Too many cooks or false spectres? Reflecting on Photon Expo Day One…

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!