Message of greeting for the Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology trade fair SMM 2010
According to its organisers, the SMM 2010 international trade fair for shipbuilding, machinery and marine technology is completely booked up[ds_preview] with approximately 2,000 exhibitors, and over 50,000 specialists from the field are expected to attend as visitors. Given these satisfying figures, SMM 2010 – which takes place on 7–10 September in Hamburg – will hit the record levels that were achieved by the 2008 fair in all categories. Following two difficult crisis years that affected nearly every segment of the maritime industry, this leading trade fair in Hamburg is therefore sending out an important positive signal. In this way, SMM 2010 is once again impressively fulfilling its function as guidepost and trendsetter in fields of shipbuilding, the offshore industry, maritime transport and port management.
We have turned the corner since the worldwide financial and economic crisis. Experts agree with this assessment, and economic research institutes are making clearly positive forecasts for growth. Like other markets, the global shipbuilding market is also enjoying important stimuli from growing economies in Asia. In this connection, European shipyards and suppliers to the shipbuilding industry are also developing optimistic expectations that the global shipbuilding industry will once again pick up speed in 2010. One essential factor here will be the normalisation of the financial sector, including financing for shipbuilding. This will make it possible to finance new shipbuilding projects and thereby to increase orders for new vessel tonnage in order to keep up with the ongoing process of globalisation.
These important connections within maritime clusters can be addressed and further developed at the SMM trade fair as well. In keeping with its tried-and-true traditions, SMM 2010 will also feature an in-depth and diverse programme of workshops, symposia and conferences that will provide opportunities to focus on key current issues affecting the maritime industry. Highlights here include the Ship Finance Forum on 6 September, which will bring together bankers, shipping company representatives, and managers from the shipyard and supply industries, as well as the Global Maritime Environmental Congress (GMEC) on 7–8 September, where representatives from government, business and science will convene for discussions on present and future environmental protection efforts in the maritime industry.
In addition, by providing a showcase for environmental technology, SMM 2010 will shed light on the state of global competition among the latest marketable innovations in the fields of climate protection, environmental conservation and energy efficiency. Partly in reaction to the recent crisis in the global shipbuilding market, the German shipbuilding industry is also in increasingly better shape to face the global competition, which needs to be structured as fairly as possible. Given the technological sophistication of their products, German shipyards and shipbuilding suppliers are in a good position to contribute significantly to the world’s increasing efforts to protect the environment and combat climate change. This is demonstrated by the technological innovations that German firms have developed for ship design, components and systems as well as for cutting-edge vessel operation concepts that can substantially reduce maritime transport emissions on the basis of international standards.
I am certain that SMM 2010 will provide new momentum for the shipbuilding industry, and for the German maritime industry in particular, and that it will help companies to grasp key opportunities. Right now, companies have difficult decisions to make regarding the development, production and marketing of competitive and forward-looking maritime products, shipbuilding supplies and shipbuilding technologies. In turn, policymakers will tackle the task that is theirs to perform within the social market economy: the creation of a suitable policy framework.
I wish the organisers of the 24th SMM international trade fair for shipbuilding, machinery and marine technology a very successful event, and I wish the fair’s exhibitors much success in their commercial endeavours.
