Within Achema 2009's three laboratory and analytical halls alone there will be around 40,000 visitors flocking to see exhibits from almost 700 companies, from no fewer than 30 countries
In May 2009 Frankfurt will become the focal point for international laboratory equipment suppliers and their customers from around the world.
This is said to be the largest single laboratory industry event worldwide in 2009, and there will once again be a large British flavour to the event.
The largest non-German contingent of exhibitors will be from the United Kingdom with at least 70 UK companies planning to exhibit directly.
Exhibitors from the USA, Italy and France will also be out in force.
A large growth in numbers of Asian exhibitors is also anticipated.
At least 40 Asian booths were present at the previous event.
To add to the global nature of the show many UK and other foreign companies exhibit through their German subsidiaries.
"We live in a global market and both exhibitors and visitors now prefer venues that have a track record for being a focal point for international business within a particular market sector", explained Mike Day, UK and Ireland representative for Achema.
"The rapid growth of low cost travel means that geography is less of an issue than it once was.
"These days the time and cost of travelling to a mainland European hub is similar to that of travelling within the UK.
"The new Eurostar service underlines this point".
For several decades, the triennial Achema in Frankfurt has demonstrated its ability to be a magnet for the whole supply chain, not just from within Europe, but increasingly from emerging markets in Asia and elsewhere.
The figures from Achema 2006 demonstrate the importance of the event within the international context.
Up to 50,000 of the 180,000 visitors came from outside Germany.
Crucially, the global visitor component included many high-level decision makers from the international technical community; end users, contractors, distributors and other key people in the supply chain.
Achema has continued to be attractive to foreign exhibitors at a time when exhibitions elsewhere in the world and in the UK in particular have struggled to maintain numbers.
There are many reasons for this but the exhibitors' perspective has to be a key one.
The laboratory and analytical techniques section of Achema 2009 has the strongest support from British companies.
The large British presence results from the work of Gambica, the trade association that represents the interests of companies in the instrumentation, control, automation and laboratory technology industry in the UK.
Gambica manages much of the British participation at Achema and seeks to deliver financial support for exhibitors from the UK government.
Tim Collins, Gambica's director - laboratory technology sector said: "Gambica has organised the UK group at Achema for many years.
"As many overseas distributors and agents attend, it is seen as a premier world event for the laboratory technology industry and an ideal meeting point for suppliers and customers.
"Although over 18 months away, we already have a significant number of companies booked.
"For Gambica and UK suppliers this is a key event".
The views of a couple of exhibitors from the Gambica group confirm this picture.
Biochrom is a manufacturer of instrumentation for the life science industries.
A member of Gambica, the company is well placed to explain why it sees Achema as a key strategic exhibition for the laboratory sector.
Malcolm Lee, Biochrom's sales and marketing director, said: "Our decision to attend Achema results from our desire to identify new distributors, to support our local German distributors and to test market new design concepts.
"To this end, the previous Achema event was a great success and we were pleasantly surprised by the number of international visitors who had travelled from all parts of the world.
"The quality of potential distributors was high and we made contact with around 50 new companies, several of which are now our partners in science.
"The number of customers we met was also pleasing.
"Better still we also took a significant number of direct sales leads.
"In my opinion Achema 2009 will be an exhibition that you cannot afford to miss.
"For us Achema is a better investment for real business opportunities than events such as Pittcon.
"We found the latter a disappointment when it came to meeting with end users".
Starna Scientific is a manufacturer and supplier of spectrophotometer cells, optical components and certified reference materials.
The company also sees Achema as a major source of new business.
Keith Hulme, Starna Scientific's managing director, said: "Starna has been exhibiting at Achema since 1973.
"Our distributors come from all over the world to visit the exhibition and meet us face to face.
"At Achema we always meet new influential visitors that generate real sales leads and help to boost our sales growth".
Although the next Achema is over 18 months away, the exhibitor booking process is already well under way.
About 70percent of 2006 exhibitors will rebook for the 2009 show, the majority making commitments by the end of 2007.
"To ensure companies secure a good position in the laboratory and analytical techniques section of Achema 2009 they need to make a booking decision as soon as possible.
"The global nature of the event is already driving a rapid uptake," advised Mike Day, UK and Ireland representative for Achema.
