Destination Innovation

EQUIP AUTO 2007 is being held in Paris October 15 to the 20th, with the theme “Destination Innovation”. The show is expected to have 2,140 participants and attract more visitors than EQUIP AUTO 2005 which had 137,566 visitors.

The exhibition is divided into two categories, vehicle equipment and garage equipment.

The former includes automotive parts manufacturers, suppliers, Tier 1,2 and 3 suppliers, automotive subcontractors, competitiveness clusters, engineering and design offices, vehicle manufacturers, after sales networks, post-equipment (accessories and tuning) and the tire industry. The garage equipment component is made up of repair and maintenance, car wash, bodywork paint and tow trucks.

The show helps participants discover current and future technologies. It helps companies assess their potential and measure their market competitiveness and refine their development strategy. EquipAuto also helps participants and exhibitors evaluate and understand global challenges.

The exhibition provides services and information on professional services such as information technology and business diversification (used vehicles, car rentals, environment and recycling, insurance companies, financing, warranties, franchises and so on). The other areas EquipAuto covers are distribution, logistics, international trade, petroleum products, lubricants and additives

Automotive Industries spoke to Armand Batteux, president of EQUIP AUTO and former head of Faurecia what made EQUIP AUTO work so well.

Batteux: EQUIP AUTO encompasses the whole value chain of the automotive industry from design to maintenance and recycling of cars. It is also an international exhibition largely opened to mature economies and emerging countries. Not only equipment, products and services for the repair and maintenance market are represented but original equipment is also of major importance at EQUIP AUTO. Both exhibitors and visitors at EQUIP AUTO Paris will find responses to innovation and competitiveness challenges. The OEM meetings (pre-arranged face-to-face business meetings) will allow highly qualified contacts between suppliers and manufacturers at an international level.

AI: Do you expect the Chinese presence in EQUIP AUTO 2007 to be the most prominent among international participants?

Batteux: Amongst 60 countries present at EQUIP AUTO, China will be the most prominent participation, immediately followed by Italy and Turkey. The good point concerning EQUIP AUTO is its great diversity of exhibitors according to their country of origin and the balance between emerging countries and mature industrial countries represented.

AI: How strong do you expect the contingent from India to be?

Batteux: We expect about 50 companies from India. That would be twice as many as in 2005.

AI: Why is EQUIP AUTO a good place for Chinese and Indian companies to show-case their products and services?

Batteux: China and India have identified EQUIP AUTO as the leading show in the world in odd years for the automotive sector. Both countries have dramatically improved the quality of their products and increased their technology content to match international standards. Being present at the show is of great importance for these companies and a reward for their efforts to match the very demanding standards of the automotive industry in mature markets.

AI: Please tell us a little about why the theme this year is innovation.

Batteux: Innovation, together with a higher competitiveness, is the best response to the challenges the automotive industry is facing. Those challenges are raw materials rising costs, oil shortages concerns, sustainable development and increased global competition, to name a few. In short, innovation is essential to resist new threats identified on the markets and seize growth potentials and development opportunities.

In practice, innovation will be found in all the different sectors of EQUIP AUTO. In addition, the International “Grand’s Prix” for Automotive Innovation will reward innovative companies. In addition, a high profile conferences program will highlight the hottest topics in the automotive industry.