CENS Represented at Two Trade Shows in July

Continuing its consistently dedicated program to promot

Furniture Japan 2009

In recent years, with higher standards of living worldwide and increasing awareness of the importance to account for all the costs of poor office environments, ergonomics etc. instead of merely the bottom-line, more and more office equipment suppliers are in fact trying to address such issues by investing in the design and manufacture of furnishings that help to achieve greater work efficiency, streamline office environments, raise creativity, and even motivate employees rather than hobbling their capacities by causing, for example, carpal tunnel syndrome. The best part may be that such awareness is generating business opportunities, even before considerable products are sold, in the form of trade shows that promote such furnishings.

Trade show organizers in Japan, a land known for being at the forefront of technical innovations, are also helping to drive the design, demand of ergonomic furnishings, having held the “Office Furniture Japan 2009,” staged from July 8-10 at the Tokyo Big Sight. The show is the first in Japan dedicated exclusively to office furniture and furnishings.

Incidentally Reed Exhibitions Japan Ltd., the show organizer, designed a 5-in-1 program to take streamlining trade show to a higher level. The Office Furniture Japan 2009 was held alongside the 20th International Stationery and Office Products Fair Tokyo (ISOT), Novelty & Premium Goods Expo 2009, the 7th International Office Machines & Equipment Expo Tokyo (OFMEX), and the 4th Office Security Expo Tokyo (OSEC).

This year the virtually all-encompassing program managed to attract 1,291 exhibitors from 29 countries, whose variety of products drew some 75,697 visitors, including 119 industry professionals invited by the organizer, who were mainly from China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan.

20th Int'l Stationery and Office Products Fair Tokyo (ISOT)

A visitor representing a trading company in Taiwan said: “We visited the shows to look for the latest design in office products. And I could not believe the venues were packed with visitors all three days, which just shows the media reports of the global recession do not seem to make a difference.”

The crowded venues were not just statistically-impressive this time round with many exhibitors sounding positive, one of which was Mr. Paul Lam from Wah Fook Holding Ltd., who said, “Our marketing program calls for us to enter the Japanese market initially, and we've been quite encouraged with the reactions and leads from quality buyers that we've met. We have in fact received inquiries from major Japanese manufacturers and will definitely return to exhibit to further expand our share in the Japanese market.”

Office Furniture Japan

“Office Furniture Japan” was also launched amid ample anticipation among both the visitors and the exhibitors. Overseas companies, besides native Japanese suppliers, also not only see plentiful potential in the Japanese office furnishings market, but are also apparently bold enough to try to lock horns with their Japanese counterparts. An example is Ms. Sydney Lin from the Taiwan Furniture Manufacturers Association, who organized the Taiwan Pavilion this time, said: “This is our first time here with the Taiwan delegation to exhibit at the ‘Office Furniture Japan.' And we are fully tapping the team spirit with the Taiwan delegation by setting up a Taiwan pavilion. We're very encouraged to see the show very well organized and professional. So of course we'll be back next year, to hopefully further build on this year's efforts, as well as expand the size of the Taiwan Pavilion.”

Also, Mr. S.S. Jung, executive director of Sung Young Co., Ltd., said: “The office furniture show has been a very successful event and we are quite satisfied with the results. We have received approximately US$8,000 worth of orders from Japanese customers, which is very promising considering it is our initial participation. We look forward to coming back next year.”

The CENS booth attracted better than expected visitor traffic as it promoted its series of specialized trade publications, including “CENS Furniture,” “CENS Lighting,” “CENS Hardware,” “Taiwan Machinery,” “Guidebook to Taiwan Hand Tools,” “Taiwan Industrial Suppliers,” “Taiwan Export Express” etc.

PAACE Automechanika Mexico 2009

PAACE Automechanika Mexico, one of the main events during the International Week of the Automotive Industry, and with the support of important trade associations, is the most important auto trade show in Mexico and Central America, not only becoming a growing platform for the sector but also a significant business builder for the automotive business in the region.

The 2009 edition of the event, running from July 15-17 at the Banamex Convention Center of Mexico City, showcased 236 exhibitors from 13 countries, successfully attracting an impressive 13,267 buyers. The strong buyer attendance supported the opportunities and positive outlook forecast for Mexico's automotive aftermarket as well as the importance of PAACE Automechanika Mexico as the industry's key event.

In addition to the thousands of products, services and resources available on the exhibition hall floor, the show also offered valuable education and training, unmatched business solutions, networking events designed to facilitate initial business contacts and, for repeat customers, to meet personally steady suppliers.

“It was a complete success, says Alexandre Morais, marketing manager at Bosch Co. of Mexico: “We had an elaborate display presenting all of Bosch's products and compared with last year, we definitely had a greater number of visitors.”

Agreed Beth Velarde, western regional sales manager at Covercraft Co. of USA, stating, “Great show! Good attendance. Excellent response to Covercraft products. We look forward to bringing our line of covers and exterior and interior accessories into this market.”

“Aisin has participated in the PAACE show for the past four years, and as a result we have seen our brand awareness grow considerably. We intend for this brand awareness to continue generating future sales, as proven at the 2009 show, and we will continue to partake for years to come,” notes Justin Porter, Latin American sales representative at Aisin Worldwide of USA.

“The show has proven fruitful for us with three days of solid conversations with quality attendees. There was across-the-board interest in our products, especially our high-tech electronics. We are very happy with the results from this year's show,” says Dil Kulathum, vice president at International Sales & Marketing of Cardone Industries of USA.

Not to miss a potential opportunity to help its membership build business in a growing market, the Importers and Exporters Association of Taipei, knowing its efforts are backed by often-reported world-caliber auto parts manufacturing capacity in Taiwan, led Taiwanese suppliers to take part in the show. A Taiwan Pavilion was set up to maximize exposure by being a focused display, with the effect successfully drawing ample attention. The encouraging mood was shared as well in this case: many Taiwanese exhibitors expressed satisfaction with the show.

Represented by a booth at the show, CENS served visitors and buyers by promoting its series of export-oriented magazines, with “Taiwan Transportation Equipment Guide (TTG),” and “China Transportation Equipment Guide (CTG)” being the most popular.