Hannover Messe 08: Significantly higher turnout and fascinating technology displays

Hannover Messe 08: The clearest symbol of this year's Hannover Messe was the four-meter-tall EnBW EnergyTower in Hall 27. The tower's daily discharge of several million volts mirrored the energy and excitement characterizing the entire event.

The upbeat mood among exhibitors and visitors consolidated Hannover Messe's status as the world's leading industrial trade fair. Participating exhibitors reported order books full to bursting, and the industrial associations all forecasted a favorable economic climate. The key themes of energy, automation, future technology and young engineering talent were all right on target. Visitor numbers surged to around 200,000 - an increase of approximately 30 percent over Hannover Messe 2006 as the most recent edition of the fair of similar scope.
Hannover Messe 2008 consisted of 10 international flagship trade fairs. The 5,100 participating exhibitors from over 60 different nations offered an impressive demonstration of the industrial state of the art. Almost all companies represented at the show reported generating many more new leads - on average around 15 to 20 percent more than at the previous event. Overall, visitor survey findings revealed that a total of some 3.2 million business leads had been generated during the event.