The PMM team recently flew to Bologna for the 60th birthday of the Italian aftermarket trade show, Autopromotec.
Back in May, the PMM team were fortunate enough to be flown over to Italy to attend Autopromotec. It was the 30th iteration of the biennial event, meaning six decades have passed since the inaugural show, when it appeared as SARP (or the Exhibition of Tyre Retreading Equipment), a show primarily dedicated to tyres.
The show is supported by madeinitaly.gov.it as well as the Ministero degli Affari, that’s the equivalent of our Department for Trade. It’s worth nothing that this association between Governments and trade shows is a common feature of trade shows on the continent. One might wonder what the UK’s own homegrown trade show, our very own Mechanex, might look like if the UK Government felt as proud of its aftermarket sector as the German and Italian governments do.
Coming a week after another deflating home display from Ferrari in Imola, a stone’s throw from Bologna, you might expect a weary look on the faces of the Italian delegates. But in an area of the country where red wine and cured meats are so abundant, it’s hard to stay sullen for too long. What’s more, the record numbers the show received meant there were big smiles all around. So let’s take a quick look at some of the numbers. 97,348 people visited the show, with an average of 24,337 each day over the four days. This gives it the highest average daily attendance of any automotive trade show in Europe.
So it’s a big show for Italian workshops, right? Well, yes that is correct but what might surprise you is that it’s also a big show for international visitors. In fact, 17 per cent of visitors were from abroad – 131 different nationalities attended the show, in fact. We came across many foreign visitors, including several who had flown over from America to source garage equipment. Italy, and therefore Autopromotec, is renowned for its cutting edge garage equipment.
At the welcome press conference Sylvia Gotzen from FIGIEFA spoke to international journalists about “our common right to repair”. From Ireland to Bulgaria, Portugal to Finland, FIGIEFA has operations stretching across most of Europe – even our own recalcitrant corner.
The EU is now finding itself in a new geopolitical context, giving the European aftermarket a renewed focus on competitiveness. “The hidden champion of the automotive industry” needs, argues Gotzen, to fight harder than ever to be heard and to be recognised as the “significant contributor” that it is within the wider European economy. How to achieve that? Well, Gotzen suggests, we can start by going through a rebrand. The “aftermarket” no longer: Meet the Vehicle Lifecycle Industry. Rolls off the tongue, right? Well, if Independent Aftermarket didn’t exactly clarify things for the outside world, at least this new moniker mentions vehicles.
ANFIA, the Italian version of the IAAF, also discussed the importance of tackling counterfeiting activities and stopping the import of fake products from other countries. Gianmarco Giorda, managing director of ANFIA, spoke about the challenges facing the industry, including new technologies, right to repair, competition from abroad. Among the tools we can use to face those challenges are exhibitions, like Autopromotec.
There is immense value in having the top companies and expertise from across the industry in one room (or, in this case, many rooms). It’s up to you to take notice and engage with those companies around you that have something that could improve your business.
