About the Exhibition

‘Euro Trophex was a great exhibition. We made a lot of new business contacts from countries we don’t currently work in.’

                 Francesco Vitale, Managing Director, Erredue S.r.l.

Euro Trophex opened its doors back in October and didn’t disappoint with numbers up on previous years and visitors from an impressive array of countries including Australia, Estonia and Mexico. The show – which takes place every two years – had a change of venue for this year: the PTA. This new venue certainly proved very popular with both exhibitors and visitors alike. Set over three floors with stunning views over Amsterdam, the PTA certainly made a change from the usual stuffy, dark exhibition halls. This bright and airy venue created a more relaxing and pleasant ambience and the natural light meant that products and machinery could be viewed and appreciated in a much better way. Visitors could see a variety of exhibitors on all three levels, the restaurant on the second floor had great views over exhibitors on the ground floor and the Biemans Lounge on the third floor was done out beautifully with impressive white funky furniture against a striking red carpet.

As always there was the usual range of both regular and new exhibitors. For Elia srl from Italy it was their third time exhibiting at the show. They were pleased with how the show went and saw a mix of both new and old customers with new customers from Germany and Russian. Their new lines of components and sample cups proved very popular. They were contacted before the show from potential customers who found them from the exhibitor list on the Euro Trophex website.

Die Neue Linie from Germany is also a regular exhibitor to the show. This family-run company has recently brought out a number of new lines of stunning awards including the ‘Implexions Awards’ which are composed of various shapes and designs and made up of either a large single Swarovski® or with smaller more enhanced features. Said Mireille Hincker, head of marketing at the company: “Once again we are very pleased with the Euro Trophex show. This is the first time we have presented our new range of products and we are delighted to say that visitors have been pleasantly surprised by them. We love the new venue for the show, it has a great atmosphere and we think it’s made visitors more focused and want to buy.”

Nova Chrome UK had a steady flow of visitors to their stand and saw a lot of new faces. They saw people who had heard about sublimation and really knew their stuff and those who had come to the show to learn all about it! Typically these were businesses looking to diversify into other markets. They had people interested in their products from as far afield as Australia; they sold a sublimation system to a company in Finland and had lots of interest from visitors from Greece.

It was the second time of exhibiting for Trophies 4 Champs from Serbia; the company made a lot of contacts throughout the show and were surprised by the number of visitors from Eastern Europe. Their collections of trophies and resins were very well received.

Brufatto from Italy were showcasing their colourful product range which includes rosettes, ribbons and cords for medals, lanyards and key and phone holders. They saw lots of new people over the three days, many of which were from Eastern Europe which is an expanding market for them. When reflecting on the show Andrea Caeran Managing Director at the company said: “We had another great Euro Trophex show this year. Exhibiting at the show will potentially allow us to develop further into the Eastern European market which will open up many new opportunities for us.”

From the UK branch, Signature Engraving Systems said the show ‘exceeded expectations’ which was a good sign. David Pollard, Sales Director of the UK company said: “Throughout the demonstrations of our engraving machines, we felt that visitors to our stand had a genuine interest in our products. Given the state of the economy, if people are willing to spend money to travel to a show, they are obviously more serious. People were in a more positive mind set and very much looking forward towards the future.”

Sport Enebe-Nayblan from Spain was very happy with the show. They felt the venue was more open and had a good ambience. The company – who celebrate their 50 year anniversary this year – was showing an exciting new range of items including new crystal and wooden products, as well as their usual line of medals which they design and produce in-house. Exhibiting at the show also gives them an opportunity to see what’s out there and what other companies are doing.

TheMagicTouch remained constantly busy throughout the show but that’s hardly surprising as they were showing the incredible OKI C711WT Colour plus White LED Printer with white toner added to the CMYK colour process. Showcased for the first time in Brazil back in July, this was the first time this printer had been shown to the trophy trade and so Euro Trophex was the perfect place to do this. The white toner in this revolutionary piece of machinery delivers a very good opacity level and therefore a very high ‘white’ factor especially for non-fabric hard surface applications as well as for textiles. For garment applications it is a major step in convenience but for non-fabric applications i.e. trophy and award products it is the beginning of a total new era. Juergen Hagedorn CEO at TheMagicTouch commented: “Euro Trophex 2012 was a fantastic show for us. We learnt a lot throughout it about how we could better present the capabilities of the white toner. The amazing OKI C711WT printer will change image transfer applications forever. It is the completion of the circle.”

Speaking to visitors at the show Joseph Inghelbrecht from Virelco in Belgium said: “You have to visit Euro Trophex. It’s easier and cheaper to see everyone in one place. It’s good to see new exhibitors as well.” Jeroen Baaij from HSA Breda in the Netherlands visits every Euro Trophex to keep up-to-date with changes in the market. And Daniêlle Berkenfeld from the Netherlands has also been to the show before, she said: “I come to the show to pick up new ideas and to see companies who I work with. I’m an engraver and sell sports trophies, banners and flags etc. The show is very important for me as it gives me the opportunity to look for new technologies and machines as well as new trophies and awards.”

The PTA - Amsterdam