Deutsche Messe sets up regional HQ in Singapore
Janice Heng
Singapore
INDUSTRY 4.0 trade show Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific will be held for another five years in Singapore, with German organiser Deutsche Messe also setting up its regional headquarters here.
On Friday, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), German event organiser Deutsche Messe, and local partner SingEx to hold the trade show here from 2021 to 2025.
This renews the commitment under an MOU signed in 2017, to hold it from 2018 to 2020. Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific is the Asian edition of the world's largest manufacturing trade show, Hannover Messe.
As the trade show grows in prominence as Asia-Pacific's flagship manufacturing fair, "we are confident that it will become a powerful platform in accelerating the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies across the region", said Singapore Economic Development Board assistant managing director Lim Kok Kiang.
In a separate MOU with the STB, Deutsche Messe will open its South-east Asian headquarters, Hannover Fairs Asia-Pacific, in Singapore. Under the partnership, the STB and Deutsche Messe will work together to develop and anchor new events here.
"We aim to have a solid long-term foothold in the booming South-east Asia region and market our existing portfolio here directly. Singapore's geographical location and strong MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) ecosystem make it an ideal destination from which to expand our presence in the region," said Katariina Rohrbach, director of the new regional office.
STB chief executive Keith Tan said: "Our partnerships with Deutsche Messe and SingEx reflect confidence in Singapore's economy and the prospects of our MICE industry."
STB director of exhibitions and conferences Andrew Phua said that with advanced manufacturing being a potential driver for Singapore's future growth, "it is imperative that we continue to anchor an event to catalyse the adoption of advanced manufacturing in Singapore and the region by bringing in leading industry players as well regional buyers and sellers".
Noting the success of the first two editions, with exhibitor numbers rising 32 per cent to 350 and attendee numbers up 53 per cent to 23,000 in 2019, Ms Rohrbach said the goal was for "a long lasting, very successful Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific".
This year's edition, from Oct 20 to 22, will be focused on small and medium-sized enterprises, and workers, said SingEx Exhibitions executive director for events James Boey.
