We’ve
been in Stuttgart
all week now gearing up for, and then participating in, the Photon Expo.
There’s still another two days to go, but I thought I’d pen my thoughts on the
show so far. In case you’re interested! First thing’s first; it has been a key
show previously – highly accessible and we’ve received some good quality leads up
to now.
And now
for the small print… If I’m honest, day one visitor traffic was slightly
lighter than we’d hoped for. Although we had some key customers present and
plenty of interest to keep us busy, I was also surprised at the lack of Asian
visitors. So, were they too busy or put off by the spectre of volcanic
ash? I suspect it’s most likely a
combination of the two.
As a
highly important solar marketplace, Asia has
its own shows now. And, these shows represent valuable platforms. We’ve just got
back from AsiaSolar PV Forum in Shanghai (where traffic was also very light)
and we’re returning there next week for SNEC. Which brings me on to an
altogether different issue.
Now more
than ever before, solar is a global business. So, I think exhibition organisers
need to be more aware of exhibition schedules to avoid clashes or intensive
event periods. Don’t get me wrong, we’re happy to travel everywhere our
customers may want to meet us. But how many of them will continue to globe-trot
on a near monthly basis?
Ultimately,
exhibitions are about quality not quantity – which is why we’re happy with progress
at Photon so far. However, this show has raised an important issue which is
only going to become more relevant as time goes on. As the industry ponders
this, I’ll get back to the stand and look forward to basking in some of this
fantastic Stuttgart
sunshine later!
- Darren
Brown, Alternative
Energy Business Manager.
P.S. See the photo below for how our team looked at the close of day one - we wore our suits but were all in agreement that shorts and flip flops would have been a better choice!
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