Taipei Int'l B.C + Dex 2011 Draws Record Numbers of Exhibitors and Attendees

A total of 530 exhibitors displayed their latest products in 1,873 booths at the four-day Taipei International Building, Construction and Decoration Exposition 2011, which got under way on Dec. 15. The show drew around 60,800 attendees, including 1,154 professional buyers.

The numbers of exhibitors and booths both set record highs for the event, which was first held in 1987, according to co-organizer SuperLine Co.

Seven major product categories were on display: green building materials, basic construction equipment and know-how, decorative materials, general building materials, furnishings, environmental-protection engineering and equipment, and information.

The displays were divided into themes, including “intelligent green building”, “modern household living”, “general building materials”, “stone materials”, “kitchen equipment”, “lighting”, “electromechanical engineering”, “ceramics”, “bathroom ware”, and “mainland China pavilion”.

The 2011 fair attracted exhibitors from 17 economies: Australia, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, mainland China, Malaysia, Sweden, Spain, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, the United States, and Vietnam. American and mainland Chinese exhibitors set up their own national pavilions. The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which functions as the American embassy, displayed intelligent building materials and wooden structures in the American pavilion.

Although the number of mainland Chinese exhibitors dropped to 70 at the 2011 show, down from 74 the year before, the Chinese manned a total of 129 booths, an increase of 15. Around 392 mainland Chinese buyers attended last year's fair.

To boost ecological awareness, Wang Daoqiang, a mainland Chinese calligrapher who was awarded a gold prize at a Chinese calligraphy and painting exhibition celebrating the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and several other prominent Chinese artists displayed their environmental protection-themed paintings and calligraphy in the mainland China pavilion.

The non-profit Taiwan Ceramic Industries Association and Stone & Resources Industry R&D Center promoted products labeled with a smile emoticon encompassing the MIT (Made In Taiwan) label, which is granted by government-licensed laboratories as a mark of quality.

SuperLine's statistics show that green building materials drew the most enquiries at this show, accounting for 14% of all enquiries. Bathroom ware, intelligent building equipment, and lighting fixtures came next, with 7% each.

Industry forums were held on the sidelines of the trade show. Over 3,000 architects and 5,000 building-materials manufacturers attended these meetings, which addressed topics covering architectural culture, architectural creativity, global warming, and innovative materials technologies.

A forum organized by the China Technical Consultant Inc. Foundation (CTCI Foundation), a non-profit body backed by Taiwan's government, addressed intelligent building technology. Panelists focused on the idea of combining green building materials with information-communications technology--Taiwan's expertise in which is known throughout the world—as the next stage of development for the island's building-materials industry.

SuperLine estimated that the 2011 show would create approximately US$500 million in business opportunities for the industry.