Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) is again presenting itself with its own stands on-site at trade fairs around the world. But not everything is the same. The uncertainties have not entirely fallen by the wayside: Precautionary measures and rules for access and behavior vary from country to country. Participation requires great flexibility.
In the case of the Aachen Colloquium, I only learned a few days before it started that the event was going to be a hybrid, not an in-person event as planned and communicated. That means virtual elements were added. Lectures were streamed live without delay. And exhibitors like us were quickly given the chance to present ourselves on a digital platform as well.”
Communication Manager Sylca Kleiner has been greeted by similar surprises from time to time. There is still great uncertainty when it comes to trade fairs. The situations require flexibility on the part of the exhibitors. At the automotive congress in Aachen, Kleiner practically had to conjure up a virtual trade fair stand off-the-cuff and “out of her hat.” One key was to ensure that it had a virtual chat function – notwithstanding the fact that the company would have staff on-site in Aachen for consultations.
Good response
The North American Battery Show in Novi near Detroit in mid-September was the first trade fair where FST had its own stand again after about a year and a half without in-person participation. “We even had two stands,” Kleiner said. Automotive specialists from Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies presented sealing solutions for electric mobility. Adjacent to them, and separated only by a supply island (storage, kitchen), Freudenberg Battery Power Systems presented the company’s solutions for heavy-duty applications. “Once again, the response was good, both from the exhibitors and the visitors. This was a nice surprise. Much of the Battery Show was run almost exactly as it was before the trade fair break in response to the pandemic,” Kleiner said. In Germany, the precautionary measures and the rules governing access and behavior were more clearly visible. Access was only permitted for vaccinated, recovered and tested individuals – and other safety measures were standard in the country in October, both at the Aachen congress and at the international VDI Congress Dritev, where FST also participated and exhibited in Bonn one week later. In each case, as in the United States, the focus was on sealing solutions relating to electric mobility. At the European Zero Emission Bus Conference in Paris in mid-November, everything relating to Freudenberg’s fuel cell activities was on the stand representing Freudenberg Fuel Cell e-Power Systems.
Quickly active again on-site
“We decided to quickly become active again at trade fairs and get involved with the framework applicable to each region,” Kleiner said. FST won’t be missing the European offshoot of the Battery Show in November in Stuttgart. The upheaval in new powertrain technologies is shaking the auto industry’s foundations. Waiting passively to communicate with customers on these topics is not an option.
Industrial Services (ISD) has also relaunched its on-site trade fair activities. In late October, Power Transmission and Control in Shanghai was on the agenda; in December, it was the P-MEC China, also in Shanghai. The event is an international trade fair for pharmaceutical and medical devices. “In China, trade fairs have been running again for a while. But all the teams for our stands come exclusively from China. Strict quarantine rules and restrictions on entry into the country are still in place,” said Daniela Schulze, Marketing Manager, RBU Europe, Asia and Mexico. Lena Winkenbach, Marketing Manager, Global Process Industry, described the ISD’s state-of-the-art solution. “We can bring in our technical colleagues in Germany virtually so our customers in China can address technical questions to them and see how well FST’s global network works.”
Schulze, Winkenbach and Kleiner agree that the coronavirus pandemic has opened the door to these kinds of hybrid solutions, that is, mixtures of in-person and virtual elements, at trade fairs as long-term options – and for the company’s own events such as TechDays. Visitors can choose whether they would like to attend an event in person or remotely from their office or from home. The company’s “virtual showroom” is also available for internal or external virtual events that the company organizes on its own. FST developed the online platform for events such as trade fairs and conferences.
