Second-hand machinery fair in Germany in April

Staff Report

KARACHI: Resale, the world's largest trade fair for used machinery and equipment, will be held from April 26 to 28 in Karlsruhe, Germany, announced Mediators Marketing, Resale representatives in Pakistan.

Over 500 exhibitors and nearly 10,000 visitors from more than 100 countries are expected to attend the fair. In 2005 around 10,085 visitors from 118 countries visited the fair. The exhibiting companies represent stocks of over 160,000 machines and pieces of equipment for virtually every sector of industry. This year is the twelfth edition of the trade fair, which first opened its doors in 1995 and it takes place against the background of a dynamically developing international market in used machinery. According to the Council for Sustainable Development founded by the German government, the total annual global sales of second-hand machinery are worth about 100 billion euros.

Chairman of the Federation of the German Export Trade (BDEx) Wolfhart Putzier said that the range of products on offer reflects every aspect of efficient German industrial technology: "It stretches from metal working and plastics processing machines to textile machines and packaging machinery, machine tools, construction machinery and printing systems," he says naming just a few of the products in greatest demand among foreign customers.

The majority of demand for the used machinery continues to stem from Asian and Eastern European countries. "But recently interest has grown sharply in Latin America, the Near and Middle East and Africa," he observes. The much sought-after metal working machines represent the largest sector on offer at Resale. Other well-represented areas include plastic processing machines, woodworking machines, packaging and construction machinery, motive power engineering and mechanical handling, measurement and testing systems as well as robotics.

Western European companies are the leaders in the exhibitor statistics. The leader among the top 10 exhibiting countries at Resale is the host country, Germany. Italy is represented by more than 35 companies, closely followed by Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom. The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Spain and Austria are also strongly represented. So far exhibitors from a total of 24 countries have registered.