Integrated Systems Europe 2012 day one report
Published: MEA
WORLD: Integrated Systems Europe 2012 opened its doors to a cold Amsterdam morning on January 31st at the Rai exhibition centre, and the show’s strength was clear to see on its first day. The organiser – confident of setting record numbers for attendance – was already celebrating record exhibitor numbers and floor space occupied as the exhibition began.
The buoyant and busy mood on the floor was certainly in stark contrast to much of the current economic news. But as Mike Blackman, managing director of Integrated Systems Events said in his opening address: ‘this industry is defying the economic climate. ISE is a reflection of the longevity and buoyancy of this market.’
He was also keen to highlight the place the show has developed in manufacturers’ product life cycles, describing it as ‘the event at the beginning of the R&D calendar’. This assertion was easy to accept with over 1,000 new products, from the likes of Tannoy, DIS and Revolabs making their world debut across the halls of the exhibition.
‘We feel a show like this really hits our target market for A/V products,’ noted Tannoy’s Mark Flanagan. ‘It’s a great opportunity for us to meet our customers, we see a lot from emerging markets, particularly the Pacific rim or the Middle East.’
‘It’s an important show for us in Europe and the Middle East,’ agreed Danish Interpretation Systems’ Jan Villumsen. ‘People from the Middle East are coming to ISE to see all the new products. The show is getting bigger and bigger.’
Evidence of the international nature of the show could be seen across the Rai, with teams from Middle East manufacturer offices manning many of the record 826 exhibitor stands, and visitors from systems integrators negotiating the crowded isles. ‘I think it’s the European InfoComm,’ said AVI-SPL’s Phil Marlowe. ‘As far as the Middle Eastern market, this is the show to come to. In the US there are great shows and it’s good to see new product launches, but all the people you need to speak to as far as sales and technical support for the Middle Eastern and Asian markets are going to be at ISE.’
Integrated Systems Europe 2012 continues at Amsterdam’s Rai until February 2nd.