatsvarvning

“This is a hugely important fair for us, both for meeting our existing customers and for getting new business. We can trace many of our projects back to Elmia Subcontractor.”
Anne-Marie Ringqvist, Marketing Coordinator, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions

FACTS ABOUT ELMIA SUBCONTRACTOR

Number of visitors: 14 705
Number of exhibitors: 1 171
Exhibition area: 18 286 sqm
Participating nations: 31