After its successful debut in 2012 Domotex Middle East Istanbul will be much more comprehensive this year.
As the most leading brand of carpet and floor covering industry in the world Domotex has great values in store for this year’s show. To learn the details of surprises we conducted an exclusive interview with Alexander Kühnel, General Manager of Hannover Fairs-Turkey. Full text of the interview follows:
What awaits visitors in the second year of DOMOTEX Middle East Carpet and Floor Fair in Istanbul?
I can say that the fair offers a larger product range in its second year. In addition to carpet, any detail about flooring that you can think of will be exhibited. Hand-made and machine-made carpets, rugs and mats, textile floor coverings (wall to wall), resilient floor coverings, laminate, wood and parquet, textile machinery and accessories, fiber, yarn and textiles, artificial grass and sports floorings, laying skills, cleaning and application technologies, natural stone, marble and ceramic tiles will be exhibited. Design products will also be the focusing point of the fair this year.
How was last year, do you have any different local and foreign companies in 2013? Is the fair going to be larger in sqm?
222 exhibitor companies from 28 countries participated on 7,771 sqm in 2012. 50% of exhibitor companies were from Europe, 43% from Asia and the rest from the Middle East. 5,099 professional attendees visited the fair last year and 21% of these visitors came from Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Lebanon and Egypt. Very important companies of the subsidiary industry of construction are going to participate in the fair this year. The fair will be visited by the professionals of the industry such as floor covering materials wholesalers/retailers, importers/exporters, architects, interior designers, industrial product designers, construction companies and contractors. Important enterprises and people such as procurers, executives of public sector enterprises and institutions, hospitals, educational institutions, sports centers, manufacturing companies, hotels, shopping malls, business centers and yacht production industry will be exclusively invited to the fair.
We have heard that the construction industry shows great interest in the fair this year. How do you interpret this?
According to the consultancy company Ernst & Young’s “2013 Real Estate Investment Trends in Europe” report, Turkey is one of the popular countries for Europe in terms of real estate investment. The 5% growth expectation of the construction industry in 2013 and the government’s “Urban Transformation Project” that envisages 400 billion USD investment to apartment buildings and large residential sites in the next 20 years activated the subsidiary industry of the construction industry. In this regard, the industry has made the right decision by choosing DOMOTEX for floor covering solutions. For this reason, we can say that the products to be exhibited in DOMOTEX will offer a rich variety this year to meet the special needs of the construction industry.
What are the activities that will be done for the first time this year?
The “R+T Fair” will be organized concurrently with DOMOTEX Middle East for the first time. Construction companies, engineering companies, business enterprises, producers, contractors, distributors, agents, retailers, wholesalers, architects, interior designers, the members of the press and the media will show great interest in the R + T Turkey Fair and it will be the first and the only trade fair in Turkey for shades, automatic doors and sun shade systems. Visitors will have the chance to visit two fairs with one ticket.
Exhibitors will display carpets, parquets, ceramics and resilient floor covering options in the “Creative Flooring Exclusive Section” to be organized for the first time this year. In addition to the halls allocated exclusively to product groups last year, Hall 11 has been allocated to “artificial grass” companies. Another new activity will be “YES 2013” “The Aesthetics Forum in Buildings”. The forum will be held on 9 November 2013 at 2.30pm in the foyer and will be open to the participation of everyone.
The themes that will be discussed during the forum are as follows: “What is the current position of interior designers in the construction industry today and where should they be? What kind of arrangements should be made about this?” The construction industry’s expectations from the private sector and the state will also be discussed. In addition to these activities that will organized for the first time; the conference will be organized for the second time and the meetings with business associations will offer professionals extensive opportunities to exchange information in detail. Another activity that will draw attention will be the traditional “Carpet Design Competition Award Ceremony” organized within the scope of DOMOTEX Middle East by IHIB (Istanbul Carpet Exporters’ Association).
Could you please give us information about the ZGF (The Future of Flooring Forum)? What will be the main theme this year and who will participate?
The ZGF will be held on Friday, 8 November 2013 at 2.30 pm. The forum will host worldwide known experts and authorities of the industry and it will be joint organization of Deutsche Messe Worldwide – Hannover Fairs Turkey Fuarcılık A.Ş., GET Foreign Trade and ORSIAD Newspaper.
The theme of ZGF 2013 that will shed light on the future of the parquet industry worldwide is “The International Outlook of the Parquet Industry”. Sustainable Production and Sustainable Employment will be two of the topics to be discussed. Experts and experienced association presidents and authorities will discuss the issues of the parquet industry at length and the road map of the action plans for future years will be determined. Aiming to be the address of new developments of the parquet industry, the ZGF 2013 will host speakers and a moderator and will encourage an interactive session with the questions to be received from the audience. The moderator of the forum will be Istanbul Wood Products and Forestry Products Exporters’ Association Board Member Naci Güngör. Other speakers are Yıldız Integrated Wood Industry and Trade Co. Board Member İsmail Hakkı Yıldız, Kastamonu Integrated Co. Parquet Sales Manager Ahmet Çetinkaya, EPLF (Europe Parquet Manufacturers Association) Managing Director Peter H. Meyer, American Wood Export Council AHEC Architectural Marketing Consultant Criswell Davis and Parquet Industry European Federation (FEP) Secretary General François Sougnez.
What do you think about the fair’s contribution to the Turkish economy?
Turkey is an excellent host for DOMOTEX Middle East with its 76 million population, central geographical location and 3,7% economic growth expected in 2013 and forecasted for 2014. The strategic location of the country makes this fair an important meeting point for companies which would like to grow by gaining new customers in Turkey and the Middle East. I am very pleased to inform you that there is huge demand from carpet and floor covering industry representatives to rent a booth in the fair. DOMOTEX Middle East is a must attend activity for everyone who would like to do business in Gulf countries and the Arab peninsula. It makes DOMOTEX more attractive as Turkey is the world’s 16th largest and Europe’s 6th largest economy with a 5,5 billion USD share forecast for the carpet industry for 2023.
