Another sold-out edition: the Pordenone Fair halls are full, 32 thousand square meters, 570 exhibitors. Everything is ready for the exhibition from 10 to 13 October.
“Well, I admit it: we are happy to be back in Pordenone for the ninth time. For personal reasons, sure, because we feel at home and, after all, this is the setting of our professional success. But let me tell you there is a deeper meaning to that: Pordenone is now a major location on the map of wood industry exhibitions; many have tried to offer different or alternative solutions elsewhere, but failed”.
Carlo Giobbi, Sicam’s patron, wastes no time as usual and goes straight to the point. There are just few weeks until October 10, when the expo center of the Friuli town will host the exhibition of components, semifinished materials and supplies for the furniture industry; an event that, in the end, has taught a lesson to nobler world-class trade fairs. But Giobbi will not let you congratulate too much and continues: “We have always stuck to our road, our plans, loyal to Pordenone. And listen, that road, those plans and this town respond to the requests of our exhibitors, because we never ever made a decision that was not approved by a vast majority of our partners”.
Mr Giobbi, nine years of Sicam and eight, if we are not wrong, with previous initiatives, you are an industry expert, do you agree?
“I have never considered myself an expert”, he says with a smile. “This is not more important than other qualities in my job, in our job. I am happy to work with my children Carolina and Michele, who will be the future of Sicam: day after day, I see their dedication, their capacity to combine my heritage with new tools, a new vision. We are a small but excellent organization, and we work all together each day, because we believe we still need to meet, new technology is not enough to make business, in any sector.
I think I know this industry pretty well, and most of all I know people, I have always tried to understand their priorities, how they want to carry on their business, what they consider essential to put an exhibition in their agenda, to invest, to believe in it… and despite we have 570 exhibitors, this is the figure for the next edition, in Pordenone we feel we are among friend, we know everyone and we are always available for them, answering their questions in real time”.
It’s an “ongoing” exhibition, unlike others, with no significant ups and downs in the numbers of exhibitors and visitors, despite hard years that have forced others to reconsider their plans, their beliefs…
“Let me tell you we are not much interested in fights around figures and percentages. Each exhibition has a number of exhibitors and visitors that depends on several factors, some unpredictable, some manageable: Sicam is in the right location, at the right time, attracts the best production from all segments, with very few exceptions. Since the very first edition.
We have always been consistent, maintaining a model that is effective, fast, convenient, never dispersive. Sicam is Sicam, there is no equal. We have all the top representatives of companies, both for exhibitors and for visitors, because they know that they can meet everyone here to exchange ideas and opinions and to evaluate collaborations. It’s a big office where you meet, speak, focus on products, where appearances do not matter much…”.
Tell us about the next edition…
“Last year we were 98 percent full, this year its 100 percent, so we had to install an outdoor tent to have a self-service restaurant for exhibitors, who prefer a faster lunch break. Hall 1 is sold out as well, so we have assigned all of the 15 thousand square meter net exhibition surface available in Pordenone, as we do not want to use temporary constructions that do not offer the necessary quality standards.
This year, for the first time, we are introducing a system that allows our exhibitors to register visitors through an app on their smartphones, at no cost; it’s an easy way to interact with our platform and generate a real “exhibition report” in real time for free”.
And what about the future?
“The Italian market is still missing a certain type of exhibition: we are thinking about it, looking at other industries. Maybe even abroad…”.
by Luca Rossetti
