Press release

Fulda, 13/05/2022

The restart has been a total success

The organisers of the 20th RETTmobil exhibition may well have had some sleepless nights before it started. Would this traditional function be as successful as it used to be after being forced to stop for two years? Since Friday evening (13/05/2022), this has been quite clear: We’ve managed it! With a total of 467 exhibitors from 25 countries and about 22,000 visitors, the RETTmobil has shown convincingly that – in spite of the interruption from Corona – it is still an important milestone in the calendar.

Manfred Hommel, the Managing Director of the Fulda trade fair company, commented that he was relieved that the restart had been such a success. Even though they had been forced to postpone the event twice, very many exhibitors had remained loyal and not cancelled their bookings. This then in turn meant that they were obliged to provide the best possible platform for emergency medicine – not only this year, but also till at least 2030.

Up to a few days of the start of the trade fair last Wednesday (11/05/2022), the organisers were still receiving enquiries as to whether it was possible to take part at short notice. As the Fulda trade fair grounds had already been booked for some time, even well known manufacturers had unfortunately to be put off till next year (10 – 12/05/2023).

Exhibitors reported really good discussions
Hans-Jürgen Schwarz, Managing Director of Ambulanz Mobile GmbH in Schönebeck commented that it was really good to be in Fulda again. His was one of the companies that had already booked space for their exhibit at the RETTmobil exhibition 2023. They had many fruitful discussions, that encouraged them to think that their concept of sustainability was absolutely in the spirit of the times.

Thomas Strobel, Managing Director of System Strobel GmbH, is also really pleased with how things went at the RETTmobil exhibition. The response was just as good as if there had never been an interruption. They had met very many old and new customers and the response was strikingly favourable.

Great interest in the program for specialists
The organisers too considered that the response to the program for specialists was generally positive. As in preceding trade fairs, advanced courses as well as workshops were offered. For the first time, we included the format “Meet the Experts”. This is a very exclusive opportunity for visitors to discuss problems directly with experts and to obtain answers to their questions.

Sandra Hommel-Liebich commented that there was lively interest in the courses and workshops. One of her duties was to evaluate all services offered by the RETTmobil exhibition. She reported that most functions were either fully or almost fully booked. Our concept of “Meet the Experts” excited great interest, but this must first be properly established. We will allow some time for this.

Visitors from more than 50 countries
It was evident as soon as Wednesday morning that many visitors had missed the RETTmobil. In contrast to previous years, many visitors went to Fulda by train. The shuttle service every 30 minutes between the station and the trade fair could not be kept up and had to be cancelled long before the official start of the trade fair at 9 o’clock – otherwise the flood of visitors could not have been transported. The trade fair then had to be opened earlier than planned.

As almost 90% of specialist visitors had ordered their tickets in advance over the internet, it was clear that there were visitors this year from more than 50 countries. Aside from Germany and other European countries, there were visitors in the public from North and Latin America, the Near and Far East and African countries. Manfred Hommel commented that they had deserved their reputation as the International Leading Exhibition for Rescue and Mobility.

From electromobility to tele emergency medicine
This was reflected in the exhibiting companies. Focal points this year included electromobility, electrohydraulic transport and loading systems, as well as tele emergency medicine or data management. The companies made every effort to portray their (sometimes highly complex) products as practically as possible and to let the expert public try them out themselves.

The director of the trade fair commented that the visitors were good tempered and relaxed. This was evident during the assembly phase and was retained throughout the RETTmobil exhibition. There was a very high demand for exhibition area for next year. By the end of the trade fair, more than a third of this year’s exhibitors had already made a definite booking for Fulda in 2023. As Hommel commented: “The site here is ideal – the geographical location, the transport links, the trade fair grounds and, last but not least, the splendid collaboration with the city. It is quite clear that we will keep to Fulda for many years.”

 

Photo: Osthessen News / Messe RETTmobil International GmbH