Hannover, Germany—Business conditions may be tough in the U.S., but elsewhere in the world things are moving along quite nicely, thank you. This was evident at the 20th Domotex Hannover here, which saw a record number of exhibitors—1,442 from more than 60 countries—occupying slightly more than one million square feet of display space, also a record.

Stephan Kühne, managing board member of show owner Deutsche Messe, declared, “Never before have so many exhibitors booked as much display space. Their exhibits expressively highlighted tomorrow’s trends, featuring new materials and creative designs, including the latest colors and patterns.”

Having the halls lined with exhibitors is one thing, having them filled with attendees is something else. Domotex ’08 did not disappoint in this area either, as he said figures “surpassed all expectations as well as last year’s numbers.” Officials reported over 47,000 visitors, up from the 45,538 who attended last year.

The international flavor of this year’s event didn’t go unnoticed as Kühne emphasized the highly international character of the show, noting more than 78% of all exhibitors and around 56% of the show’s trade visitors came from abroad.

Even Americans, despite the tough business climate the past year, made it a point of attending Europe’s largest floor covering show. In fact, organizers were particularly pleased to see a further increase in the number of American trade visitors, reaching a total this time of around 2,500—approximately 20% more than at previous events.

The strong figures also helped officials meet one of their “most important strategic goals: significantly boosting attendance by skilled trades people.”
Kühne said one in every five visitors was from this sector, “with particularly impressive growth in attendance by interior furnishers.” Trade visitor numbers from the home furnishings and furniture retailing sectors were also up around 50%.

Separating wood and laminate

One of the different aspects to this year’s Domotex was that for the first time laminate and wood flooring exhibitors were located in separate halls.

Ralph Plessmann, president of the German Parquet Industry Association, said “Presenting [wood] and laminate floors in separate halls has helped boost the profile of wood flooring versus other types of floor covering. Wood flooring is likely to continue to gain market share. This has further enhanced the value of Domotex for our industry.”

Ludger Schindler, president of the European Producers of Laminated Flooring (EPLF) and sales director at MeisterWerke Schulte, agreed with Plessmann and added this new format “enabled each segment to communicate more effectively.” Plus, “We have never had such a wide range of laminate floors on display.”

In terms of the mood of attendees, both described it as nothing short of high. “It’s been extremely upbeat, if not euphoric,” noted Plessmann.

Even those on the soft side of the industry were impressed. Johannes Schulte, president of the Association of European Carpet Manufacturers (ETG) as well as the German Home Textile Industry Association, was “very upbeat” about the show. “Major companies in the contract sector, especially those with a strong international focus, have done particularly well. A clear trend in the residential segment involves enhanced customer expectations in terms of product quality. As a result, high-end manufacturers are doing very well.”

Strong support program

While Kühne gave credit to the quality of exhibitors at Domotex, he was quick to point out the market’s anciliary events. “To no small degree, the success of this year’s show was also due to its rich and highly informative supporting program.”

One of the popular attractions was in Hall 3 where internationally renowned designer Ulf Moritz was the mastermind behind this year’s floorforum. The special showcase featured contemporary carpets and textile floor coverings in four deliberately over-the-top room decors that had show goers buzzing over the possibilities presented.

With 10,000 Euros up for grabs this year’s Carpet Design Awards (CDA), which recognized “creative and innovative design in the handmade carpet and rug segments,” proved to be a major crowd-puller. The 10 categories featured in the CDA attracted entries by 148 contestants from 15 countries.

Helping add to the excitement of the CDA event was the Visitor’s Choice honor, which attendees were asked to vote on from among the finalists. This year’s award went to the German carpet makers at Floor to Heaven for their entry “Love nature: Beach.”

Because show officials placed an emphasis on attracting more skilled trades people to Domotex Hannover, four events were held specifically for this segment, with two of them taking place for the very first time this year: the Initiative for Safer Working Practices and the European Interior Decorators’ Competition. Kühne said they were “a big success right from the outset.”

The first gave practitioners the opportunity to pick up valuable tips and tricks on how to boost safety in their day-to-day work, while the other gave visitors a chance to watch the contestants design and furnish a standard room in their own unique style, including the design and installing of floor coverings. A third event was the Skilled Trades Forum and featured presentations “by practitioners for practitioners.”

Finally, in a special test of skill, the European Team Floor-laying Competition presented the best efforts by wood and floor laying teams from six countries in the disciplines of carpet-laying, tiling and installing linoleum and laminate flooring. This year’s winner went to the Italian team.

“Domotex once again demonstrated its model role for the industry,” Kühne concluded. “The excellent overall quality this year represented yet another sizable improvement on past events in terms of the professional caliber of our visitors, the appeal of our special shows, and the outstanding presentations of exhibitor products and trends.”

Next year’s Domotex Hannover is scheduled to take place Jan. 17 to 20.

For more information, contact Hannover Fairs USA at 609. 987.1202.