A record 28,900 visitors – 18,630 unique visitors – spanning 130 nationalities visited METSTRADE 2023.
The show saw 1,540 exhibitors – 240 of them new to the show – from 53 countries across 11 halls.
The latest nation to launch a pavilion was Croatia, taking the total to 29 country pavilions representing 19 nationalities.
The number of sector specific pavilions also rose this year, with the Foiling Technology Pavilion and Start-Up Pavilion becoming newcomers alongside the Superyacht Pavilion, Construction Materials Pavilion and Marina & Yard Pavilion.
“I had multiple comments suggesting that exhibitors had already booked enough work by the second day to cover 2024-25 and would now need to recruit new staff,” said Luca Rizzotti, founder of The Foiling Organization and We Are Foiling events. “The AC40 simulator attracted people to our area and the conference programme was always full – we expect the pavilion to grow and grow.”
It was a similar story for the 15 companies in the Start-Up Pavilion, organised by Gabbi Richardson, founder of Yachting Ventures: “We’ve had an incredible show with loads of traffic,” she said. “People stopped to speak with one start-up, then ended up speaking to another and staying for an hour. All participants have been thrilled to be a part of such a positive initiative to encourage and promote new technologies and start-ups.”
Features
The METSTRADE Theatre built on the success of its new hall 13 location from last year with a programme covering key issues of the day, including ICOMIA’s propulsion decarbonisation study.
Alongside, the Next Generation Propulsion Zone focused attention on climate-friendly solutions while the DAME Awards display showcased the 53 marine equipment products that had received nominations.
Other features included an expanded Young Professionals Club with its METSTRADE Career Zone and the second consecutive Women in the Marine Industry event.
“It is an absolute privilege to have the heritage and strong bow wave of positive sentiment from 34 editions behind us, but we take nothing for granted,” said METSTRADE director, Niels Klarenbeek. “The marine industry is moving at an incredible pace to address the many opportunities and challenges set before it.”
He added: “Our team is committed to ensure that METSTRADE facilitates the connections and business required for a successful year ahead.
“Without the underpinning creativity and enterprise of the supply chain, we have no marine industry. Our 2023 numbers are impressive, but they don’t tell the whole story.
“We are particularly grateful to have received so much positive feedback about the quality of the interactions between our audience and exhibitors over an extremely busy three days.”
