Flat steel fair Euroblech postponed to 2021 as exhibitors pull out

The sheet industry fair Euroblech will be postponed to March 9-12, 2021, after major exhibitors pulled out of the event initially planned for October 2020, the event’s organizer Mac Brooks Exhibitions said July 7.

The biennial fair, located in Germany’s Hanover, is one of the most important fairs for the flat steel industry in Europe with around 56,000 visitors.

“The past months have been challenging, in particular for the sheet metal working industry and its related industry sectors. We have seen a decrease in orders of capital goods and many companies are telling us about their challenges in dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we have recently received authority approval for our Safety and Security concept to hold Euroblech in October this year, we have decided to postpone Euroblech to spring 2021,” according to Nicola Hamann, managing director of Mack Brooks Exhibitions.

There will be a virtual summit nevertheless October 27-30, providing a digital platform for exhibitors.

The Wire & Tube fair in Duesseldorf, a similarly important fair, will be going ahead however following the postponement from spring to December 7-11 this year.

Opinions are mixed in the steel market whether to attend a fair at all this year in light of the possibility of a second wave of the pandemic and travel restrictions that could be tightened on short notice.

Sources at major mills, which usually exhibit at the Tube & Wire and Euroblech, said before the official postponement of the Euroblech that many exhibitors chose one of the fairs as both were scheduled close to each other.

A European mill source said the date of the Tube & Wire in December would be a disadvantage for sales discussions as most would be usually winding down activities at that time. December is also usually the time when the German distribution sector is decreasing inventories and do not look for many buying opportunities compared with November.

— Laura Varriale