FSB 2011 in splendid form

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1 Press Release No. 26 / jusch / Cologne, 29th October 2011 Final Report FSB 2011 in splendid form 630 suppliers from 45 countries - Trade fair duo aquanale and FSB attracts around 24,000 visitors - High levels of international participation and visitor quality - IAKS Congress presents top-notch interdisciplinary exchange - Focus on synthetic turf, outdoor fitness, sustainable solutions and safety in swimming pools and children s playgrounds FSB, the International Trade Fair for Amenity Areas, Sports and Pool Facilities, came to a close on Friday, 28th October 2011 with an all-round positive balance and an extremely good atmosphere. Featuring 630 suppliers from 45 countries, FSB registered a ten per cent growth in exhibitor numbers, which has set a new exhibitor record. Held in conjunction with aquanale, the International Trade Fair for Sauna, Pool, Ambience, FSB attracted approximately 24,000 trade visitors from 112 countries, with visitor figures remaining at a constant high level. A total of 66 per cent of the suppliers and 57 per cent of the visitors came to Cologne from outside Germany. The very good result and the high levels of international participation and visitor quality have impressively confirmed the international renown of FSB as the leading global trade fair for amenity areas, sports and pool facilities, said Katharina C. Hamma, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse. This is due in large part to the long-term commitment of the IOC and IPC in the context of FSB. The 22nd IAKS Congress, which focused on global trends in the construction of sports and leisure facilities and presented pioneering projects, was also very well attended. Dr. Stephan Holthoff-Pförtner, President of the International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS), came to this conclusion: The perfect symbiosis between FSB and the IAKS Congress makes Cologne the centre of the international sports and leisure sector every two years. The IAKS Congress and the accompanying specialist conferences offered excellent opportunities for networking and FSB October 26 to 28, 2011 International Trade Fair for Amenity Areas, Sports and Pool Facilities Contact: Julia Schmidt Telephone Telefax E- Mail j.schmidt@ koelnmesse.de Koelnmesse GmbH Messeplatz Cologne P.O. Box Cologne Germany Tel Fax info@koelnmesse.de Executive Board: Gerald Böse (Chief Executive Officer) Katharina C. Hamma Herbert Marner Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Mayor of the City of Cologne Jürgen Roters Place of business and (legal) domicile: Cologne - Amtsgericht Köln, HRB 952

2 sharing information from all over the world. In the process, it once again became clear that we need concepts which not only enable sustainable operation but also take into account the growing demand for attractive facilities for physical activity. 2/8 A good mood thanks to high levels of international participation and quality FSB brought together in Cologne all of the market-leading companies from Germany and abroad. They presented a broad spectrum of innovations, products and services for amenity areas, sports and pool facilities on a total of 62,000 m² of gross exhibition space. The exhibitors specifically praised the event s strong international appeal. There was significant growth in the number of visitors from the Middle East, Central and South America, Eastern Europe and Asia in particular. The exhibitors also made very positive evaluations of the visitor quality. This finding is confirmed by the initial results of the independent visitor survey, which concluded that 85 per cent of the visitors were involved in purchasing decisions. Highly satisfied trade visitors The visitors also had high praise for the event. This is confirmed by the initial results of the visitor survey. Altogether 83 per cent of the visitors indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with FSB. Furthermore, 86 per cent stated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their attainment of their trade fair objectives. The fair s extensive portfolio of products ensured that 84 per cent of the visitors rated the product range as either good or very good. This visitor survey showed that 92 per cent of the visitors to FSB would recommend the trade fair to others. IAKS Congress offered interdisciplinary exchange at the highest level The IAKS Congress also continued its series of successful results. Around 600 guests from all over the world found out about the latest trends during the world s leading congress on sports and leisure facilities. In line with the FSB s partner country, the Congress also featured events such as the Forum Brazil 2014 / Further topics on the agenda included barrier-free sports facilities, the sustainable use and lifecycle design of sports facilities, flexible stadium construction and synthetic turf. Delegations from around the world - including those from Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, China and Russia - made intensive use of

3 this opportunity for interdisciplinary and intercultural knowledge-sharing at the highest level. Dr. Stephan Holthoff-Pförtner summed it up: All of us are looking for new ideas on how to creatively integrate opportunities for physical activity and relaxation in the urban environment. Urban planning and infrastructural developments must focus more strongly on health aspects. The IAKS Congress has once again underlined the social responsibility of the government and the municipalities to provide attractive and activity-friendly urban environments for all of their residents. The highlight of the IAKS Congress is traditionally the presentation of the IOC/IAKS Award and the IPC/IAKS Distinctions for barrier-free sports facilities. Sir Philip Craven, President of the IPC, and IOC member Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu presented the awards to the winners. South Africa came out on top of the competition, with one gold, one silver and one bronze medal as well as a special award. The Richmond Olympic Oval in Vancouver was honoured as the most successful sports facility, receiving not only the gold medal but also the IPC/IAKS Award for barrier-free sports facilities. The IOC, IPC and IAKS also presented the Architecture and Design Award for Students and Young Professionals for the first time. 3/8 Synthetic turf, flexible sports facilities, energy-efficient swimming pools, the latest water attractions, playground safety and outdoor fitness Topics such as sustainability, freedom from barriers and flexible usage concepts for sports infrastructure were among the dominant topics within the exhibition halls. One of the important main themes was the topic of synthetic turf. Around 130 companies ensured that the world s largest exhibition of synthetic turf was once more to be found at FSB. They presented the many possible uses of the synthetic turf as well as its optimised playing characteristics and increased environmental friendliness. In the segment of sports facilities, the exhibitors once again presented particularly long-lived and easily maintained floor coverings for indoors and outdoors, temporary grandstands, modular stadiums and multifunctional courts, as well as modern systems for displays, projection and timekeeping, barrier-free ticket terminals and box office systems, and a wide variety of sports equipment. In the swimming pool segment, the focus was on energy-efficient solutions and safety issues. In addition, a wealth of water attractions such as slides and water cannons were presented. The public swimming pool segment at FSB was complemented by the products and services offered at aquanale. Visitors to the trade fair duo

4 took advantage of the opportunity to view the entire portfolio of the approximately 350 companies from the swimming pool and sauna segment at both events. The amenity areas segment focused on trendy new sports such as parkour, climbing and skateboarding, multi-generation outdoor fitness equipment, barrier-free urban furniture and the topic of playground safety. 4/8 Well-attended specialist events and lots of sports in the halls Numerous specialist events for various target groups rounded out the offerings at FSB. These too were very well-attended. For example, approximately 300 participants discussed current sector issues at the fourth Cologne Swimming Pool and Wellness Forum, which forms the link between FSB and aquanale in terms of content. In another example, about 100 mayors and municipal representatives responded to Cologne Mayor Jürgen Roters invitation to a reception titled Strong Sports - Strong Municipalities. There was also strong interest in events such as the presentation of the SPIELRAUM Award 2011 (German Playground Award), the special show Bathhouses - real-life utopias, the BSFH programme of presentations on safety in children s playgrounds, and the FIFA workshop on synthetic turf. The trade fair activities were also accompanied, as always, by lots of sports including soccer, basketball, paddle tennis, boxing, ice hockey, ice skating and aquafitness. FSB 2011 in figures: FSB 2011 was attended by 630 (2009: 572) companies from 45 (41) countries on a gross exhibition space of 62,000 m². This year there were 184 (190) exhibitors and 28 (38) additionally represented companies from Germany as well as 415 (326) exhibitors and three (18) additionally represented companies from abroad. A total of 66 (60) per cent of the exhibitors came from abroad. The trade fair duo FSB and aquanale was attended by a total of approximately 24,000 (24,568) trade fair visitors from 112 (112) countries. The total proportion of exhibitors from abroad was 57 (53) per cent.* * All figures have been calculated in accordance with the guidelines of the Society for Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics (FKM) and are subject to audit by a certified auditor ( FSB 2013 The next FSB International Trade Fair for Amenity Areas, Sports and Pool Facilities will take place from Wednesday, 23rd October to Friday, 25th October It will be held in close proximity to, and at overlapping times with, the thematically

5 related trade fair aquanale International Trade Fair for Sauna, Pool, Ambience (23rd to 26th October 2013). 5/8 Digital press service: The final report on the trade fair, as well as other press releases, the exhibitors press compartments, an overview of the innovations presented and an image database with photographic material and the trade fair logo are available in the Press section at If you reprint this document, please send a voucher copy.

6 Feedback from exhibitors: 6/8 Peter Breuer, Director Export / International Affairs, BSW GmbH: FSB 2011 was a top-notch trade fair for us! We were especially pleased to see so many new faces at our stand. We ve exceeded our trade fair targets. Philipp Erhard, Advertising / New Media, Erhard Sport International: We re happy about the very good contacts we made with customers from abroad, and also because we reached our important target groups in Germany, such as representatives from municipalities, here in Cologne. As a result, FSB is definitely the most important trade fair for Erhard Sport. Helga Webers, Marketing Manager, Desso Sports Systems NV: In our opinion, the economic crisis has not affected the trade fairs, because the number of visitors was about as high as it was two years ago. We made lots of contacts with visitors from Germany and abroad. All of the continents were represented. FSB is a good opportunity to show our innovations to our customers and to put them in contact not only with our sales team but also with our technical and service teams. We consider that extremely important. Karen Strahl, Study Centre Manager, FIBA International Basketball Federation: FSB was very successful for us and our partners. Our FIBA Study Centre partners were very satisfied, because they were able to deepen their contacts with existing customers and also make new contacts. Many of them have already decided to take part in FIBA Village again in 2013, and many of them want to increase the size of their stands. Friedemann Söll, Product Manager, Polytan Sportstättenbau GmbH: The visitor quality was very good. We are very satisfied with the trade fair overall, including its attractiveness to visitors from abroad. Dr. Alois Dachs, Hinke Schwimmbad Österreich GmbH: We had many high-quality contacts, and the visitors from abroad also showed lots of interest. We had the impression that there were more visitors from Eastern Europe in particular this year.

7 Dr. Michael Quell, President of the European Waterpark Association (EWA): FSB has once again demonstrated its significance as a major meeting place for our sector. The very good visitor turnout clearly shows how important this trade fair is for networking and making important contacts. Through the special show Bathhouses real-life utopias we once again succeeded in presenting the trade fair participants with some real sources of inspiration for the pool sector. The many visitors to this special area and the presentation ceremony for the EWA Awards were the best demonstration of that. 7/8 Ulrich Scheffler, Managing Director, Lappset GmbH: The Lappset Group is an international company with branches in more than 40 countries. For us, FSB was an outstanding platform for presenting our new trend sport products to the world market. We were delighted by the very positive feedback we got from our German customers in particular. Our salespeople had the opportunity to further intensify their good customer contacts and to attract numerous new and promising potential customers. Once again it became evident that we are a trendsetting company that is well known on the market. Karl Köhler, Managing Partner, Berliner Seilfabrik GmbH & Co.: We re very satisfied, because we were able to conduct important talks around the clock on every day of the fair. We took advantage of FSB to meet a large number of our international partners - for example, from the USA, Australia and Singapore. We also made contact with visitors from Eastern Europe and Israel. Last but not least, the trade fair was also important for our networking activities and for training our sales representatives. Rolf von der Horst, Managing Director, STADT und RAUM Messe und Medien GmbH: Together with our partners, we are very satisfied with this year s FSB. The presentation area, with its lively design and central marketplace, promoted communication and led to many good talks between the exhibitors and the trade visitors. We were able to present products from the segments of park furniture, plants, lighting, flooring design and play equipment together with our partners on a compact area. New trade fair features such as the Mobile Garden demonstrated the innovation potential of manufacturers. We were also very

8 happy about the excellent response to our presentations at the specialist events and with the German SPIELRAUM (playground) Award ceremony, which was very well attended. Through the exhibition and the specialist events, we were able to successfully convey, among other ideas, the theme of demographic change and our Design for all concept. 8/8 Ulrich Scheffler, Deputy Chairman of the Federal Association of Playground Facility and Leisure Facility Producers (BSFH): The BSFH is delighted to be represented at FSB in cooperation with The presentations at the trade fair forum were diverse, interesting and very well attended. The focus was on the new norm for playground testers. The drawing for high-quality playground equipment was also very popular, and the participants handed in a large number of correct answers. We were struck by the large number of visitors from abroad and the fact that many representatives of municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia came to the trade fair. The BSFH thanks Koelnmesse for the outstanding organization of this event and for its excellent cooperation with us. We re already looking forward eagerly to FSB 2013.