IDS 2015 in Cologne, Germany, saw growth in the number of visitors, exhibitors, and exhibition space, increased internationality, increased orders, and more
Growth and developments in attendance
After achieving a record result, the 36th International Dental Show (IDS) closed its doors in Cologne after five days. Around 138,500 trade visitors from 151 countries attended the world's largest dental industry tradeshow, which corresponded to an increase of almost 11% compared to the previous event. IDS also achieved new records in terms of the number of exhibitors and the exhibition space sold. 2,201 companies (+6.9%) from 56 countries presented a wealth of innovations, product developments, and services on exhibition space covering 157,000 square meters (+6.2%). With a share of foreign exhibitors over 70% (up from 68% in 2013) and a 17% increase in the number of trade visitors from abroad, the internationality of the event was, once again, significantly increased. At the same time, the number of trade visitors from Germany also increased markedly in comparison to 2013 (+4.3%).
"We succeeded in making the International Dental Show in Cologne even more attractive on both a national and international basis. It is thus the most successful IDS of all time," summed up Dr. Martin Rickert, Chairperson of the Association of German Dental Manufacturers (VDDI).
"The quality of the business contacts between the industry and the trade, as well as between the industry, dentists, and dental technicians was extremely high. The number of orders placed at IDS rose once again, and we are reckoning with sustainable impulses for the post-fair follow-up business," added Katharina C. Hamma, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH. "In addition to the growth in the number of German trade visitors, the high international response once again underlines the character of IDS as the world's leading trade fair of the dental industry. The International Dental Show particularly recorded strong growth in the number of visitors from the Near and Middle East, the United States and Canada, Brazil, as well as from China, Japan, and Korea. The business in the Southeast European market, especially Italy and Spain, has also increased noticeably."
Strong interest in innovative products and technology
The trade and the users were extremely interested in innovative products and technologies.
"In this respect, staged every two years, IDS fits in perfectly with the innovation cycles of the industry regarding the development and further development of products, materials, and services," emphasized Dr. Markus Heibach, Executive Director of VDDI. "This applies for both breakthrough innovations and further developments of existing products, but also for development progress in smaller phases that are however significant in terms of quality." IDS 2015 focused on the intelligent networking of components for computer-controlled dentistry. Today, the world of digital systems in diagnostics and production encompasses the entire workflow from the practice to the laboratory. The computer-controlled process chains are, in the meantime, complete and are putting their enormous flexibility to use.
Outcomes and atmosphere of the tradeshow
The hustle and bustle in the halls made the high attendance at IDS apparent. By all accounts, representatives from all relevant professional groups—from dental offices, dental laboratories, the dental trade, and the higher education sector—had had visited the exhibition stands from all over the world. Many exhibitors were particularly pleased with the high level of internationality of the trade visitors. In terms of business, IDS was very successful for many companies, because orders were placed by both national and international customers. Numerous companies were pleased to announce full order books. Other goals achieved, such as the development of contacts, the building and reinforcing of customer relationships, and the penetration of new foreign markets were equally as important to exhibitors. The exhibitors evaluated the quality of the visitors very positively. Adding to this finding are the initial results of an independent visitor survey: 83% of all of the visitors are involved in purchasing decisions at their respective companies.
"The world meets up at IDS in Cologne," summed up Sebastian Voss, managing partner of Hager & Meisinger GmbH. "More international customer contacts visited our stand this year than in 2013. Visitors from Latin America were particularly well represented, but also from Asia. We were able to establish countless new contacts at IDS and also met up with our existing customers."
Martin Dürrstein, Chairperson of Dürr Dental AG, was also extremely satisfied: "The trade fair went very well for us; it was fantastic. We received a high number of particularly qualified trade visitors. We are totally satisfied with the fair because we were able to welcome many new customers from Asia, Arabia, Latin America, and South Africa."
Christian Scheu, Executive Director of Scheu-Dental GmbH also praised the further increased internationality of IDS: "In comparison to 2013, we were able to further increase the number of visitors at our stand, in particular visitors from abroad. The Asiatic region, for instance China and Korea, [was] especially well-represented, but we also registered an increase in the number of customers from Southern Europe."
In addition to commenting on the high frequency of visitors at his stand, Axel Klarmeyer, Executive Director of BEGO, also reported "that the customers were well informed and that they showed great interest in new technologies."
Walter Petersohn, Vice President Sales of Sirona Dental Systems, was also pleased "about the vast numbers of international visitors, the buying interest, and as always, about the large number of attending German dentists and dental technicians."
Michael Tuber, Executive Director of A. Titan also awarded IDS 2015 top marks. "This is the seventh time we have exhibited at IDS, and we have optimally achieved the goal we set ourselves, namely further expanding our international sales network. The trade fair offers us the perfect platform for meeting up with our existing customers from all over the world, but at the same time, we were able to establish many new customer contacts. This is why the International Dental Show is an absolute must for every American manufacturer from the dental industry."
IDS 2015 was also a success for Andrew Parker, CEO of Mydent International: "We met up with our international customers here in Cologne, and were additionally able to make over 100 interesting new contacts to dental dealers. No other event in the world has such international appeal."
Satisfied visitors all around
The visitor survey revealed that over 75% of the respondents were (very) satisfied with IDS. The fair's comprehensive spectrum of products and new products ensured that 81% of visitors rated the product range as being (very) good. 74% of the exhibitors were (very) satisfied in terms of reaching the goals they had set themselves for the fair. Overall, 95% of the visitors surveyed would recommend visiting IDS to business partners, and 77% also intend to visit IDS 2017.
German Dental Association (BZÄK) and Association of German Dental Technicians (VDZI) draw a positive balance
"The International Dental Show (IDS) has once again lived up to its reputation as the world's leading trade fair for the dental sector," summed up Dr. Peter Engel, President of the German Dental Association. “2,201 exhibitors from 56 countries underline that IDS is—in the USA, China, or Argentina—the ‘place to be’ for manufacturers in the dental technology sector." The companies presented the latest developments in dentistry and dental technology and demonstrated the economic and innovative power of the dental industry. "We welcome the technological progress for the optimization of diagnosis and therapy. However, we do advise all dentists to check whether surveys corroborate the effectiveness of the respective technology before investing in new equipment. The quality of dental care can only be further improved through the targeted implementation of new products." He also stated that a sensitive approach towards the technical possibilities that are integrated within the respective treatment concept is important in this connection.
Uwe Breuer, President of the Association of German Dental Technicians (VDZI), summed up: "IDS has once again impressively demonstrated its value as a trade fair for the professional dental technology laboratories and [dental offices].” As the world's leading trade fair for the dental industry, dental technicians and dentists were able to gain a comprehensive overview of the current status of the dental industry's further and new developments. He stated that the progress in the industry's offerings shown at the fair enabled both the dental technicians and dentists to jointly ensure the high quality of patient care. He added that the diversity of the high-level developments made it even more necessary than ever that that dentists and dental technicians work together as an expert team. “It also becomes clear that, in the future, dental technology expertise will be indispensable for optimum patient care. For this reason our trade needs excellently trained young professionals, who once again impressively demonstrated their skills at IDS in the scope of the Gysi Prize Competition."
The International Dental Show (IDS) takes place in Cologne every two years, is organized by the GFDI Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Dental-Industrie mbH, the commercial enterprise of the Association of German Dental Manufacturers (VDDI), and is staged by Koelnmesse GmbH, Cologne.
IDS 2015 in figures
At IDS 2015, on a gross exhibition area of 157,000 m² (up from 147,900 m² in 2013), 2,201 companies from 56 countries participated (up from 2,058 companies from 56 countries in 2013). These included 638 exhibitors and 20 additionally represented companies from Germany (compared to 647 exhibitors and seven additionally represented companies in 2013), as well as 1,489 exhibitors and 54 additionally represented companies from abroad (up from
1,355 exhibitors and 49 additionally represented companies in 2013). The share of foreign exhibitors was over 70% (up from 68% in 2013). Including estimates for the last day of the fair, around 138,500 trade visitors from 151 countries attended IDS (up from 125,000 trade visitors from 149 countries in 2013), approximately 51 percent of whom came from abroad (up from 48% in 2013).*
The next IDS—the 37th International Dental Show—is scheduled for March 21-25, 2017.
*The figures relating to visitors, exhibitors, and stand space for this trade fair were determined and certified according to the standardized definitions used by the Society for Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics (FKM).
