Inaugural Edition of Tire Cologne Draws Positive Response from Tire Industry

The inaugural edition of Tire Cologne might have received fewer visitors than expected but the organizers of the show are describing the event as a success based on the quality of the visitors.

Tire Cologne was held from May 30 to June 2 at the Cologne Trade Fair, and drew 16,000 visitors over these four days, though the target of the organizers was 20,000 visitors. About 60 percent of the visitors to the show came from overseas and belonged to as many as 113 countries. When it came to the exhibitors also, they included 130-plus tire producers, including representatives of the 25 largest tire manufacturers globally. Two-thirds of the exhibitors were also from overseas with the strongest contingents coming from Italy, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Turkey. The organizers said they were satisfied with the turnout at the show as was the majority of the 533 exhibitors who participated in the show.

Surveys carried out during the show revealed that more than 80 percent of the visitors said they were “very satifisfied” with show’s range of exhibitors and would recommend the event to colleagues. Katharina Hama, managing director of KoelnMesse said that these positive assessments will encourage them to come up with further conceptual ideas that will strengthen the industry for future challenges.

Tire Cologne is considered as the successor of the highly successful Reifen Show which used to be held every two years in Essen. Four years ago, Bundes Reifen Verband. The German tire and retreaders association, which used to organize the Reifen show in association with Messe Essen GmbH decided to collaborate with KoelnMesse instead to hold a competing event, Tire Cologne in Cologne. The 2018 Tire Cologne Show was the inaugural edition of the new show. Messe Essen, meanwhile teamed up with Messe Frankfurt to amalgamate the Reifen show with the Automechanika Frankfurt show that is held every two years in Frankfurt.

BRV Chairman Stephan Helm noted that the inaugural Tire Cologne also incorporated other tire industry events, like a Global Retreading Conference that was organized by BIPAVER, the “Future Tire Conference,” organized by European Rubber Journal and a tire/rubber recycling conference.

The next edition of the Tire Cologne event is scheduled to be held from June 9 to 12, 2020.