APEX hailed 'best ever'

APEX closed its doors for another three years, following its three-day run in Amsterdam, the Netherlands last week.

The show was hailed a resounding success by exhibitors, many of whom said it had been the best edition yet, with large numbers of high quality visitors on their stands.

Well over 100 companies were on show, representing an APEX record, with 4650 industry professionals attending the exhibition, compared to 4400 last year.

“”We are very happy with the visitor numbers,”” said Michel Denis, president and chief executive officer of Manitou Group, reflecting on the first day, “”We have had many customers on the stand.””

APEX ran alongside the International Rental Exhibition (IRE), and together the two shows recorded 6250 attendees, including delegates at the European Rental Association’s (ERA) annual Convention, which also took place at the same time.

APEX 2017 was organised by Industrial Promotions International BV (IPI) and is officially supported by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) and by Access International.

Eline Oudenbroek, Holland Lift managing director, and Alastair Robertson, Universal Equipment owner, both said APEX 2017 was the best one yet and they had made significant sales and connections during it. Jonathan Vioni, export sales manager at Almac, which exhibited at APEX for the first time, added that it, “was a fantastic exhibition. Thanks to all the visitors and customers, old and new, for joining us.”

The overall feeling among exhibitors and visitors was that APEX had coincided with a revival across Europe, with most markets in the continent flourishing, particularly those based centrally and North, like Germany, France and the UK, but there was general agreement that Spain has also seen significant growth in the AWP sector in recent months, as has Italy.

Visitors also commented on the community spirit which comes with a dedicated show like APEX. Lee Perry, business development consultant and longstanding industry professional, said, “”It was a really positive couple of days at the APEX trade show, good to see so many familiar faces and get in some exciting conversations with many new ones.”

A vast majority of the biggest names in the access industry were  exhibiting at the show, including; JLG, Manitou, Genie, Teupen, Skyjack, Multitel Pagliero, Holland Lift, Snorkel, Altrex, Imer, Power Towers, Oil & Steel, Haulotte, CTE, Bronto, Ruthmann, Time International, Riwal, Socage, Airo Tigieffe, Palfinger, Dinolift, Hinowa and Teupen.

See the APEX Showguide in the May issue of Access International for a comprehensive summary of the products that were announced ahead of the show, and the forthcoming June/July issue for a review of the event. And look out for further stories about show visitor numbers and others statistics.