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Bienvenido
A SINAVAL Y Bilbao
Monday, 19-FEB-2007 by
Stephanie McArdle - EU Marketing and Sales Manager
The SINAVAL/Euro Fish Expo, hosted by Bilbao, the
largest city in the Basque region, is a show worth visiting for those
interested in strengthening their position in the Spanish marine market.
The exhibitors were predominately shipyards/boatbuilders, power
equipment manufacturers and various Spanish Maritime Associations.
Although the trade show was the smallest marine trade show I have ever
attended featuring just six rows of exhibitors, it managed to attract a
concentrated roster of exhibitors including big names such as CAT, MAN,
and Twin Disc as well as small companies from Germany, the Netherlands
and of course Spain.
The Bilbao Expo Centre is conveniently located off of the metro and the
highway. Unfortunately, this year's stormy weather conditions caused a
noticeable void on the show floor the first day. However, because of the
deficit of attendees the exhibitors were eager to speak with whomever
stopped by, affording me unhurried conversations with them. Several
exhibitors mentioned that the second day of the four day show is always
the busiest and traditionally brings in boat builders and ship designers
from across Europe.
On a side note, I found it curious that more than one exhibitor
mentioned that they use in-house software to do all their sizings and
resistance prediction calculations. At one stand, I spoke with all six
staff members and asked them why they, propulsion equipment
manufacturers, rely on software produced in-house by someone who most
likely cannot devote much time to the principles of
hydrodynamics, particularly as they relate to software development.
One gentlemen said their in-house software was developed before he got
there and he didn't want to upset the "status quo". Another
representative from the same company said that he always thought their
software was insufficient and requested four copies of our brochure
portfolio. I know that Donald MacPherson will be interested in offering
his comments about this in an upcoming installment of Miscellaneous
Monday Musings - so stay tuned. If you want to be sure to read his
comments? Click the RSS button on the the right side of your screen.
Heading out to the show I was thumbing through my Spanish phrasebook,
brushing up on my foreign language skills. Spanish was of course the
primary language of the event, and I felt that my lack of fluency was a
hindrance to getting business done. Generally the Spanish, both on and
off the show floor, were very accommodating to non-Spanish speakers.
As for the city itself, Bilbao is a thriving metropolis of almost
400,000 people. A recent economic renewal has shifted the economy
away from an industrial base towards one focused on tourism and the
services industries. It's cultural development is typified by the
Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum, which opened in 1997. In my opinion Bilbao's
Guggenheim is better than it's counterpart in New York City and
definitely a must for anyone visiting the region. Bilbao is a lovely
city and I hope it's international reputation soon catches up to it's
new image.
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