Chillventa 2020 postponed: news, trends, concerns
Chillventa has been formally postponed until 2022. A digital online congress has been scheduled to take place October 13-15. Let’s see in this article which were the options of the survey.
Chillventa 2020 is one of the most important international trade fairs in the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air conditioning) sector, held every two years in Germany. The next edition (originally planned for 15th-18th October), nevertheless, is at considerable risk of being cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Concern about the fate of this popular event is widespread, especially among organisers and exhibitors. For a large number of companies, Chillventa provides a precious opportunity to present new products and technological innovation.
The current situation regarding Chillventa 2020 according to Petra Wolf
In a recent interview (which can be viewed in full both in German and English via this link), Petra Wolf, a key member of the NürnbergMese (the Nurenberg trade fair association tasked with organising the event), outlines the situation so far regarding Chillventa 2020.
The event’s possible postponement is being fiercely debated by those involved in the negotiations. On the one hand, exhibitors and companies are pushing for this important HVAC event not to be cancelled, while the German Government fears that it could lead to new coronavirus clusters being created (we still have a long way to go before we can say that the virus has been beaten).
In her interview, Petra Wolf emphasises how the Management Board of NürnbergMese is working in close collaboration with ministers, government authorities, members of the WHO and the Robert Kock Institute, in order to monitor the current health situation in order to make a well-informed decision.
In parallel with the negotiations between the various parties, the organisers have also launched an online survey designed to gauge the opinion of visitors and exhibitors (in order to gain more solid feedback on how many of them want Chillventa 2020 to go ahead). So far, over 800 exhibitors from all over the world have confirmed their intention to participate (if the event goes ahead as planned).
Possible solutions open to the authorities
According to Wolf’s statements, there are several proposals currently being considered by the authorities. The first theory (supported by the German exhibition industry), is that hopefully, all trade fairs will be able to resume from September this year, meaning that the October schedule, and therefore Chillventa 2020, will remain un-changed.
Another option could be to postpone the event until autumn 2021 directly and then continue with the planned biennial calendar from 2022. Alternatively, the fair’s entire two-yearly schedule could also be modified, if the event resumes in 2021 with a new two-yearly schedule (2021, 2023, 2025, 2027 etc.).
Another strategy under discussion is the idea of presenting Chillventa 2020 to the public in a totally digital format. Although this would be relatively straightforward to organise, it does not seem popular with exhibitors, who maintain that the human contact typical of this kind of event constitutes an essential part of it.
Whatever the final decision regarding the fate of Chillventa 2020, everyone involved realises that it will be a very different fair to those of previous years. If the event goes ahead with the current planned dates, it is expected to attract far more local than international exhibitors (due to travel restrictions which will probably still be in place then).
In addition, health and safety regulations will have to be strictly enforced. This will require a great deal of work in order to prepare sufficiently large spaces, so as to guarantee that social distancing rules are respected. Furthermore, masks, gloves and other personal protection equipment will be obligatory for everyone (visitors and exhibitors).
As we await the results of the online survey and the German Government’s decision, a group of German associations (including The Federal Guild of the German Refrigeration Industry and the Central Association of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Heat Pumps) has penned an open letter sustaining that Chillventa 2020 should not be cancelled.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith
