wire & Tube Düsseldorf 2020 delayed, Acimaf: “A necessary decision”

Following the postponement of wire and Tube Düsseldorf, we asked Ferruccio Bellina, President of ACIMAF (Association of Italian Wire Machinery Manufacturers), for a comment about the position of the Italian industry on the matter.

What is the association's point of view on the postponement of the fair?
Before the official decision on February 29, we had already moved in conjunction with the other supporting associations to ask for a meeting with Messe Düsseldorf, originally scheduled for March 5. In our survey, it turned out that the overwhelming majority of our members were in favor of a postponement. As the situation got worse by the end of February, the meeting was no longer necessary because the organizers expressed their willingness to postpone the fair to a date to be defined. Of course, we made sure to inform all the companies involved on time.

What happens now?
These days, Messe Düsseldorf, which had to postpone six of its proprietary events, is busy setting up a new calendar. A new meeting between us, the other associations, and the organizers will be held soon to discuss new dates and deal with the various complications that have arisen. We are talking about hotel cancellations and the need to obtain, if not a refund, a hold on reservations until the dates are defined. We know that these concerns regard relationships between individual exhibitors and the hotels, but we hope that Messe Düsseldorf can make its voice heard.

Finding new dates won't be so easy.
That's right. This fair requires a lot of preparation well over the actual 5 days of the exhibition, as much time is necessary to set up and dismantle all the stands. For our part, we will take care to find the most favorable time. We trust we'll have more reliable information within the next two weeks.

Can you tell us something about this delicate moment? The COVID-19 crisis has directly impacted many highly productive companies in Northern Italy in the wire and cable industry.
There is a lot of concern, both from Italian companies facing such a critical time and from abroad: many foreign customers are worried they might not receive their goods from Italy on time. It is a situation that requires a great effort also from the Government and Institutions. As an association, we are working closely with the ITA (Italian Trade Agency) to define an action plan to support our companies and rehabilitate the image of the Italian industry, so hard hit by recent events.

Update (March 6, 2020): wire & Tube 2020 has been officially postponed to December 7-11 due to the coronavirus emergency. More information at this link.