Fakuma visitor numbers down about 11 percent

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, GERMANY (Oct. 22, 1:35 p.m. ET) -- Preliminary figures from Fakuma exhibition organizer P.E. Schall GmbH & Co. KG show that 37,281 people traveled to Friedrichshafen for this year’s trade show, down about 11 percent from the 2008 total of 41,856.

This year’s event was the 20th Fakuma fair, and this apparently marks the first time that the show has recorded a decline in attendee numbers. Attendance, however, has proved more resilient than some other plastics fairs this year; Italy’s Plast fair posted a 16 percent decline and the US NPE2009 show 30 percent, although both events took place before any real sign of economic improvement could be seen.

Exhibitor numbers at this year’s Fakuma were also down. Schall said exhibitor numbers for 2009 totaled “more than 1,500” compared with 1,705 in 2008.

In a statement released with the visitor numbers, Schall said that this year’s event showed that the plastics industry was regaining its strength.

“Numerous exhibitors who came to Friedrichshafen with relatively low expectations were able to transact surprisingly good business,” Schall said.

There is no Fakuma exhibition next year; the show does not run in the same year at the K fair (which runs from Oct. 27 Nov. 3, 2010, in Düsseldorf, Germany).

Dates for the next Fakuma have been set for Oct. 18-22, 2011.

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