This year’s edition of Metal Expo in Kielce (Poland) was held with the cooperation and support of Foundry-Planet, which was honored to be a global media partner of the event. This year, Metal Expo was a prelude to the upcoming 2018 event in Poland—The World Foundry Congress of Metal Expo. Poland is underlined as the important market for foreign companies and investors by expo attendants. Although the Polish expo is not a large exhibition, it proved the importance of its position as a quality dimension of exhibitors and visitors who take part in it.
Targi Kielce’s Industrial Autumn proven to be a record-breaking event. The trade shows brought together 451 companies from 30 countries. The Expo has reported a 35% increase in the number business-insiders to pay a visit to Targi Kielce. The International Fair of Technologies for Foundry METAL and ALUMINIUM & NONFERMET, RECYCLING and CONTROL-TECH exhibition used over 9,000 square meters of exhibition space.
2016’s METAL and its accompanying exhibitions form the expo cluster—Central and Eastern Europe’s most important event for foundry businesses and the largest exhibition over the recent years. Pressure diecasting and components supply for the foundries generated the greatest interest.
The expo, in addition to Polish companies, was also the showcase for international firms and organizations from interalia: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Spain, the Netherlands, India, Canada, Korea, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Germany, Norway, Hungary, Slovenia, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, U.S., United Kingdom, and Italy. Foreign companies accounted for almost 40% of exhibitors at Kielce foundry expo; entrepreneurs from Germany and Italy enjoyed the greatest representation.
The exhibitors group gathered representatives of eight foundries as well as pressure diecasting companies, raw materials and components suppliers for the foundries, both from home and abroad.
Extremely important for the expo organization is the professional support of its partners, including: Technical Association of Polish Foundrymen, which celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, and the Foundry Research Institute in Krakow which celebrates its 70th jubilee. Andrzej Mochoń PhD, Targi Kielce President expressed his gratitude. Owing to this help, Kielce Foundry Expo has advanced to become one of the most significant exhibitions in this part of Europe. Further support was received from Foundry Chamber of Commerce in Krakow, Silesian University of Technology and the AGH University of Science and Technology, business-insiders publications and portals from home and abroad.
This year’s METAL is a milestone to another important event in foundry industry. In two years’ time, the World Foundry Congress will be staged in Krakow, bringing together world-class specialists. Kielce’s 2018’s METAL expo will also play an integral part of the Congress.