E/D/E welcomed well over 300 participants to the Technical Trade and Industrial Safety Sales Forum in Dortmund in November. For the first time, the Wuppertal-based association group organized a joint forum for the two sectors in order to offer visitors the widest possible range of information and innovations.
The venue for the successful premiere was the Dortmund Exhibition Center, not far from the Signal Iduna Park. Market-relevant exhibitors from occupational safety and the various product areas of technical trade presented their products and innovations to an interested audience consisting mainly of buyers and sales staff from E/D/E member companies. One of the 60 exhibitors was BIG Arbeitsschutz GmbH. Sales Manager Marcus Dinse was satisfied: “The frequency was very good, we had talks at our stand throughout.” Konstantinos Panagiotou, Friedrich Picard GmbH & Co. KG, adds: “The E/D/E format makes it possible to meet many distributors in a concentrated manner and to maintain an intensive exchange. We were able to hold many discussions in one day and expand our network.”
Specialist presentations with many visitors
The stands of the E/D/E trademarks FORTIS Arbeitsschutz andE-COLL were also well attended. Specialist presentations were integrated into the event as a new element and were very well received with an audience of well over 150. The spectrum of topics ranged from new application techniques and standardization specifications to materials science. A presentation by Frank Düringer, Head of the Supply Networks/Industry Services division, on the services of this future-oriented E/D/E division rounded off the program.
Focus on sales topics
While the focus was specifically on sales topics, the participants also took the opportunity of the sales forum to talk about fundamental developments in the industry. The event held the evening before at the Dortmund Football Museum, which was attended by around 200 guests, was a perfect opportunity to do just that. “The atmosphere and ambience were excellent and provided the ideal setting for intensive networking,” reported Andreas Schäfer and Sebastian Mensing, Team Leader Technical Trade and Occupational Health and Safety at E/D/E.
Great opportunity for networking
There was also praise from the retailers. Christian Coenen, Managing Partner of Coenen Neuss GmbH & Co KG: “The format is good and underlines the importance of personal exchange. For me, it was a great opportunity for communication and networking. My employees were particularly impressed by the multi-layered sales-oriented presentations.”
Further developing the format
Marco Spannagel, Head of Supplier, Product Group and Sales Concept Management Occupational Health and Safety and Technical Trade, drew a positive conclusion: “The Sales Forum was one of the largest industry events in technical trade and occupational health and safety this year. Many relevant suppliers were on site and used the forum as a welcome opportunity to discuss sales activities with dealers in a targeted manner. All sides will benefit from it, so we see this as confirmation that we will continue to develop this event format into a central platform for both sectors.”
