Will solar expos dig their own grave? Darren Brown’s final thought.

So my title might be a little dramatic and I’m certainly not one for scare-mongering. But, as I prepare to say goodbye to our stand at Photon Expo in Stuttgart, I thought I’d follow-up the thoughts I published on tuesday with a final one.

All in all, visitors in Stuttgart were extremely light on the ground. Our team did pick up some good quality leads and we certainly registered a fair bit of interest in our PV metallization solutions.

Following on from what I said a few days ago, I’m now absolutely convinced that there are too many shows on the global PV calendar. Or at least, that there are two many shows too close together to be individually viable. From my perspective as an exhibitor, the result is that we’re seeing lower visitor numbers.

Ultimately, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy and the risk is that if fewer visitors go to shows, exhibitor numbers will fall. If exhibitor numbers fall, even less visitors will attend. Today’s visitor numbers made me think that I would almost have better spent my time soaking up some of the Stuttgart sun outside, than promoting solar commercialisation, inside!

So what’s the solution? Well, the bottom line is that solar is a global business. Exhibition organisers need to take a holistic view of their market. Whether they’re running events in Asia, Europe, the US or beyond, organisers must consider the needs of an international marketplace, international customers and devise their schedule with this in mind.

But these are just my thoughts. I’d like to hear yours! Please let me know what you think…

- Darren Brown, Alternative Energy Business Manager.