Live, personal, safe: NUFAM

Karlsruhe, October 03, 2021 - The NUFAM commercial vehicle trade fair closes its halls with strong exhibitor and visitor numbers, matching pre-pandemic times at the last event in 2019. Around 22,000 visitors gathered information over four days from more than 350 manufacturers and service providers from 13 countries, representing the entire spectrum of the commercial vehicle industry. Participants at the first major industry get-together since the start of the pandemic gave top marks for the breadth and quality of the offerings, as well as the organization and the safety and hygiene concept. A higher proportion of trade visitors, greater coverage and personal exchange made NUFAM 2021 an all-round successful trade fair.

Britta Wirtz, Managing Director of Messe Karlsruhe: "Messe Karlsruhe has succeeded in firmly anchoring NUFAM in Europe. With the innovative technologies on display for alternative drives and sustainable-efficient solutions for the freight transport of tomorrow, NUFAM fits perfectly into the research landscape of the Karlsruhe technology region. For example, the Karlsruhe KIT presented its current research in the field of re-fuels and many other research institutions along the Rhine-Rail also showed brand-new results of their mobility research."

The exhibitors at NUFAM present innovative commercial vehicle technology from the fields of alternative drives, digitalization and sustainability. Various research projects show the changes the commercial vehicle industry will face in the coming years. The spectrum ranges from solar cells on truck roofs to synthetic fuels and the use of artificial intelligence in transportation.

Jochen Bortfeld, NUFAM project manager, is pleased with the successful conclusion of the trade fair: "NUFAM 2021 was a complete success. We were able to continue the good visitor numbers of the trade fair - despite the pandemic! The exhibitors and visitors made optimal use of the fair to finally exchange ideas in person again and to do business directly at the vehicle. This is what NUFAM stands for and we were able to make this possible, including the highest safety standards and a good and, above all, flexible organization. I am very pleased about how positively the trade show was received by all participants."

NUFAM with increased reach and willingness to invest

The innovation and investment dynamics in the commercial vehicle industry are reflected at the trade show: the trade visitor share as well as the willingness to invest have increased compared to 2019. Investments, particularly in the mid-six-figure range, have increased. In addition, more than 79 percent of visitors plan to buy or order something after the show. Personal exchange is particularly important to visitors and exhibitors. This is also confirmed by Thomas Rosenberger, spokesman for Kögel Trailer GmbH: "It was great to finally have a live event again. We were very enthusiastic about the response from the trade visitors and decision-makers and about the fact that a really large number of people came - from top-class fleet operators to drivers and fans. We had great conversations and sold a lot of vehicles. We were very happy to be able to be here again, to present ourselves and to talk about our products." Patrik Neuwinger, Head of Sales and Rental at Terberg Spezialfahrzeuge, has a similarly positive assessment of the trade fair appearance: "We are highly satisfied with the trade fair itself, with the visitors, with the visitor frequency and also with the quality of the discussions. We have experienced very great popularity and intend to appear here in the future with a somewhat changed offer from our side."

The longing for a live event was high and many visitors accepted long journeys to be part of it. The journey from over 300 km has increased by 5 percent compared to 2019. This is also confirmed by Ralf Merkelbach, Head of Key Account Management Large Fleets Europe at BPW Bergische Achsen Kommanditgesellschaft: "As exhibitors, we thrive on coming into contact with our customers here, and that's why trade fairs are extremely important for us. NUFAM itself has developed very well over the years. There have been trade visitors at the stand from neighboring countries such as Austria and also from all over Germany. For us, it was a great feeling to meet people again here at the first major commercial vehicle trade fair and, of course, to be able to show them our innovations that we have launched in the meantime during the pandemic."

NUFAM as a platform for premieres

Never before have so many premieres been shown as at this year's NUFAM. The exhibitors at NUFAM deliberately chose the first major commercial vehicle show as a platform for their new launches. In particular, they presented vehicle and product innovations in the areas of alternative drives, digitalization and sustainability. Manuel Dreher, Managing Director of DAF sales partner EBB-Truck-Center showed the premiere of the new more efficient and even safer DAF vehicle generation exclusively at NUFAM: "We are very satisfied, and so are our customers. We have received only positive feedback. Everyone is happy to be able to go to a trade fair again. With the new generation of DAF, which is being shown to the general public for the first time, we have a real visitor magnet at the stand. We have closed some deals, especially for the new vehicle. We are also very confident about the post-show business."

All participants rewarded Messe Karlsruhe with very high satisfaction ratings and a high recommendationrate. 93% of visitors gave the hygiene concept top marks. Around 97% of visitors are very satisfied with their visit to the trade fair overall. Jochen Bortfeld sums up: "In an initial survey, the exhibitors announced higher intentions to participate again. Our commitment and that of the exhibitors has paid off in full.

The next NUFAM will take place from September 21 to 24, 2023 at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Center.

NUFAM - The commercial vehicle trade fair

NUFAM is a leading trade fair for the commercial vehicle industry and combines current technology with mobility concepts of the future. The seventh NUFAM - the commercial vehicle trade fair will take place from September 30 to October 3, 2021 at Messe Karlsruhe. Exhibitors will present the industry's entire range of products and services: vehicles of all weight classes, e-mobility, alternative drives and hybrid systems, bodies and trailers, cranes and lifting equipment, tires, parts, accessories, workshop equipment, telematics solutions, and services. As a top-class industry get-together for personal networking, NUFAM offers symposia on telematics, workshops, municipal vehicles and load securing, as well as lectures and discussion panels on current industry topics. For trade visitors, NUFAM is an important platform for investment decisions.

Further information at: nufam.de & facebook.com/nufam.karlsruhe & linkedin.com/company/nufam-karlsruhe