The railway sector confirmed its good health at SIFER

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The 6th SIFER closed its doors at Lille Grand Palais on 28 may last. It attracted 350 exhibitors and 4100 visitors from 39 countries, representing an increase of 17 % over the previous edition in 2007. Two factors threatened to hamper the flow of visitors: a slack economic environment, causing companies to cut back on their travel expenditures, and a day of strike in French transports on 26 May the opening day of the Exhibition.  Despite this, SIFER 2009 recorded an increase in the number of visitors and can boast to have become the undisputable must for all railway industry partners.
The participation of non-French visitors (15 %) – down from 2007 (27 %)  but still quite encouraging and representing many nationalities, confirms Lille Metropole as a world-class exhibition and business centre.

A RECORD ATTENDANCE DESPITE AN UNCERTAIN ECONOMIC CLIMATE!

More than 4000 rail professionals supported the event and came to visit SIFER, an increase of 17 % over the previous edition in 2007. This success was also confirmed by the exhibitors, since Mack Brooks France, the exhibition organisers, recorded an increase this year of 25 % in the number of  exhibitors – compared to 2007, which means 350 exhibitors over an area of 14000 m².
Many foreign visitors (15 %) travelled, sometimes very far, to Lille. Apart from the faithful presence of European visitors: from the UK, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Switzerland…, SIFER also welcomed professionals from other continents: North Africa and Middle East (Morocco, Iran, Egypt…), South America (Brazil, Venezuela), Asia (China, Japan, Korea…)…who came to gather information on the latest international developments in the railway sector.

EXHIBITORS SATISFIED WITH THEIR BUSINESS CONTACTS

Manufacturers from Nord-Pas de Calais/Picardie, regrouped under the Northern France Rail banner, came to present their technological innovations and ended up, for most of them, very satisfied with their contacts. The projects presented jointly by the I-Trans Competitiveness Cluster (VIATIC, PROCAB…) were also well received by the professionals. Manufacturers from other French regions and abroad were also satisfied with the quality of their contacts. Some examples:

COMMEND France – based at St OUEN, a leader in professional intercoms (30 employees – Turnover 9.8 million Euros in 2008) considers it met its objectives: «… We left with new contacts, all of them of high quality, and among them certainly some new customers… this was our first participation at SIFER, our objective was to make ourselves known to French railway players, and also foreigners (Moroccans, Italians, Swiss…) who  come to SIFER to find concrete solutions. SIFER is a high profile exhibition for rail industry professionals who watch it closely… we certainly intend to participate in 2011… » Christian BARBIER – In charge of Major Accounts.

BROT Co based at Argenteuil, a specialist in wind shield wipers exclusively dedicated to rail stock (28 employees – Planned turnover 4 million Euros in 2009) “ … Obviously, the size of SIFER is a plus for exhibitors; its human dimension is conducive to a friendly working atmosphere with our customers and clearly helps establish new contacts… Foreign visitors come to SIFER to find the answers to their technological needs; they are also interested in our methods of work, the quality of our products… Foreign visitors appreciated the exacting level of their French partners…” - Gérard NISSLE – Marketing and Export Manager.

DESCHAMPS Père et Fils (St Raphaël 83) – A specialist in the transformation of composite materials. Created in 1953. 40 employees. Turnover 3.3 million Euros in 2008.
« … For our second participation at SIFER, we presented our latest innovations such as folding or extensible barriers for level crossings and also with integrated LED… During those three days we were able to make high quality contacts with professionals mostly from France but also from Morocco, Algeria and even Ukraine… SIFER 2009 attracted many visitors working for larger groups, more than in 2007… no doubt, 2011 will be the year for our third participation… » Virginie ODET – Sales Manager.

ON THE RAILS FOR SIFER 2011!

The 7th SIFER exhibition is already under way. Many exhibitors have already reserved their stand. Mack Brooks France invites professionals to come to LILLE 5-7 April 2011!

FREINRAIL (Reims 51) – A subsidiary of the German Group Knorr-Bremse (Turnover 3.4 billion Euros in 2008 – 15 000 employees), the world leader in brake systems for rolling stock and commercial vehicles. Other activities cover automatic door systems, air conditioning and torsion vibration dampers for internal combustion engines. FREINRAIL is responsible in France and in French speaking Africa for all the products of the group. Manpower 125 persons. Turnover 2008: 73.4 million Euros. “During those three days, we had some very interesting contacts with high quality visitors mostly from France but also from the whole world. We had exchanges with people from Brazil, Germans, Italians and many others… This year has demonstrated the interest of professionals in the rail sector for SIFER… We think that SIFER will soon be able to compete with the major European - or even World - Exhibitions in the railway industry… We were participating for the first time in 2009, we shall most probably come again in 2011 for the next SIFER…” - Daniel MARCHIANO – FREINRAIL Sales Manager.

Additional Information: www.sifer-2009.com
SIFER 2009 visuals available on request